The small island of Santorini is stunningly beautiful, with its old world traditional Greek charm and breathtaking views. However, it is one of the most expensive of the Greek islands, so our advice is to stay on the much cheaper east side of the island in a resort such as Kamari or Perissa. In the evening you can take a short bus ride (cheap fares and frequent service) to the more exclusive west side villages of Thira and Oia where you can dine in the cliff top restaurants whilst watching the spectacular sunsets. The other advantage of staying on the lower east side of the island is that this is where the beaches are located. Whatever you might read in the guidebooks, Oia does not have a beach! Many tourists make the trek down the long, steep winding path to the sea, in the sweltering heat, only to find a disappointing pile of rocks and pebbles awaiting them!

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The old port of Santorini originally could only be reached by the long winding set of steps down from Thira. All 888 of them, or 588, but lots! The locals came up with an easy way for seafarers to go up to the town of Fira: use mules to carry people up and down. Today the tourist and charter boats bring tourists in who ride the mules up to Fira for their short stay on Santorini.

One can get to the old port (it is worth a visit) by walking down (which we did). The choice is then to either take a mule ride back up or take its modern equivalent, the cable car. We chose the cable car for the views, speed and smoothness. Both the mules and the cable car cost. One can also think about walking back up... but I recommend against it.

Follow the signs to the steps or the cable car station in Fira. The cable car is 3.50 euro per person each way;
www.theplaka.com/thira/oldport.htm

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