After deciding to not go ahead with booking our trip to Shanghai in March 2020, we thought we will go to Santorini instead. Anyway, COVID is far away in Asia! But as you know how the story went, Europe was on a lockdown too… What I love about this story was how we got refunded for our flight tickets but especially how our hotels in Athens and Santorini kept our reservations although the bookings were clearly non-refundable. So after 2 years, Greece finally happened and it felt like a miracle!

When Greece dropped the requirement to have a COVID test on arrival, flights were selling out fast. It was a miracle that we still were able to purchase our tickets, although, that was a bit stressful. And a few days before arriving to Santorini, our hotel informed me that they are not yet ready for the season and will let us stay at another hotel. But surprise surpise! We were totally upgraded to a villa with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms and even a sauna. And for a week, I had a private pool at the highest point in Caldera with the amazing volcanic views. The pool was heated at 30C so it was perfect!

Santorini is indeed beautiful and the weather was lovely. We enjoyed walking, exploring and eating lots of seafood, grilled fish and baklavas.

We also rented a car and drove across Santorini – from the windy Akrotili, to the peaceful beach of Kamari, driving up the steep and narrow road to Ancient Thira all the way to Oía to admire the beautiful sunset.

A Catamaran day cruise in the Aegean Sea is something not to be missed in Santorini. It was fun to look at the Caldera cliffs and the volcanic islands and of course to wait for the most amazing sunset.

All photos by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com

Next stop: Athens