Our DIY Santorini Report

[pinkroses]

Virtual Rain, Thanks so much for all of your descriptions/pictures, and recommendations! We rented a car from Tony's Car Rental a little walk from the cable car. These people treated us like family and wanted to make sure we had a great experience, and we did! First we drove to Oia and happened into the restaurant that you liked, Terpsi en Oia for coffee and baklava, great treat! Plus the view made us want to never leave. We walked through the town and loved it...and then the tourists arrived (I know, we are, too). We then traveled across the island to the black sand beaches so we could take a dip in the Meditterean. Spent a while there and enjoyed a couple of Greek beers on the beach. So beautiful and calm. I loved that you could sit on the beach, view the sea along side a mountain. I hope to return one day!

[churchilldrive]

Thanks for the great report. We are visiting the Greek Isles in the Fall and just purchased an entry level Nikon d5200. Any suggestions for versatile lens to bring?

 

Thanks. :cool:

[LadybugTraveler]

This post, and the map, is extremely helpful, thank you!!

 

One question though, did you consider adding any of the beaches to your trip? Or did you see one along the road?

[delraydoll]

Thanks for sharing lovely photos and excellent report(s). We'll be there next May for 2 nites. Will check into possibly renting an ATV for our last day as our flight back to Athens doesn't leave 'til 7:40 p.m.

[VirtualRain]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Glad this is helpful.

 

Thanks for the great report. We are visiting the Greek Isles in the Fall and just purchased an entry level Nikon d5200. Any suggestions for versatile lens to bring?

 

Thanks. :cool:

 

You likely have an 18-55 lens that came with your camera? That's a pretty good start. If you want to invest in something, then perhaps a polarizing filter to reduce glare and reflections and increase contrast and saturation in bright sunlight?

 

Virtual Rain, Thanks so much for all of your descriptions/pictures, and recommendations! We rented a car from Tony's Car Rental a little walk from the cable car. These people treated us like family and wanted to make sure we had a great experience, and we did! First we drove to Oia and happened into the restaurant that you liked, Terpsi en Oia for coffee and baklava, great treat! Plus the view made us want to never leave. We walked through the town and loved it...and then the tourists arrived (I know, we are, too). We then traveled across the island to the black sand beaches so we could take a dip in the Meditterean. Spent a while there and enjoyed a couple of Greek beers on the beach. So beautiful and calm. I loved that you could sit on the beach, view the sea along side a mountain. I hope to return one day!

 

Awesome! I will go back one day as well... it's an amazing place.

 

This post, and the map, is extremely helpful, thank you!!

 

One question though, did you consider adding any of the beaches to your trip? Or did you see one along the road?

 

As you may have noticed, we didn't consider doing any beaches there... the cliff side of the caldera has so much to offer and we usually get a beach vacation in the tropics every year so it wasn't a priority for us.

 

Thanks for sharing lovely photos and excellent report(s). We'll be there next May for 2 nites. Will check into possibly renting an ATV for our last day as our flight back to Athens doesn't leave 'til 7:40 p.m.

 

Next time I go will be at least for a couple of days/nights.

[Cruisergal1208]

We will be in Greece for a 3 day cruise plus a week on land of visiting the sites of Paul the Apostle. What will the weather be like in mid-October? What kind of clothes do you recommend? Beautiful photos!!

Thanks.

[VirtualRain]

We will be in Greece for a 3 day cruise plus a week on land of visiting the sites of Paul the Apostle. What will the weather be like in mid-October? What kind of clothes do you recommend? Beautiful photos!!

Thanks.

 

If its anything like when we were there last year in Oct it will be warm... T-shirts and shorts. :)

[Cruisergal1208]

Thanks so much. Means lighter packing. Really looking forward to our trip.

[marinemom99]

Firostefani

 

On our way back, we tried to find the famous church that you see in a lot of Santorini photographs…

 

 

It’s not exactly easy to find. I’ve marked it on my Google map. Basically, you have to turn off the main road between Fira and Oia into Firostefani and work your way to the point I’ve marked on the map where there is some parking and a nice overlook.

