4 Beautiful Days in SANTORINI Vlog - Thira, Oia, Blue Domes, Sunsets, Volcano Tour, Greece

Santorini is like stepping inside a picturesque postcard. The one-two punch of its iconic blue domes coupled with its breathtaking sunsets has made it an incredibly popular destination, complete with the crowds. Since the top two tourist locations are built into its own cliff face, you are met with an incredible vista almost everywhere you look. With shops, restaurants and accommodation all sharing this view, to be honest they already had me at hello. Food may never have looked so good, our bedroom view never so peaceful and if you like window shopping, then you will not be disappointed with their cool collection of boutiques. In this vlog, my wife Chiaki and myself, your travelling narrator, will be taking you on our journey around Fira and Ia, Santorini's two main hotspots. You'll see how we chose to spend our time here, navigating through some easily ignored streets, giving the best views and sunsets. We'll talk using public transport to get around the island and share some of our favourite dining spots. We'll also cover how the world has apparently gone mad at getting a good Instagram pic and what perhaps you should or shouldn't do with a donkey. This is Suitcase Monkey spending four sunset nights in Santorini. We arrived mid-afternoon into Santorini's international airport and quickly found our pre-booked taxi. Taking us through the island's flatlands, the 15-minute drive was over before we knew it. We would be staying in Fira which, along with Ia, is the most populated region of the island. After being dropped off, we still had a short walk to our hotel. However, something strange happened en route. After turning the corner with our luggage in hand, we were both overwhelmed and distracted with our first classic Santorini view. It's rare for me to have suitcase in hand and pose like a giddy tourist and this was the most fun I've had carrying heavy luggage down a steep decline. We must have stopped for about 10 minutes just taking photos, forgetting of course that our hotel was literally 30 seconds away and the same view would still be there after check-in. But that's one of the best parts of Santorini we found, that it's just so picturesque and you never quite know what view will greet you around a corner. Our hotel was built into the side of the cliff face, overlooking the sea. Santorini Reflections Volcano, as it's called, was fairly minimalist inside but had a cosy, authentic feel to it. The stone and tiles added a much-needed respite from the intense heat outside. The bathroom was small with its curved ceiling but felt almost carved into the rock side, adding to its charm. As with everything in this movie and everything I'm about to cover, I've linked to Reflections in the description below, along with links to followers on social media, so you can join us live for our next trip as it happens. After a change of clothes, we set out to explore the area. Wandering through its pedestrian streets, window shopping, grabbing a bite to eat and just generally taking it all in. Like fireworks on a New Year's Eve, everyone pauses while the sun sets over Santorini. During the 40 minutes that the sun draws closer to its own reflection, things start to slow down to a momentary pause. Staying in Fira has the benefit of being close to the island's largest bus terminal, meaning you can easily get to most places of interest from here. It's certainly not a perfect system, but it gets the job done and at the cheapest price. Compared to Ia, which you'll see later, Fira station has more space to wait and at least a degree in clarity when it comes to what bus you should get on. The buses are actually coaches, so not built primarily for public transport, so people getting on and off was not the easiest. A few stops after Fira and we were already full, leaving people at the bus stop to wait for the next one. Unfortunately, in some ways, Santorini has been a victim of its own success. It has so much going for it that stupid tourists such as myself visit and its small size cannot cope with the demand. But for us, getting on at the first stop meant we easily found a seat and we got off at the last stop. Nice and simple. We would be spending our day in Ia. If you google Santorini, you'll most likely be seeing the blue domes from this area and we were eager to hunt them down and get acquainted with this new bustling town. Even though we thought we had peaked in Fira, there's certainly an argument that Ia is the more picturesque of the two, but only by a whisker. After a pit stop lunch, we consulted a few online resources and followed directions blindly to one of the prime viewing spots for that iconic shot. After taking way too many pictures, we wandered to the tip of the island towards Ia Castle and Amudi Bay. Amudi Bay is known for a couple of things. As well as a place to swim with its clear waters and rocks further out, it's also a popular sunset location. Nestled inside its own recess, the bay is well situated to capture all of the sun's rays. A reservation at its facing restaurants would certainly be required here. But it's also known for its potentially intimidating descent. Its 200 plus steps in Santorini's hot temperature can be a bit exhausting, but it's definitely doable and not too crazy. There's a road that also twists around the outside of the island, so a walk or drive down the longer scenic route is another good option. Walking down the steps, you get your first few hints of something else Santorini is known for. Donkey rides, which is something of a current hot topic within Greece. Ignoring the instinct I had of not walking behind a