Santorini, Greece (October 15, 2025)
They say Santorini, Greece is one of the most beautiful islands of Greece. It truly depends on what you’re after. It is undeniably beautiful. Perched on steep mountain cliffs, Santorini is unique in many ways including it’s high elevation and spectacular views of nearby islands.
View from the steps of Santorini: Cruise ships, Islands, and Restaurants
To get to the main center of town in Santorini you usually have three choices: (1) Bus, (2) 600+ steps, or (3) Gondola. Today, there was only one option: the Gondola. The steps were being repaired and much of the concrete had been removed, so it was more of a dirt hill and dangerous to traverse. And the busses were not running.
Just Elena and me today, as Violet stayed on ship to sleep until 2pm
There are only 6 gondolas that hold 6 people each (so 36 tourists) at a time. But the ride is short and relatively quick. At 10 Euros per person, that’s 360 Euros about every 5 minutes or roughly 4,320 Euros per hour. Granted it’s not quite double that given it’s going up and down at the same time, but it’s mostly packed in one direction in the morning and then packed in the other direction in the afternoon / evening. But at peak times it can be crowded on both sides (so not a bad business).
Once at the top, both Elena and I immediately found items we wanted. I wanted an extremely “Greek” dress shirt and she wanted two opal rings. Our first impression was that while we loved what we saw, we were seeing these items at the very first shop at the height of tourist area in Santorini, so we were most definitely overpaying for these items. But after shopping around, we found that the prices were about the same elsewhere so we came back and said “YOLO” (you only live once) and bought them anyway.
The most Greek dress shirt I’ve seen (and that I now own)
And of course, what there’s to do on Santorini is take in all the beauty of Santorini. Yes, there are churches, museums and historical sites, but mostly, people come for the restaurants and spectacular views.
This picture looked like every calendar I’ve seen in every Greek dinner
So Elena and I enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets, looking inside the shops and taking in all the spectacular views along the way.
Another picturesque spot overlooking the water in Santorini
When Elena began getting hungry, we looked for a restaurant that was slightly off the beaten path, but still had spectacular views. We found what we were looking for via Volkan on the Rocks. Another over the top Greek restaurant — this time with sweeping views of Santorini and the islands below.
And yes, the food was to die for. We found our favorite feta cheese wrapped in filo dough baked and then drizzled with honey as an appetizer, then I had slow cooked beef and mashed potatoes and Elena enjoyed a prosecco while I tried some Greek coffee. So good.
After lunch, a few more pictures around town before taking the gondola back down and the tender boat back to our cruise ship. While we didn’t spend a ton of time in Santorini, it was just how we both remembered it two years ago when we were last here. Of all the Greek islands, this is not the one we feel like we need to spend a ton of time on – other than eating in the restaurants which are fabulous. And, of course, we might feel differently if we actually stayed at one of the hotels here rather than visiting via cruise ship.
Shuttling back to our cruise ship, Elena gave me “the look”
After being married for over 25 years, sometimes all you need is “the look.” Elena told me, without saying a word, that she was “done” and to put my phone away. No more pictures. The excursion was over. Time to go back to our cabin and chill. Besides she had a few last minute details to iron out regarding out trip to Thailand including flights home.
Violet Updated Plans …
Speaking of which, I had a wonderful conversation with Violet over her lunch when we got back to the cruise ship. It sounds like she’s confirmed with going back home with Elena after Thailand and will be back in the US for Thanksgiving and Christmas and likely will begin working (at Target or similar) for the back-half of her gap year.
I love this for her. I know she’s had a ton of experiences as part of this World Tour and she’s ready to get back to New York and spend more time with her friends before diving into her college studies. Taking some time to experience working for awhile could be a great addition to this travel adventure and round out the back-half of this gap year.
I realize none of this is “in stone” but I like where it’s headed and happy that plans are beginning to form. As for me, this frees me up to travel to a few more places that I wasn’t able to check out previously when it was the two of us, so I will take some time to think through where I want to go next and plan out the back half of my travels. It’s all beginning to take shape. We’ll see where this part of the trip leads.