 

Alternatively, if you’re walking to Firostefani from Fira along the main path that follows the cliff top, you’ll come to this church after about 15-20 minutes… but you may not recognize it from the front as it has a yellow façade with red ironwork fencing and the blue dome isn’t visible.

 

With that famous photo added to my collection, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant we passed looking for the church… Mama Thira’s Tavern which has a stunning patio view, good service, reasonable prices, and great food. (Again, marked on my Google Map above)

 

Link to Mama Thira Restaurant

 

Santo Winery

 

Next we got back on our ATV and passed back through Fira and headed to Santo Winery which offers another unique view of the caldera…

 

 

After a short pause at the winery, we headed back into Fira, gassed up the ATV at the gas station shown on the map, and returned the rental vehicle to Markos.

 

Fira

 

We then strolled and explored the great selection of shops in Fira and took more photos of the amazing architecture and landscape from there before having a cold beer overlooking the Gondola before finally heading down to tender back to the ship.

 

 

 

That concludes my DIY report for Santorini… let me know if you have any unanswered questions and I’ll be happy to try and answer. :)

 

We will be in the Eastern Med this October (2013). Can you tell me what your weather was like last year? Thanks for the review and pictures...they are stunning!

 

oops...just saw your reply to someone else!!

Edited August 18, 2013 by marinemom99

[Phred Thomas]

Hi All,

 

My wife and I with two friends will be doing a similar BtoB on the Noordam leaving Barcelona 28th Sept. Our 5th cruise their first, and I have just found out about cruise critic. Wow the photo's of Virtual Rain and other details are fantastic, will be researching each day to get the best out of your experiences, thank you.

Phred

[VirtualRain]

Hi All,

 

My wife and I with two friends will be doing a similar BtoB on the Noordam leaving Barcelona 28th Sept. Our 5th cruise their first, and I have just found out about cruise critic. Wow the photo's of Virtual Rain and other details are fantastic, will be researching each day to get the best out of your experiences, thank you.

Phred

 

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you found it helpful. :)

[Karysa]

Thanks very much... It's taken a lot of research, trial and error, and investment of time and money in gear to achieve this level of photography. Ultimately, however, it helps to have well lit, beautiful subjects to shoot. I think even a camera phone could produce nice images from a day in Santorini :D. In fact, one of the pictures I posted is from my iPhone. It should be pretty obvious which one it is.

 

At any rate, I think the final output is a combination of a few things... good quality gear, shooting with the right light and picking a good composition with appropriate settings, detailed post processing, and good quality hosting.

 

For gear, I have a Canon 5D Mk III which besides being very high resolution, has very good dynamic range (ability to capture detail in the bright highlights and dark shadows). The lens is also reasonably high end (24-105 f4 L) so it has good contrast and sharpness as well. I shot these with a circular polarizer filter on the lens which acts to improve contrast and saturation and reduce glare on water and plants.

 

There's no substitute for shooting with good light. My pics of Santorini would have been far less interesting if it was overcast. I was fortunate to have good sunlight but of course, shooting during the golden hour at sunrise or sunset is always ideal. Trying to find angles where things are lit the way you want helps a lot. When travelling this often means getting lucky or trying to do your best to work with what you've got at the time as you can't afford to come back the next day if the light isn't just right.

 

Composition is also important... using the rule of thirds, having an eye for a good photo, knowing when to zoom out or when to zoom in, and being able to have the patience or luck to get a good capture. For example in the windmill shot, I was simply lucky to have a sailboat in the perfect spot in the frame in the distance. In many cases, I'm waiting for several minutes for other tourists to clear out of my way to get a shot without people in it. This takes more patience than most people have. I tend to take a lot of different shots too, knowing most of them will end up in the virtual trash. In Santorini, I probably took 200 photos that I later narrowed down to these 10 or 12.

 

When I say shooting with the right settings, for most of these shots, that means using a narrow aperture like f11 to provide a broad depth of field ensuring as much of the foreground and distance is in focus. It also means taking a few shots and checking the histogram to ensure it's properly exposed so that there are no blown highlights or crushed shadows. And, it also means shooting RAW instead of JPEG to ensure I have the most information to work with in the next step.

 

Then when I get home, one of the most important steps is post-processing which many people won't bother with but I feel is as important if not more, than any other part of the process. I use a combination of Apple Aperture and NIK plugins to enhance the photos to get the most out of them, which usually includes maximizing the dynamic range (drawing details out of shadows and highlights), adding some local contrast to bring out detail, some selective saturation to important colors, and a touch of sharpening to finish up. A lot of this is necessary when shooting RAW and less important when shooting JPEG (since most camera's will do a lot of this as part of the in-camera processing), but the advantage of shooting RAW is that you control the processing and with the right tools can apply it selectively to different parts of the photo so there is often a lot more you can do with shadows and highlights to create post-card quality photos. Shooting RAW and doing your own processing is analogous to having your own dark room in the days of film.

 

Last but not least, you need a photo hosting service that doesn't butcher the quality of your photos when they are converted to JPEG and posted online. Facebook is among the worst for this (although they have new "high quality" albums that seem to do a better job now). I use Zenfolio which preserves a lot of the sharpness even when converting the images to highly compressed JPEG images.

 

So that's it really. :o

 

 

Your photos are just beautiful. Did you happen to use a tri-pod? I would like to take the 8 mile hike but DH said he would need a tri-pod or at least a mono-pod. Thanks again for sharing your gorgeous photos and all of the info as well.:)

[Karysa]

Your photos are just beautiful. Did you happen to use a tri-pod? I would like to take the 8 mile hike but DH said he would need a tri-pod or at least a mono-pod. Thanks again for sharing your gorgeous photos and all of the info as well.:)

 

Wow! I am really impressed now that I read on page 3 that you took your photos without A tri-pod or mono pod. It's difficult for me to hold DH D800E never mind being still enough to get a great shot. If we do indeed book and take the Greek Island cruise I want to do the 8 mile hike so I guess a very light tri-pod will be DH Christmas present this year as there is no way that hiking and shooting will produce the type of pictures that would be acceptable to him. The cruise has a 1:30-10 pm port stop in Santorini which is perfect for sunset and twilite pictures.

 

Did you consider doing the hike at all?

[cdwolf85]

I just wanted to thank you again for the map and all the pictures. We were there on our cruise last week on the Ruby Princess. We got in line for tender tickets at 6:45 and were the first people off the ship at 7am. Had to hurry with 4 other ships in port with us. We got to the line for the Donkeys before they were even there to pick us up! It was quite a memorable way to get up the hill as you stated. We were glad we did it. We then rented a car at Tony's rent a car and went to Oia. We had some wine at the place with the view you recommended and wanted to stay there all day! But we had more wine to drink so we headed to Santo Winery where the views were just amazing, and the wine tasting plate for 11.50 euro was tasty as well. From Santo we went over to Kapri Beach and relaxed in two beach chairs for 5 Euro for a couple of hours and then headed back to Fira for the cable car at 4:15. We did not feel rushed and had a great day. :)

[VirtualRain]

Wow! I am really impressed now that I read on page 3 that you took your photos without A tri-pod or mono pod. It's difficult for me to hold DH D800E never mind being still enough to get a great shot. If we do indeed book and take the Greek Island cruise I want to do the 8 mile hike so I guess a very light tri-pod will be DH Christmas present this year as there is no way that hiking and shooting will produce the type of pictures that would be acceptable to him. The cruise has a 1:30-10 pm port stop in Santorini which is perfect for sunset and twilite pictures.

 

Did you consider doing the hike at all?

 

Thanks. This is one of the drawbacks of super high resolution sensors like the one in the D800E - it requires extra stability to keep pictures pixel sharp at that resolution. Although I'm surprised you need a tripod in bright sunlight. Is that true? With my camera, I only need a tripod in the evening when shutter speeds get slow enough to warrant it.

 

I wouldn't consider the hike on a port day... maybe if I was there for a few days but you just don't have enough time there on a day in port to spend it hiking in my humble opinion.

 

I just wanted to thank you again for the map and all the pictures. We were there on our cruise last week on the Ruby Princess. We got in line for tender tickets at 6:45 and were the first people off the ship at 7am. Had to hurry with 4 other ships in port with us. We got to the line for the Donkeys before they were even there to pick us up! It was quite a memorable way to get up the hill as you stated. We were glad we did it. We then rented a car at Tony's rent a car and went to Oia. We had some wine at the place with the view you recommended and wanted to stay there all day! But we had more wine to drink so we headed to Santo Winery where the views were just amazing, and the wine tasting plate for 11.50 euro was tasty as well. From Santo we went over to Kapri Beach and relaxed in two beach chairs for 5 Euro for a couple of hours and then headed back to Fira for the cable car at 4:15. We did not feel rushed and had a great day. :)

 

Awesome... Sounds like you had a fabulous time. I want to go back so badly! :(

Edited September 14, 2013 by VirtualRain

[Karysa]

Thanks. This is one of the drawbacks of super high resolution sensors like the one in the D800E - it requires extra stability to keep pictures pixel sharp at that resolution. Although I'm surprised you need a tripod in bright sunlight. Is that true? With my camera, I only need a tripod in the evening when shutter speeds get slow enough to warrant it.

 

I wouldn't consider the hike on a port day... maybe if I was there for a few days but you just don't have enough time there on a day in port to spend it hiking in my humble opinion.

 

(

 

He has other cameras just below that one but the pictures from the D800E are superior. It's funny that even I can spot the differences now. Ten years ago I couldn't have told the difference from a professional shot to my Sony point and shoot and now I am ultra picky even with DH's professional shots. Go figure!:) For sunset and twilight shots that he would print large enough for the wall he likes a monopod at least.

 

I just booked the cruise a few minutes ago :) and from my research over the last few days it has become apparent to me that for our first visit, the hike is not the thing to do.

 

Again, great shots and I think that seeing them sealed the deal for DH as we were bouncing around a few ideas for our vacation in may.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Karysa

[loisftax]

DH and I visited Santorini this past fall on a Celebrity cruise. We rented a car from Santorini Holiday Cars. We were on the island most of the day (8A - 4P). The car rental company met us at the top of the cable car at 9A. Very quickly we were off to Oia.

 

We spent about an hour and a half in Oia. Not too many tourist there at the time. By the time we left Oia, the bus loads were arriving. We then went to the ruins at Akortiri. No one was there. I found it very interesting. No, not as impressive at Delos or Ephesus, but you felt like you were in the middle of an excavation site (which you are!).

 

On to Santos Winery where we sampled a wine flight and had snacks with it. We live in a California wine appellation and know winery owners, are members of wine clubs, etc. So we try to explore wine areas throughout the world. We then tried to visit a winery/gallery. Unbeknownst to us, it had closed for the season. However, the owner was there doing work. When we told him we had travel a long way to see his winery, he gave us a private tour and tasting. We bought a bottle of sweet wine for our 20 something yr. old son. The we visited a wine museum (history of wine making in Santorini) and tasted their wines. All in all, the wines on Santorini are OK, but not great. However their vineyards are fascinating. They grow the grape vines in circles (like a basket) with the grapes in the middle. It is to protect the grapes and vines from the wind.

 

We finished up in Fira. We returned the car and walked around the town. We were back on the ship by 4:15P.

 

We had a blast. We covered quite a bit of the island. We sat on our cabin balcony drinking California wine while watching the sun set as the ship sailed from Santorini.

Do you recall about how much the car rental was? Was it difficult driving in Santorini?

[Milhouse]

We're currently on Reflection and were in Santorini this past Wednesday. Didn't rent a car but took the public bus to Oia. Got to say that the road the bus took to Oia was pretty windy and narrow. It's drivable but I wouldn't love having a bus on my rear like our bus was tailgating these ATVs in town until they pulled over so we could pass.

We also stayed in Oia until after sunset and the road BTW towns doesn't have any highway lights off course. It wasn't completely dark though.

 

 

 

 

 

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[cdwolf85]

We did not fine it difficult to drive at all. I believe the car rental was 40 or 50 euros for an automatic at Tonys rent a car. We split it with another couple.

 

 

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[prish]

Hi VirtualRain,

I was looking at the ship's tour and then someone on our RC has this planned....I will copy and paste it for you and see if you think I will see enough on this excursion...definitely want to spend more time in Oia than the ship offers.

Oh, and the cruise it web site is not always correct...the Azamara Journey is also there in Sept. when we are but it's not listed. :rolleyes:

 

 

Imerovigli Village:

 

Located at the highest, most central part of the caldera, with possibly the best views anywhere on the island. It used to be the best spot to look out for pirates.

Oia Village:

 

Recognized as the jewel of Santorini, best location to look at the famous sunset. Here you will enjoy the panoramic view of caldera, the volcano, Thirassia Island, and the rest of Santorini looking back toward Fira.

Ammoudi Port:

 

Tiny charming port with a very small beach in the caldera at the foot of Oia with clear blue green water andoffers several excellent fish restaurants with local food.

Wine Museum:

 

An extraordinary natural cave, 6 meters below ground and 300 m. long. You will taste local wines and view semi-mobile and still life figurines, accompanied by audio guides and sound effects.

Mountain of Prophitis Ilias:

 

The highest point of Santorini (586 meters). You can actually see the whole shape of Santorini.

Red Beach:

 

Soaring red lava cliffs which drop right to the sandy shore and into the clear blue sea, make for a majestic setting and one to enjoy.

Lighthouse of Akrotiri:

 

Built in 1892. The views from its cliff top position are simply breathtaking, looking out across the caldera and the Aegean Sea!

Panagi Episkopi Church:

 

One of the most important Byzantine churches of the island. Built in 1100 AC and survived the invasions by the Venetians, the Francs, the Russians, the Turks and even the frequent earthquakes.

Pyrgos Village:

 

Formed by traditional houses built all around the Venetian castle, and the small streets follow the shape of the hill.

 

Hi midwestchick, sounds like a great tour, how did it go off? Would be interested in knowing who the tour operator was as well as the cost, we'll be in Santorini next June and I'm looking for something like this.

 

Am also considering renting a car, can Virtual Rain ( thanks for a terrific thread and super pix! ) and others tell me how tough it might be to find parking in June, also get around the island.

 

Thanks a ton!

[dolfans0704]

Hi midwestchick, sounds like a great tour, how did it go off? Would be interested in knowing who the tour operator was as well as the cost, we'll be in Santorini next June and I'm looking for something like this.

 

Am also considering renting a car, can Virtual Rain ( thanks for a terrific thread and super pix! ) and others tell me how tough it might be to find parking in June, also get around the island.

 

Thanks a ton!

 

It's Private Santorini Tours. Here is the link: http://www.privatesantorinitours.com/

We are doing this same tour the end of May. Great reviews on TripAdvisor and they have been really helpful and responsive to emails. Enjoy!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

Edited November 1, 2013 by dolfans0704

[midwestchick]

Hi midwestchick, sounds like a great tour, how did it go off? Would be interested in knowing who the tour operator was as well as the cost, we'll be in Santorini next June and I'm looking for something like this.

 

Am also considering renting a car, can Virtual Rain ( thanks for a terrific thread and super pix! ) and others tell me how tough it might be to find parking in June, also get around the island.

 

Thanks a ton!

 

It went great but I don't rmemeber our guides name but it is the privatesantorinitours...I can find out but I think they charged us $55.00 per hour. I will check with the person who booked it to find out for sure.

[dolfans0704]

It went great but I don't rmemeber our guides name but it is the privatesantorinitours...I can find out but I think they charged us $55.00 per hour. I will check with the person who booked it to find out for sure.

 

Hi midwestchic

Thank you so much for posting your experience with your tour. I was wondering if you can tell me approximately how much time you spent in Oia and if you all took a lunch break? Were you in Oia in the morning? Greatly appreciate your feedback. :)

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

[prish]

It's Private Santorini Tours. Here is the link: http://www.privatesantorinitours.com/

We are doing this same tour the end of May. Great reviews on TripAdvisor and they have been really helpful and responsive to emails. Enjoy!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

Thanks for the info Dolfans and miswestchick, will contact them. How does one go about getting the whole group together on the same tender at Santorini, that's one of my concerns. Am also seriously considering DIY by renting a car, we're a family of four, so that should work well. Have even got a quote form Tony's, but my only concern is parking, can see DH getting mad if we have to drive around in circles trying to find a spot!