donkey became impossible about halfway down when suddenly you are met with a massive, breathing, waiting taxi rank. There are two strong opposing sides within Greece itself. One that feels the donkeys are part of the island's image and tradition, supporting tourism and employment for its people. And then you have the other side that is concerned for the animal's welfare, which you can decide on for yourself. The Greek government recently put forward legislation to limit the weight the animals can carry, which led to some ever interesting headlines. Whichever side of the fence you land on, I do think it's important to think about both of those sides before you opt for the donkey ride. For us, the steps were well worth the effort, with seafood, views, a rest and a drink all being part of our reward. With one of our new donkey friends showing gratitude for not riding him back, the climb was well underway. For what remained of our day, we had two things on our minds, food and our first-year sunset. Our meal was fairly uneventful, opting for a double serving of pasta and the most mahoosive watermelon serving you've ever seen. But as our shadows grew longer and the sky golden, we started to get in place for our sunset ritual. I think this is probably the perfect time to address the elephant in the room. We, as a society, and I'm including myself in this, have unfortunately become a right massive bunch of posers. I have never before felt more like I was living inside Instagram, where everything became a photoshoot and often took away from the moment itself. Now I'm sure that for some people these moments were less about a holiday and more about social media being their business, at least I hope that's what's going on here, but some people deemed it a very good idea to step over the ledge and stand on a curved roof just for that epic pose. Then there were those just wanting a better view. And even this bloody cat. And yes, I know, as a vlogger I am totally part of the problem myself, but I mention it since it was something so abundant during my time here, it would be strange if I skipped it. Of course, if it makes you happy and it's harming no one else, then do whatever works for you, but personally, even though it may not be obvious through this video, I'm always super aware of having time away from the lens and just living in the moment. But while we're at it, just follow me on Instagram. Wanting to beat the inevitable rush back to Fira, we waited for not too long at the bus terminal. If you don't want to miss the last bus, I'd advise keeping an eye on the time. It was admittedly a bit of a squeeze standing on the exit steps, but it was a super cheap journey back home where we would then enjoy some night shopping before bedtime. Tomorrow would be an excursion day where we'd learn about the fact that we had actually been staying right on top of an active volcano. If we zoom out and look at Santorini from above, it starts to become one giant magic eye puzzle. Because once you notice something about its shape, you can't unsee it. Santorini is in fact the outer rim of a flooded volcano, and you're looking right at its crater. This caldera as it's known is the result of centuries of eruptions, and over hundreds of years, these volcanic lands have emerged upwards in the centre of it all. The island is called Nea Kamene, which translates to New Burnt Island, and it would be here that our half-day excursion would begin. It's worth noting that a volcanic eruption is something that can be detected before it actually happens, so there is no real danger here. The last eruption here was in 1950 and lasted for 22 long days. This area is an active but dormant volcano however, meaning it's expected to erupt at some point in the future, but history has seen gaps of up to 700 years between activity. However, it still is hot enough though that you can feel the heat coming from below. Our second and final stop was a swim around the island's hot springs. However, I must say that with the currents dragging the heat around, it actually started off as quite a cold spring. After swimming closer to the rocks, I finally felt a stream of warmth come my way, which perhaps meant I was heading in the right direction, or I was swimming in someone else's piss. Either way, a jolly good time was had by all. There are loads of excursions you can book in Santorini, ranging from prehistoric settlements to catamarans to tours around the numerous towns and beaches, which are all certainly well worth a look. Waking up for the final day of a holiday is often a bittersweet experience. The downside is obviously that it's your last day, but I really enjoy the familiarity that has usually settled in by this point. You've finally mastered how to say thank you in Greek, you've ticked off that to-do list, so you can just relax and take it all in. So we had a relatively calm day by returning to our favourite spots, but still discovering some hidden gems we missed the first time, first in Oia and then back in Fira. We pre-booked our last night's meal to end up with this unobstructed view for our final Santorini sunset. I plan on doing an accompanying video to this one, focusing more concisely on a list of tips when visiting this beautiful island, so please stay tuned for that. If you're living in the future, I'll link it right here, and if you've enjoyed this video then please give it a like since it really helps us spread the word, and subscribe for more travel vlogs coming soon. For a relatively small channel that uploads every six weeks or so, it's easy for me to get lost in the shuffle, so please hit that notification bell to keep in touch. Thanks for watching! Suitcase Monkey