Also, I felt the need to share my personal opinion in respect to whether or not Santorini is an expensive destination or not.
First of all we have to take into consideration that Santorini is 1.600 km away from Romania. So... increased distance means increased costs for transportation.
Because we traveled by car, the fuel cost was split at 4, leading to a cost of approximately 150 euros for me and my husband. We paid another 300 euros for the ferryboat ride, leading us to a total cost of 450 euros for transportation.
Of course you can also travel by plane. If you book tickets - let's say 6 months in advance - the plane can cost less than 250 euros/person both ways. If you book them only one month in advance, they will probably cost double. If we would have chosen the plane, we would have paid around 1.200 euros for two adults and a 5 years old child. The difference is significant.
The accommodation cost depends on many factors. It depends on the number of stars the hotel has, on the location of the hotel, on the number of nights you decide to spend there. We paid 1.200 euros, for a triple room, for 7 nights. The hotel was called Epavlis, and it was in Kamari. They said it's a 5 stars hotel. It was a good hotel indeed, but the 5 stars aspect is a bit overrated. The same hotel, with the same conditions would cost now - 6 months in advance - 800 euros. :)
I would like to mention that the price included only breakfast.
When booking in advance, you always have chances to find accommodation at even smaller prices.
The food chapter is pretty easy. Good food at good prices. We paid on average 35 euros per meal, for the three of us.
The beer was between 2 and 4 euros, depending on where you were buying it.
You could easily buy a sandwich or a fruit salad with 2 euros.
Water (1.5 l) was less than 1 euro in supermarkets.
Freezer magnets were in average 1.5 euros and postcards were less than 1 euro.
Knowing all these aspects, I will let YOU decide whether or not Santorini is an expensive destination.
The final topic I will debate on this blog related to Santorini is the tourists attractions topic.
The first thing I would like to mention is that most of the so called tourists attractions are a bit exaggerated. The only things not exaggerated are the views and the food.
If you decide to go to Santorini you will read a lot of references regarding to black, white or red beaches. In reality, all the beaches are black (actually dark gray) because of the volcanic rocks. These beaches are usually surrounded by red rock mountains or by white rock mountains and that is why they are called like this. In Santorini we found only one beach with gray sand: Monolithos. All the other beaches had gray little stones.
You can visit by boat the volcano that lead to the formation of Santorini and of the surrounding islands. We visited both the volcano and the surrounding islands, but I didn't find the trip so spectacular. It was a nice trip, but it didn't have an impact on me.
You can visit all the important cities: Fira, Oia, Kamari. They offer great views and they are full of boutiques where you can buy items of clothing or souvenirs. My recommendation is to have dinner in restaurant placed on a cliff from Oia or Fira, preferably at sunset. I'm sure you will be impressed by the view.
In Kamari there is an open air cinema. You can't buy tickets in advance, so if you really want to try it, go there at latest 20.30. You will be surprised by how many people will wait in line to see a movie in open air.
Other things I enjoyed doing in Santorini were the swimming and diving. The water is very salty, allowing beginners to practice their swimming skills. Also, because the water was so clear I could easily see the fishes swimming around my feet.
I'm ending this chapter here, but feel free to ask whatever you want and I will answer gladly.
