• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Roni The Travel Guru

Learn how to never take a bad vacation

  • Planning
    • Packing
    • How To Get Around
    • Flying
    • Eating
  • How Do I…?
    • How do I travel to Paris?
    • What do I pack in my carry-on bag?
    • How Do I Use A Buddy Pass?
    • How Do I Plan My Vacation?
    • How Do I Travel With Kids?
    • How Can I Afford To Travel?
  • Charlotte
  • Need a pretty mask?
  • Travel Products
    • Travel Guru Shop
    • Fro Friendly Shop
    • T-Shirts and Mugs
    • Travel Planning Services

Airbnb Apartment Rental In Santorini, Greece

August 19, 2020 by Roni Filed Under: Greece, Public Transportation, Rentals, Santorini, Travel

20141021_052919

Airbnb in Santorini

As you know, I’m a big fan of apartment rentals and this Airbnb gem in Santorini was absolutely perfect. The place was simply lovely, it was compact and had everything I needed. I didn’t plan on doing any cooking so the hot plate provided was fine for me. There was a small fridge, plates, glasses, cutlery and a toaster so if you plan on making elaborate meals, this probably isn’t the right spot for you.

20141021_055210

But the highlight of this apartment isn’t the actual place, it’s the incredible view. These pictures were taken from my balcony or from the landing above my apartment. The location couldn’t have been any better and as you can see the view was spectacular.

20141021_055234

There was a local grocery store about 3 minutes away by foot which had all that I needed for my breakfast and lunch. I was able to buy delicious Greek wine for less than $10 a bottle! There is also a car rental agency directly across the street which is really convenient if that is what you decide to do. Another perk of this location is that the bus stop is almost directly in front of the complex.

20141022_045717

The studio is small but with these surroundings, I didn’t spend much time inside. There is one double bed so keep that in mind if you decide to book and you are not a couple. If you are two people renting this space you need to be alright with being in close proximity to each other. Make sure to check the sleeping arrangements before you book your apartment.

20141020_044633

 

20141020_080123

When you stay in Santorini, make sure to rent your place with the Caldera view. Then you will be guaranteed to get views like these everyday of your vacation.

20141021_112818

If you like this apartment, here are a few that are similar to this one and make sure to use this coupon to get $40 off your first stay:

1. Villa Fegari

2. Pura Vida Villa 

3. Morfes House 

4. Ananda Junior Suite 

5. Luxury Villa

airbnb santorini

Does this look like the type of place you’d like to visit? 

 

 

 

How To Take The Ferry From Athens To Santorini

January 13, 2019 by Roni Filed Under: Greece, Public Transportation, Rentals, Santorini, Travel

When I was in Athens, I had to decide how to get from Athens to Santorini. I knew I wanted to travel leisurely so I chose to take the Blue Star Ferry Athens to Santorini. I’m so glad I did! Traveling from Athens to Santorini was easy, here’s how I did it and what you can expect.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

How To Catch The Ferry From Athens to Santorini

Before I arrived in Greece I bought my ticket on Ferries.gr but you can book directly with Blue Star Ferries.  I would recommend buying your ticket in advance so you don’t have to worry about standing in line when you get to the ferry.

NOTE: The departure city leaving from Athens is Piraeus. It took me forever to figure that out!

travel, holidays, accomodation, Agoda

When you make your Blue Star ferries reservation, you have several choices of where you can sit. It all depends on how much you want to spend and the level of comfort you’d like to experience. I chose an air seat, see those pics below. NOTE: The website for Blue Star Ferries has been revamped since I purchased my tickets, but you can still choose your seat on the new site.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

My air seat was comfortable but I wouldn’t have minded having a business seat or a cabin. The air seat armrests do not lift so you can’t lay out and relax.  I kept my carry-on bags with me and I was able to put them underneath the seats in front of me.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

Being able to keep my carry-on bag right under my seat was very convenient. And because I had paid for an assigned seat, I didn’t have to worry about a place to put them as each seat has ample storage.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

If you choose an economy seat instead of an air seat, there are no assigned seats. You have to sit where you can find seating. There are seats inside and out but if you sit outside the wind is strong and can be chilly. Traveling with a stylish wrap or travel blanket will definitely come in handy.

blue star ferry Athens to Santorini

These girls had economy seating, which means you will have to take whatever you can find, wherever you can find it. ferry from Athens to Santorini

If you don’t mind sleeping on benches and floors, than economy seating is your best bet.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

 

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

There are several different places you can sit if you don’t buy an assigned seat.  However, keep in mind if you don’t buy a seat, you will have to search for a place to sit and none of the options have a comfortable cushioned seat. The pics below and above show you how some passengers were sitting.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

Sorry this picture is blurry but I wanted you to see how some people slept on the trip. These guys didn’t pay for these seats (I know because they told me) but they slept in the paid area anyway. They took a chance to get some sleep in nicer seats. You can try this too, but don’t be surprised if you are asked to leave and find another seat.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

The ferry ride to Santorini was really smooth. I didn’t feel any rocking and I didn’t get seasick. However, if you are afraid of getting sick, please make sure to get what you need to help, you can get these bands from Amazon.

It takes 8 hours to get from Athens to Santorini and the ride is relaxing. There is WiFi available on board for a fee. The signal is strong and I was able to stay connected throughout the journey.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

You don’t go directly to Santorini, you have one stop in Ios before you get to Santorini which is a lovely view from the boat.

ferry from Athens to Santorini

ferry from Athens to Santorini

The Blue Star ferry left fairly early. Make sure to check their timetables to choose the best departure time for you.

Taking the ferry It was a relaxing way to travel to Santorini. It left me calm and ready to see Santorini and check into my Santorini Airbnb. Make sure to read about my Santorini adventures included the great food I enjoyed, my fish pedicure and figuring out Santorini public transportation. It was such an amazing trip! I can’t wait to go back.

 What do you think? Would you choose a ferry when deciding how to get to Santorini from Athens?

Sunset In Santorini

January 9, 2015 by Roni Filed Under: Greece, Rentals, Santorini, Travel

IMG_4027

One of the most beautiful things in Santorini for me was the sunsets. I would sit on my balcony and watch as the sky, the sun, and the light danced in the sky. My apartment was in the cliffs of Oia with a caldera view but in these pictures I walked into town and watched the sunset from the other end of the island.

 There were hundreds of people gathered around to watch it and everyone actually applauded when the sun went down over the horizon. It. Was. Epic. I didn’t stand where everyone else was cause I don’t like to do what everyone else does. I walked a bit and found an area where I could watch the sunset without anyone around me and I’m so glad I did.

IMG_4029

 

IMG_4032

IMG_4033

IMG_4034

 

IMG_4049

IMG_4060

 

IMG_4062

 

Is Santorini a place you’re interested in visiting? 

 

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back with a new post on Monday. