Lately, I’ve been staying in London and enjoying the rainy weather. However, when my friend Kaytlyn came for a visit, we decided to go to a place neither of us had been to, but have wanted to visit. Santorini, Greece! We went in early April, which is their shoulder season. One thing about shoulder seasons is you never know what you might get. It’s the shoulder for a reason. Lucky for us, we had amazing weather and minimal crowds. I would definitely go back to Greece this time of year.

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How to Get There

A win again for living in London. We flew directly from Gatwick to Santorini in just under 4 hours. Flying in is amazing because you are just flying over all the little islands, but it is also a little sketchy because of the winds. We had to circle around once to make sure wind speeds were low enough to safely land. Once we got there, we just grabbed an Uber to our Air BnB.

Where to Stay in Santorini

We found the cutest Air BnB in Fira right on the cliffs on the west side of the island! It is called a cave because they look like they are built right into the side of the cliffs. Walking up and down stairs is required here, so it isn’t for everyone! We really enjoyed our stay and the place was just big enough for the 2 of us. You can see the view from our window in the 3rd photo.

Where to Eat in Santorini

I’m not much of a foodie, so I don’t research places to eat before I go somewhere usually. However, I do tend to ask locals (like our taxi driver) where they would recommend near where I am staying. Here are a few places we were told to go or that we came across that I feel are good enough to share!

Remvi Restaurant

This was really close for us, and they had a really great menu! Honestly we said if we’d been in Santorini for longer we would’ve gone back there to eat again. We shared the half chicken and roasted potatoes, which was more than enough for 2 people. And it was delicious! Plus, the views from the restaurant are stunning.

Elias Grill

This was where we ate on the east side of the island on our beach day. After spending a few hours in the sun, we figured we better have a little something to eat before heading back and getting ready for our cooking class. Elias Grill was a good option with nice outdoor seating and quick service. We shared the chicken gyro sandwich with fries. Knowing we would be eating again fairly soon, we didn’t want to have our own, but this sandwich was really big so sharing was completely fine anyways!

Avli Lunch Cafe

This is the place we had lunch when we were in Thirasia on the boat tour. The restaurant is right on the water and we sat outside with beautiful views of Santorini in the distance. I ate the chicken gyro and had a local beer. Both were great and perfect for the weather that day!

Stolen Fruit

We wanted to find smoothies or acai before leaving the island and Stolen Fruit was the perfect spot! It is located in Fira and walking distance from our Air BnB. I like to consider myself a connoisseur of acai bowls, and I can happily recommend this place!

What to Do in Santorini

Take A Greek Cooking Class

Somehow, I have never done a cooking class. Kaytlyn came up with the idea to look into doing one, and it was so much fun! We took our taxi to Megalorchi, a nearby town, and turned out to be only the 2 of us and the chef! Since it was Greek Orthodox Good Friday, things were very quiet (except the constant ringing of bells).

We made tzatziki sauce, greek salad, tomato fritters, and pasticio. Everything was incredible! Of course we got to have a copy of the recipes, so now we can make everything at home too! Christos, the chef, was so fun! He made sure we got tons of photos, we both got chances to do the cooking, chopping, and preparing, and he even took us back to our Air BnB after the class when our taxi didn’t come on time. Could not recommend this more and worth every cent!

Take a Boat Tour around Santorini

We decided to take a boat tour so we could see some more islands and be on the water for the day. We were not disappointed! The boat leaves from Old Port, which we could get to easily from where we stayed. You have to take the cable car down or walk down the steps – it’s €10 each way for the cable car. The first stop on the boat was to hike up one of the smaller island volcanos. It is €5 to enter the park per person. We decided to stay on the boat because Kaytlyn had a back injury, but relaxing and sunbathing with no one else around for an hour or so was really nice!

We actually chose this tour because we wanted to swim in some natural hot springs. That part wasn’t quite what we expected. With it being shoulder season, the ocean water is still quite cold. As you swim closer to the hot springs, it warmed up, but not as much as we would have liked! (To be fair, the captain did warn us!) But honestly, would do it again.

After swimming, we went to the next island over. You can climb up to the top of the island via stairs on Thirasia, but again, we decided to stay down near the port. We had 2 hours there, which was just enough time to enjoy a meal and wander.

I really enjoyed this tour and would recommend it to anyone going to Santorini. I will say, the weather took a bit of a turn on our way back and threatened rain. It got a bit chilly and we were ready to be off the boat, but the captain took a long way back to give us a bit of history and pretty views of Santorini. I think I would have loved this if it hadn’t been cold, but other than that, I have no complaints!

Find a Beach in East Santorini

Being on the west coast of Santorini makes it hard to find beaches. You are up on these gorgeous, high cliffs, but even at the port where the cable car takes you, there is no beach. We had our taxi driver, Michael, recommend a place to go for a few hours one day and we were so happy! This is Kamari Beach. We stopped at one of the little shops to grabs snacks and drinks, and we just laid out on the black pebble beach. I did get in the water at one point, but very quickly because it is quite cold that time of year. The black pebbles also get very hot and can be hard to walk on so it’s best to wear shoes!

Shopping and Sight Seeing

There are soooooo many shops in Fira and we spent a good amount of time exploring them! We found dresses, jewelry, and penis shaped everything (I don’t know what that is all about but the sex position playing cards really got me). The people in the shops are so nice and helpful! We really loved this and had a good time exploring. And of course, as you walk, you get to see the views the island has to offer. They are endless! And this is why Santorini is that iconic Greek photo that you have seen a million times. It was really cool to see in person.

This was a pretty short trip, but Santorini isn’t very big and I felt like it was just enough time to explore and enjoy the island. Next time I travel to Greece during shoulder season, I will probably go to another island so I can experience more and have more interactions with locals. What else would you recommend doing in Santorini? For more Mediterranean-type adventures, check out the South of France.