Forget Venice - Santorini Is The Place For Romance (Santorini)

Member Name: Festa

Product:	Santorini
Date:	27/08/01 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Spectacular sunsets, Plenty to see and do, Easily accessible by ferry and by air

Disadvantages: Not the best beaches in the world

This is the island you head for so see some of the most romantic and spectacular sunsets in the world. Just head to towards Oia and watch the sun come down over the volcanoes.

Now the island is accessible by air from the UK, but please don't miss a spectacular entrance to the island from one of its neighbours. You head towards the island on the ferry and are faced with cliffs of about 900 feet at your side. In this caldera between the actual island of Santorini and the volcano of Nea Kameni, it is said that the city of Atlantis is to be found.

The whole area was formed by a massive volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. The volcano on Nea Kameni is still giving out emissions and it is well worth a trip though make sure oyu have some solid footwear as it feels like walking on coals.

Places of interest
* Thirassia - a small island reached by boat and a chance to see some more rural spects of Greece. Take a donkey ride up the hillside and if you have nerves of steel, you will be brave enough to come back down on one!

* Oia - this was at one time the capital of the island. This is THE PLACE for the spectacular sunsets. You can wander back in time looking at some of the properties devasted by a huge earthquake in 1956.

* Thira - the capital of the island and the hub of island life. There are one or two good campsites here for those on a tight budget.

* Perissa - this is the place to head for if you want a beach. The sand, however, is black and in the height of summer can be too hot to walk on.

* Akrotiri - the Minoan city here was first inhabited at 3.000 B.C. and the ruins of the volcanic explosion were discovered in the excavations which began in 1967. Among the ruins that you can see are the remains of a castle.

I personally would recommend finding a bar on the edge of the cliff anywhere from Thira to Oia just before dusk and sitting and watching the sun go down. It certainly beats Ven
ice in the romance stakes!

Summary: