Santorini - Day 3

This was the day we decided to rent a car! Everywhere we’ve gone the drivers have been crazy but on the island renting a car is really easy and the traffic is much more mellow than anywhere else we’d visited. So, after breakfast (we went to a Greek yogurt to-go place) we rented a car for 24 hours. It was pretty cheap although we did need to put some gas in it after renting it. While both Steph and Electra said they’d be driving, it turned out to be only Steph (mainly because Electra enjoys navigating much more than driving and Steph was doing awesome). Figuring out where we were going was an adventure because the map we had of the island (supposedly the best map they had) literally had no street names or anything. Just the roads so you pretty much had to guess when to turn or where things would be. It all worked out though and the island is much smaller than you think.

So, we got in the car and Steph started driving out of Fira where we stopped at a large Greek supermarket to buy food for lunch. The market was fascinating and we wandered around looking at all the Greek products. We bought a fresh chunk of feta from the deli as well as some Santorini wine and tomatoes.

Steph our fearless driver!

Our first stop in the car was the highest spot on the island. We had to drive up this narrow road and then park where we then hiked to the highest the road took us. Luckily we saw a couple tourists taking a small path off the road and we followed. The trail took us to near the top of the high spot and the views were amazing! You could nearly see the entire island! I kept being surprised when I’d be reminded how small the island was.

The road up to the highest point on the island

Our adorable rental car

Overlooking the island!

The north end of Santorini

And the south end

After our invigorating short hike we hopped back in the car and headed to a wine museum. The museum was underground and covered the history of wine making on Santorini. Wine has been produced on the island for thousands of years! The museum was pretty cool and afterwards we had a tasting of four different wines including two dessert wines which were delicious.

Wine Museum

Our next stop in the car was Santorini’s famous Red Beach. Again, navigating was an interesting experience but we did arrive at our destination without getting lost. You have to hike to the Red Beach and there are no shops or anything at the beach so you need to be prepared with water and food when you go. It was a short hike to the beach and goodness was it a site to see! The red sand and the backdrop of the huge red and black volcanic rocks, makes the beach so beautiful. We set up our towels, ate our delicious lunch, swam in the ocean, and relaxed for a bit.

Santorini's Red Beach

Beautiful!

Determined to get as little sun as possible

Our delicious lunch

Once back at the car we drove to our final stop for the day - a bar along the ocean that our Greek friend back home Katy, had told us about called Theros Wave Bar. We were worried about finding it but luckily there were signs. We had to drive on a dirt road for about ten minutes before arriving at the end of the road and the gorgeous restaurant. The bar had the beach to itself and we sat in an awesome canvas seat while drinking wine and soaking in the beauty.

Looking down at the private beach at the Wave Bar

Our awesome seat

Theros Wave Bar

Once back in Fira we freshened up and then headed out for dinner. We decided to splurge on our last night in Santorini and went to a nice restaurant overlooking the cliffs of Fira. It was right at sunset and it was gorgeous! We both ordered seafood and had a delicious meal complete with ouzo. Afterwards we ended the evening with a drink at bar in downtown Fira.

Fira at sunset

Our delicious meal

Seafood pasta!