In late September 2018, I embarked on a fun & adventure filled 2-weeks trip to Greece and Turkey with a few other stops on the way.

Flight to Santorini aboard British Airways

I chose Santorini as my first stop in Greece. If I were to enter via Athens it would mean I would have to double back to Athens airport again enroute to Turkey because no airline serves direct route between Santorini Thira aiport (JTR) and any Turkish airport.

Luckily, I started my journey from London and British Airways (BA) serves direct route between these two cities on BA652.

This flight departs from Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. If you’re in the terminal and are a fan of Harry Potter, don’t forget to check the out their cute official shop in the terminal. It’s after Security so you need a boarding pass for the visit.

It was overall a comfortable flight on economy. I took the Basic fare which means no meals and check-in luggage allowance. Hand carry weight limit was 23kg and was more than enough for a light packer like me. I find the safety video announcement to be one of the best I’ve seen, with A-List British casts. Look forward to that before falling asleep on your flight!

I recommend taking window seat if it’s possible since you get to have a view of the Greek Islands nearing landing.

Airport transfer to the village

• Local Buses (Fare: €1.80+)

The villages is accessible by buses however all buses will go through village of Fira before making their way onwards. Which means if you’re staying at Oia, you’d have to ride the bus from Airport to Fira and change bus to get from Fira to Oia.

The fare is payable per ride and as at May 2019 was €1.80 for adults. With bus change you’ll have to pay for 2 bus ride totalling €3.60.

Seats cannot be booked in advance and it’s first come first served, just pay the fare on the bus. It does get clogged before/after sunset on any route to Oia and the route to/from the airport. I see only 1 bus per departure despite the crowd so if it’s full you’ll just have to wait for the next bus, happened to me on the morning bus on Oia to Fira route. I had to literally run for a spot for the Fira to Airport bus. The bus destination is written at the front of the bus on a printed paper.

The timetable is as shown in this website, please check for any changes and plan your trip accordingly.

• Airport transfer

I opted for this method upon arrival because I would like to be able to enjoy my first day of sunset in Santorini at my hotel rather than in the bus.

I used the service of Santorini-Transfers (Kamari Tours) which I would like to wholeheartedly recommend. I booked a transfer just the night before the flight. I got out of the airport earlier than my reserved time and the driver was already there holding a sign with my name.

I was a bit excited cause being a budget traveller means I don’t usually use airport transfers but instead always opted for the bus. The trip from airport to Oia cost me €28.10 for 3pax one way. (As at May 2019 the price was €31.70).

First sunset in Santorini

The day I arrived, Santorini was in the midst of the Medicane (Mediterranean Hurricane) so the weather was cloudy and windy.

I was dropped off at a parking lot near Lioyerma Lounge to meet up with the owner of the apartment I’ve booked. It’s really hard to find your way around Oia with the endless alleys and steps so he had to come down to show us the way.

Lioyerma Lounge Cafe Pool Bar maps link

The sunset view from here was beautiful especially since there are no crowds on this side of Oia. Most tourist watches the sunset from Oia Castle and the surrounding. You can sit around or take dip in the pool if you buy drinks. Some reviews says there’s a €30 min spending for the balcony seats but I am not really sure if this is true.

Check-in to the Santorini dream cavehouse

After some 30 minutes of wait (my host was late 😣), finally we made our way down to the hotel. The streets were full of tourists sitting around watching the sunset, especially since the accomodation is right in the middle of the sunset zone of Oia Castle.

I had a hard time deciding on my dream accomodation since I wanted one with a balcony, sunset view and a view of the caldera. Finding such accomodation was not hard but finding one within my budget was a struggle. Splurging is required as I spent around €250 per night (for 3 adults) for the place. Though I have to say it’s worth every penny ❤️

I booked this amazing place called Casa Sigala (Oia) with not only one, but two balconies with a view! Direct view of the sunset in Sept/Oct, and the dreamiest view of the sea and caldera.

The place itself was a dream but getting in contact with the owner to check-in was a bit challenging. Took a few calls and messages to reach him so if you book this place make sure you have a local sim or roaming turned on to make calls.

The sunset however was hidden behind the thick clouds ☁️ The host even advised us that it’s been horribly cloudy the last week and to not keep our hopes up in seeing the sunset during our stay.

Dinner and night walk in Oia

Although Oia street bustles with people during the day, the village is noticeably quieter at night. Most tourist opt to stay at other villages as Oia is known to be the most expensive area in Santorini.

I find the night walk in Oia to be quite peaceful and romantic, a different charm compared to the daytime Oia.

Our accomodation is one of the cavehouses in the picture

We were spoiled with choices of restaurants and really most of them have great reviews, it’s really hard to decide on one. Being Muslims, we have dietary restrictions in which we can’t eat non-halal meat and chicken so we chose a restaurant with great seafood selections.

Our choice for the night was a restaurant called “Skala” which serves one of the best grilled salmon I’ve tasted. The food price ranges at around €15-20 per plate which is quite the standard price for Oia. Menu can be viewed on their website. I didn’t make any reservation to get a table, but with the view I’m pretty sure it’s better to make a reservation if you plan to dine during sunset.

The restaurant have a beautiful view of the Aegean Sea during the day which we didn’t get to enjoy.

That wrapped up our first night in Santorini~