Day 8 – Naxos to Santorini: Travel Day & A Late Night

Stelios & I woke up at 8am to pack our things. This morning we were leaving Naxos and catching the 10:30am ferry to Santorini. Before checking out & walking down to the port we went back to Chocolat Creperie & had breakfast – we both enjoyed the savory crepes and frappes one last time. They were delicious.

I checked Ferryhopper and our ferry was delayed by 30 minutes so we hung out in the Airbnb for a bit before rolling our luggage downstairs and heading to the port. This time we took World Champion Sea Jet ferry. This boat was much nicer than Blue Star Delos and we had designated seats to sit in rather than just having to walk around the boat and find 2 seats next to each other. It was a 1 hour & 15 minute ferry ride to Santorini but it felt much quicker than that. Ferries are definitely the way to go for island hopping.

Travel Tip: Book a morning ferry (before 12pm), as afternoon ferries are prone to more and longer delays.

Upon arrival the port of Santorini is tucked away in its own seperate area of the island, unlike the other islands we’ve been to where the town is built around the port. A mass exodus of people exited the ferry boat and poured out onto the street. There were TONS of taxi drivers holding up signs for private taxis to take people to their hotels (including ours) as well as general signs for open buses and taxis. Immediately you could tell Santorini is busier and more touristy than the other 2 islands we’ve been to.

We found the sign with my name on it and off we went. Our taxi driver told us our hotel, Damigos Caldera World, has an amazing view of the calderas which got us even more excited. Upon arrival the views from our balcony were STUNNING.

Once we checked in and got settled it was 2:30pm, and we walked around in search of a lunch spot. We went to Aktaion, a Greek Taverna that originally opened in 1922 and was celebrating 100 years with a special anniversary menu. We ordered Feta Loukoumades (which is basically like a big fried mozzarella ball but with feta cheese instead and came with a side of fresh marinara to dip them in), a roasted eggplant appetizer dip, and grilled octopus over local santorini fava puree. All 3 were delicious but the Feta Loukoumades were our favorite. As we were finishing our lunch I was eyeing the dessert that the table next to us ordered, so we decided to try it too. It was limon crema rolled in Kataifi dough (angel hair phyllo dough) over Quince jam – think of it like the Greek version of a cannoli. This was my FAVORITE dessert of the trip so far.

After lunch we walked down to Fira to explore. There are 3 ways to get down to Fira – the caldera path, middle street path, and the main road that cars drive down. We took the caldera path so we could enjoy the views on the way down. We passed some cute art shops and local eateries. Once you got to the heart of Fira it was very busy, narrow, and had crowded streets giving me a Santa Monica Boardwalk touristy vibe. I’m glad we’re staying in Firostefani, a 10 minute walk north, away from all of the crowds but close enough to walk to the downtown for the bars and nightlife later. By the end of this walk we were HOT (we later found out that the volcanic ash soil and black rocks of Santorini attract the sun, making it hotter than the other Greek islands, especially during summer. Sort of like being on a big black top playground). We decided to head back to our hotel, cool off in the A/C, and change before dinner.

This time we took a different route to Fira (main/middle path) as we started our walk to PK Cocktail bar to watch the sunset. At a certain point people were literally dead stop on the narrow pathway. At first we thought it was people trying to get through the alley but after not moving for 2 minutes Stelios turns to me and goes “I’m from New York, I’ve never experienced a people traffic jam like this!” It was NUTS. So we turned to someone and asked what was going on and they said they’re waiting for the bus or the cable car to bring them to the bottom of the Karavolades Stairs. (There’s 600 steps from the top of the steps in Fira to the Fira port at the bottom and you can either walk down which takes about 1 hour, take the cable car, or a donkey. And at the same entrance to the cable car there’s also a bus stop – talk about a major traffic jam) So in typical New York fashion we pushed past everyone to get to the other side and definitely got some confused looks along the way but we weren’t cutting we just had to exit the line and get out of there!

Finally we got to PK cocktail bar. I had emailed them a MONTH in advance of our trip and the only availability they had during sunset for the days we were in Santorini was the day we arrived , 2nd row upstairs – so we took it. Although I would’ve preferred front row, the view was definitely gorgeous but the service was VERY slow.

After sunset we finished our drinks and headed to a restaurant called Naoussa (also in Fira) for dinner. Naoussa doesn’t take reservations so you just have to go and wait on line but they flip the tables fairly quickly. The hostess gave us 2 glasses of house wine to sip on while we waited for a table (if only they did that in the states!) and it was only a 15 minute wait – not bad at all. However, the menu was very basic so we stuck to ordering some traditional Greek staples. We got grilled mushrooms, dolmades, and moussaka. The dolmades were cold which was annoying but the mushroom appetizer was delicious & the moussaka was our favorite. I don’t think it’s possible to have a bad moussaka in Greece. While we were dining, the guy running the restaurant would randomly come out and start breaking plates near where people were sitting. It’s an old Greek tradition to break plates at a celebration (typically at weddings) but it’s also very expensive, so now the Greeks throw dollar bills in the air at celebrations when everyone’s dancing. It’s less expensive and a much easier clean up.

After dinner (10pm) we walked back to our hotel and bought a bottle of Skinos Mastiha to enjoy on the balcony. By midnight we were ready for some dancing and walked 15 mins back downtown to Fira. There’s one street in Fira lined with ALL of the clubs and bars with dancing and it was BUMPING on a Friday night. Our first stop was Koo club – an open air outdoor club (they have an inside space too but it was pretty empty, clearly the party was outside). The first level is mostly bottle service, and if you have a big group you definitely need a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night. If you don’t have a reservation it’s a $20 cover but that includes a free cocktail. We went upstairs to dance since there was space by the DJ booth. The music was mostly international hits and house/club music, there were girls dancing on top of the center tables, eventually some guys got up there too. If you’re single this is the club to go to. After an hour or so the music got weird so we popped over to Enigma (another $20 cover, with a free drink included). This club was my favorite – they were blasting hip hop and Latin music, so we danced the rest of the night away until 3am.

We were hungry and in search of a late night snack but Fira was not Paros so at 3am our options were limited. The only places open were McDonalds – HARD PASS (it was also the first McDonalds we’ve seen in Greece but I still can’t believe they have one here) or Skaros 24/7 bakery. So around the corner to the bakery we went! I ordered a spanakopita puff pastry (I love this dish and it really can be eaten at any time of the day) and Stelios got a puff pastry cheese pie. We walked back to our hotel and enjoyed our late night bites on the balcony. By this time it was 4am. Kali Nihta (good night).