[StartrainDD]

We visited Santorini on November 7 and were the only ship in port. Here is the except from my log for the day:

 

Santorini. The view of the caldera wall in the pre-dawn light from Constellation promised a day unlike any other this cruise. We were up early as our group of six had arranged to rent a large enough vehicle for all of us to travel in from Santorini Car rental. One of us went down to obtain tender tickets as they were made available at 07:00. He obtained tender tickets for “#1.” We all met for breakfast at 07:00 in the Oceanview café. At about 7:20 we heard the announcement that tender #1 and 2 were available to board.

We were ashore at 7:35. Called the rental car place and received a message. We went up on the first cable car run of the day, and were in Fira at 7:45. We walked to the main road and one of the kind people at another rental company called our company for us. They were surprised we were off the ship and up the caldera so quickly, but that is possible with only one ship in port. Ten minutes later someone drove up and two of us went to pick up the vehicle and confirm the drop off point.

By 8:15 we were in our large Fiat, and on the way to Oia. A number of ship’s tour buses had passed while we were waiting for our vehicle, so we knew we would not be alone in Oia. We followed a combination of Rick Steve’s cruise port volume suggestion and Tom’s port guide to Santorini for planning our day. We found the parking lot at Oia; made a quick run into the already open Pharmacy, and soon were taking the first of hundreds of photos that day.

The main walking route is incredible, with every turn a new “Postcard view.” We walked all the way to the “Old fort” at the end of the peninsula, and enjoyed nearly every step. A few cold water bottles completed our early morning adventure in Oia.

By about 10:30 we returned to the Fiat and headed back towards (and past) Fira, to the Santos Winery. This proved to be a great stop! Santos is located on a point on the caldera affording magnificent views. Clean “WC’s” and easy parking made this a pleasure. We sampled a number of their wines, and most were impressive. They also offered 30 minute complementary internet so this allowed a short opportunity to post a few photos of the day for friends and family back home.

By 11:30 we were back in the Fiat heading to Prygos. We never found the parking area in Prygos, and ended up making a long turn taking us up a huge mountain. Before reaching the end of the road we realized our error, and returned to Prygos and the correct road to reach Kamari beach. Kamari beach is a “Black sand” beach. It is a really nice beach. The sand is not very fine, but coarse. Likely due to the volcanic rock from which it comes is less than 4,000 years old. We have visited black sand beaches on the island of Hawaii that have very fine black sand. The waves were crashing and the beach runs straight into the mountain (the one we were driving up!) that juts out into the Aegean Sea.

Nearly all establishments along the beach were shuttered for the winter, so we were able to drive very slowly along what is likely a pedestrian walk during the season, and followed the beach north as long as we could. It is doubtful many cruise passengers make it to a place like Kamari. By now its 1:30 and we thought we should return to Fira. We followed the map and took a different route back, seeing still more of the island.

Parking in Fira, even on a day with only one ship in port, is near impossible. We dropped off most of our group to shop, and began to return the car. A miracle occurred and a parking slot opened up 2 minutes later. We were unable to locate our group, but that did afford us a chance to see a little of the shopping area. What was disappointing (after Oia) is that the main pathway did not seem to afford the views, almost always blocked by buildings on the ridge.

Returning to the car, we dropped is at about 2:45 at the designated return area, and then had a challenge finding the most direct path back towards the cable car. This entire route afforded not one good glimpse of the caldera, although we were on (or very near) the ridge line the entire time. There was a short (five minute?) line for the cable car, and by 3:30 we were back onboard the Constellation. An hour or so later the other part of our group returned.

One note on Santorini – we kept saying to one another, we can’t imagine being here and enjoying it with even two additional ships in port. We know there are days of seven ships in port. The infrastructure to move people up and down the caldera can’t handle that many people. After our most enjoyable day, we were in no physical condition to stand in a line for an hour (or more) to ride the cable car down. We are immensely glad we visited when we did, and would be extremely hesitant to book a cruise that visited here on a multi-ship day.