Santorini - Kamari

In September I headed to Santorini, never been before but it‘s on all the pictures you see of Greece with its iconic Caldera and on my list of holiday destinations. A good flight with spectacular views on landing - it's such a small island you could see it all! The airport is small but very modern and well-organised and we passed through security quickly. We travelled with Easyjet Holidays for our first time with them on a package, we met the rep outside the baggage hall and waited until all guests were present. She then took us to our minibus for our transfer - 10 of us, and only 15 mins to the hotels with 4 stops. Yes, the planes flew over the hotel all day - but never a problem!

The Avraki Hotel in Kamari was small and friendly, very clean, small pool, and a super continental breakfast with a couple of hot options each day. Lots of car hire/quad bikes - prices broadly similar - small roads and small island so you don't need anything fancy or large!

We had a car for two days - heading over to Oia and Fira on the one day and south to Akrotiri and inland the other day. Fira was very busy - hard to park but there are some pay parking areas. Heading towards Oia we drove through and parked in a car park by the beautiful little harbour of Ammoudi Bay, then walked along the coast path for a while before heading up hundreds of steps into Oia. Very busy - several cruise ships in port that day - worth checking the numbers of ships in when planning your days out. Stunning Views from all directions, we then wandered through the alleyways and back to the car. At one point on the island, you can see from one side to the other !!!

Kamari - has a lovely pedestrianised walk along the beach with restaurants, bars and hotels all the way along. The beach is all stone so water shoes are recommended. The sunbeds are owned by various restaurants and most are free when you buy food and drink from them. But check first as some have a minimum spend to use the beds. Imba was our favourite!

You can get the ferry from here to Perissa - there is a bit more black sand on the beach and not so many bars and restaurants along the beachfront. To drive here takes a while as there is a huge mountain you have to drive around to get there!

Restaurants in Kamari I would recommend - IMBA on the beachfront. Captains Corner - typical Greek taverna, and we always find an Italian restaurant and this was perfect, very small but perfect pizza! Poco Loco is the one. And the best Gyros in town was Elias - either eat-in or takeaway.