When we first arrived on the ferry from Crete (where we had booked our accommodation in advance), we were absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowd of eager Greek salespeople hoping to fill their hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and camping space with unprepared tourists.  As we waded through the crowd keeping one hand on our wallets and our eyes out for cafes advertising free wi-fi, we were met by a most unlikely suspect – a Californian surfer-gone-restaurant-manager who pegged us as North American from a mile away and hustled us into the restaurant.  Our new friend, Nick, turned out to be a great guy who had helpful advice on where to find a good hostel, a slightly less overrun vibe, and of course, some friendly tourist girls: Perissa.

Once we got settled, the first matter of business was getting some wheels… the local mode of transportation: quad!  Not nearly enough power to make it through Santorini’s many hills, but a fun change from renting cars and the bus.

Kyle, Mike, and Mark in Santorini

I expected Santorini to be this incredibly expensive tourist trap – after all, how could a place so popular and so picturesque not be?  The town of Oia where we went to take the classic sunset photos was everything that was expected, but Perissa might as well have been another island.

Sun setting over our hostel’s pool – private rooms with a/c for 13€ per night!

This photo sums up for me so well the relaxed pace of Perissa.  I would come back here in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anybody who asked!  One of my favourite site trips we took was to the Akrotiri Lighthouse at the tip of the island.

The Akrotiri Lighthouse, in continuous operation since 1892

Just in case you thought it was easy to get those sunset photos…

Waiting for the most famous photo in Greece, the famous Oia sunset

For being such a small island, Santorini boasts an incredible wealth of diverse experiences – no matter what type of adventure you are seeking, chances are you can find it here.  The town of Oia was not to be missed but it was nice to return to the quiet side of the island to locals and reasonable prices.

Some of the other photos from across Santorini: