Week two starts out with a bright and early ferry from Heraklion to Santorini!! Two days on this island is the best way to begin my final week hopping about the islands. I booked my transit directly on Hellenic Seaways for about 100 euros roundtrip. You can find hundreds of third party services who will sell you these tickets but like I always advise, the cheapest price will usually be directly from the service itself. The ferry took about one hour and forty five minutes and went directly to Santorini.

Now, I do not want this next piece to sound like a complaint because the island is magic. You can stay anywhere and have a wonderful time.

BUT.

If I could change anything, it would be the location of where we stayed. I wanted to be close to the infamous city Oia to see the sunset over the white stone buildings on the cliff– you know, the typical American touristy spot. Only problem is it is way up in the North of the island. It is gorgeous but we made the same route three to four times just to travel to other parts of the island. Next time, I’ll stay in the middle, close to the harbor, to minimize travel time.

Now back to Santorini and the highlights of the trip. I booked a hotel at George’s Apartments and we were so pleasantly surprised by the little extras they offered. George himself will meet you outside of this little village with one of his donkeys to assist with luggage up and down the rocky pathway. The hotel even has blue arrows leading to it so you never have trouble finding it later.

My favorite part of this charming delight was the way they did breakfast. Every night, we received a basket with fresh Greek goodies prepared. Little quiche, sweets, yogurt, fruit, criossants, cheese, meat, juice, coffee, smiles, hugs and extra love! So in the morning, we could take our goody basket to our private terrace and enjoy a private breakfast at our leisure.

 Through Georgis Apartments, we rented this little quad for 25 euros, for the whole day! It was super convenient to have and we quickly realized that everyone else had the same idea. I highly recommend investing in one of these when you go.

Now there is a lot to do in Santorini: volcano tours, beaches, shopping, vineyards. You really have to plan what you do to maximize your time on this fantastic island. As for what we decided to do? Well, I think I wrote there are vineyards on the island? So, yea.

Santo Wines is right at the top of the harbor where the ferries come in and out and if you like wine, is a must! We spent hours sitting on the cliff, wine tasting and drinking in the sea view. Not much else to report here… it’s a vineyard. You drink wine and enjoy yourself.

But we came for THE picture. The one all Americans know and obsess over after watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And it was waiting for us in Oia 🙂

But as gorgeous as this city view was, it is also a HUGE tourist trap. We didn’t even dream to eat dinner here because we got the view for free. But that didn’t mean we had to go hungry. Back in our little village, we found more stunning views from restaurants that served  a variety of Greek cuisine that made the fat kid inside of me so happy.

 But our time in Santorini was coming to an end and we were ready to go back to Crete for the rest of the trip. I was so ready for the last days coming because it was what I was most excited to do!

TIP:  The ferry is always late arriving to Santorini; if you’re going to Heraklion, either take a flight from the island or just plan on it being late. Our ferry was late by three hours and we sort of lost a day on the island waiting for the boat to arrive. 

Arriving late to Heraklion, we drove to our location for just the one night: a bed under the stars. We are both into trying new things and this was right up our alley! The woman running this place is half Greek, half German and just made us feel so welcome. If you don’t think sleeping outside is for you, she has rooms inside as well. It is right next to the beach so if you are looking to get away from it all, don’t miss this location!

It was almost time for boyfriend to leave and for me to continue West. But not before we searched for the infamous pink sands of Elafonnisi Beach.

Success! We went from Heraklion to the southwestern point of the island– about 2.5 hours drive. Seems a bit extreme but it was super worth it once we arrived. If you don’t arrive to the beach in the morning, don’t even try to get a chair. We posted up on the sand and just lathered up with sunscreen every half hour!

But boyfriend had to go back and I went to Chania for the finale of the trip: Samaria Gorge!

  I booked my final nights at the wonderful Halepa Hotel  which is slightly outside of the city center but if you enjoy walking, you’ll be happy with this choice. I do not use this blog to promote a hotel or restaurant but this establishment really set itself apart with its service and kindness. I booked my gorge excursion directly with the tour company and the hotel still woke up early to prepare a small breakfast for me and even packed a little lunch.

The night before the hike, I treated myself to a huge bowl of fresh seafood linguine with a gorgeous view. This place was only five minutes walk from my hotel and I couldn’t have been happier with the selection of mussels, calamari, shrimp and pasta that tickled my tummy.

SAMARIA GORGE

The gorge began with a 6AM pickup in front of the hotel. The website of the tour group doesn’t really tell you what to bring so I overdid it– 18 kilometers in the blazing sun and I didn’t want to take any chances. I packed my Swell bottle and three additional bottles of water along with my packed lunch.

In reality, all you need to pack, in addition to food, is one bottle of water. You can fill up your bottle with fresh spring water along the route.

Mistake number two made was not bringing enough money. On the bus to the gorge entrance, you are asked to pay an additional 15 euro for the cost of the entrance to the gorge and for the ferry ride back to the bus. Sounds like a lot of money but I highly suggest to use a service or else you’ll have to hike 18 kilometers back to get to your car… I brought 20 euros thinking it would be enough for a drink and snack at the end of the hike but this oversight left me with 5 euros.

The first leg of the hike is basically downhill stone steps that are quite tricky to navigate. I wore skecher sneakers but I saw a variety of footwear on the hike. I would not recommend anything less than sneakers because one wrong turn of the ankle and you’re stuck.

The hike was amazing and five hours later emerged at the other end. Mistake number three was not taking my time. The guide gives you a timetable to follow to ensure you get out of the gorge in time for the ferry ride. My group and I made it through the entire hike with three hours to wait before the ferry arrived.

But it wasn’t so bad to wait; we dipped our sore toes into the cold water which was so refreshing. There is also a little village set up at the bottom with restaurants, shops and bars. Remember my problem with the cash flow? Would have loved to eat some fresh fish at the ocean but settled for my power protein bars until I got back to Chania.

Chania

I will spend more time in this city next time I go to Crete because it was delightful. I sat down at the pier to eat my two favorite Greek treats: Feta cheese and Dolmathaki (grapevine leaves wrapped around rice)