Villa Rena Santorini Greece Fira Hotels Santorini Greece

Villa Rena Hotel Fira Santorini Island Greece

Walking the cobbled streets of Fira town

Santorini belongs to the Cyclades islands, located in the Southern part of the Cyclades. Santorini’s neighbouring islands are Ios, Folegandros, Sikinos, Anafi and Amorgos and Crete to the South.

Santorini is comprised of five islands. Santorini (Thira) is the main island, surrounding the main island are Thirassia and Aspronisi and the two volcanic islands of Palia Kameni and Nea Kameni. There various boat tours offered visiting all the small islands around Santorini.

All five islands above were once connected, forming an almost perfect circle of land, therefore Santorini used to be called Strogili (meaning round in Greek) until about 1645 BC. Around that period the volcano in the middle of the island erupted and formed the famous Caldera (the breathtaking cliffs that Santorini is famous for). The two volcanic islands of Nea and Palia Kameni appeared much later from various eruptions starting 157 BC and the last one occurring in the 20th century (1956).

... Villa Rena can arrange any excursion your heart desires

People are always so surprised on how much there is to do on the island, besides just going to the beach. There are many interesting museums on the island, they are small however well organised and they keep the guest's interest. Most museums are located in Fira, while Santorini has great wineries & beautiful traditional villages.

EXCURSIONS TO THE VOLCANO

The Volcano is Santorini’s main attraction, there are tour boats that depart daily from the old port in Fira to the volcano and the surrounding volcanic islands.
The tour begins with making your way down to the old port in Fira. There is no car access to the old port. Your adventure begins by either walking down the 600 stone steps to the old port, taking a donkey ride down or the modern option, hopping on the cable car.

- Full Day Boat Tour (Glass Bottom Boat) 10:45 – 16:30

- Half Day Boat Tour (traditional wooden schooner) 11:00- 14:00 / 14:00-17:00

- Sunset Volcano Tour (traditional wooden schooner) 17:30 until after sunset

MAP OF SANTORINI ISLAND

Santorini may be reached by ferry or air plane. During the summer season both the number of ferries and flights to the island double. From the port of Piraeus, there are at least 3 ferries daily to the island. If you take the regular ferry, it takes approximately 7 ½ hours, the fast ferries take 4 hours. There are also at least 3 flights a day and during high season the number increases up to 7 flights a day between the 2 existing domestic airlines, Aegean Airlines and Olympic Airways.

Museums
The Archaeological Museum contains artefacts from the excavations on the island more specifically from ancient Thira. Then there is the Prehistoric Museum housing artefacts, daily utensils & breathtaking wall painting found at the excavation site of Akrotiri. You get a peek of what the civilization found at Akrotiri was about. A most interesting museum is the Lignos Folklore Museum, located almost next to Villa Rena. It is housed in a traditional cave home built in 1861 and you can see the traditional dress of the island men & women, as well as traditional island furniture and various antiques.

RECREATION
Santorini has great nightlife. Most of the night life is concentrated in the town of Fira. Large dance clubs, pubs & quaint little bars located on the cliff with great views of the volcano. Fira has an open air cinema showing recent films.
bars & clubs in Fira:
Town Club - smaller club, young crowd, backpackers and students
Murphy’s Pub - a typical Irish Bar in the heart of Fira, attracts students/ backpackers.
Koo Club - large dance club open air and indoors, mixed crowd.
Enigma Club - large dance club open-air and indoors, mixed crowd.
Tango - exclusive bar on the cliff, strict dress code, older crowd

SANTORINI WINERIES

Santorini Wines are of the highest quality, it is well worth a visit to at least one winery during your stay, below is a list of wineries on the island.

Koutsoyiannopoulos Winery – Kamari Village

Santo Wines – Pyrgos Village

Argyros Winery – Vothonas Village

Sigalas Winery – Baxes Oia

Boutari Wines – Megalohori

TRAVEL LINKS

Links to domestic ferry schedules and flight schedules.

Aegean Airlines

Olympic Air

Blue Star Ferries

Hellenic Seaways

Athens International Airport

Athens Metro (Underground)

Santorini offers some of the best and unique beaches in the Mediterranean. You can find white, red, grey or black sand, beaches with crystal clear deep blue waters

Perissa Beach
Perissa is considered to be one of Santorini’s best beaches. It has clear crystal waters and smooth black sand, and the best part is during the August winds called the Meltemia. This beach is protected from the winds.
Perivolos Beach
Perivolos lies between Vlihada and Perissa. The sand is a dark grey colour & the waters cyrstal clear. Beach bars & organised water sports are available.
Kamari Beach
Kamari is the most organised beach town on the island. The beach front is a long stretch with many shops, cafes and restaurants. Excellent place for lunch by the beach.
RED BEACH
Red beach in the Village of Akrotiri. The beach is unique in that the sand is a terracotta red. The contrast of the red and deep blue of the waters is truly unique. A trip to the Red beach is recommended.
VLIHADA BEACH
Vlihada is located in the southern part of the island very near Perivolos. There are impressive hills out of pumice stone located right behind the beach. Quieter than other beaches except in August.

There are several towns in Santorini that have a special character.

Fira the capital
One can find the quaint cobblestone roads filled with small shops with various unique, traditional as well as tourist products, many cafes, restaurants and bars on the cliff with breathtaking view of the sea and volcano.
Kamari Village is a well organised beach resort, very much geared toward the tourist. It has a picturesque beach front with a cobblestone walkway many shops, and restaurants along the beach.
The Village of Pyrgos is a traditional village. There are few hotels, shops and restaurants. A walk through this quaint and traditional town is well worth it. Once you reach the top there are remnants of a medieval castle, the “Kastelli” with great views of the island.
Oia is well known for THE sunset
The northern most village of the island and it has quaint little cafes, unique little boutiques & Art Deco Galleries.

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