Our romantic getaway to Santorini, Greece

Laure always liked South and Southeastern Europe, especially Greece and Italy. She surprised me with a romantic getaway to Santorini, Greece two months ago. I’ve been to Athens several years ago for business, but Santorini left me speechless.
As usually, we went sightseeing the first day. Both Laure and I like spending the first day with a tour guide and exploring the place the rest of the time alone. She planned everything in advance, so I just enjoyed. She decided to book a Santorini sightseeing tour with local guides. I liked the way our guide was explaining everything thoroughly and with passion. We explored the coast by car. The guide stopped at each interesting point, including the picturesque and vivid Pyrgos village where I tried some amazing local traditional sweets. After that, we visited an old monastery of Profitis Ilias which was a true spiritual journey. There were a lot of stops for refreshment, taking photos, having lunch or simply enjoying the views.
On our back to the hotel, we visited a volcano and a vineyard. This part of the sightseeing trip was the most exciting one for Laure, I believe, as she said this is exactly how she imagined Greece. I liked the fact that we could actually taste their local produced wine in the middle of the vineyard. That was a true hedonistic experience.
The next day, we went hiking. We were recommended to choose the Fira – Oia hiking route, as the views and scenery are spectacular. Along the route, we visited three villages. We ran across an Archaeological museum which was originally not on our list, but we decided to enter and did not regret it. We arrived to Oia exactly at the sunset, which was a highlight of the day. We had a romantic dinner and wine there.
The third day of our trip was a true cruise, spa and swimming day. Laure booked a cruise tour from the Ammoudi Bay. It took five hours. Hot springs, volcano, lighthouse visit, amazingly clean beach, swimming and snorkeling left us tired at the end of the day.
Our short trip to Santorini, Greece, ended with a rather educational visit to Akrotiri. We learnt some interesting things on the Bronze Age, the amazing Minoan civilization and visited their ancient city remnants. This tour is excellent for those keen on history and archaeology. I must add that this was a rather long tour. Therefore, if you are planning to book this one, I recommend wearing some very comfortable shoes and clothes.

This short getaway was certainly romantic and well-organized. If you are keen on Southern Europe charm, cruising, sightseeing and wine tasting, Santorini is highly recommended.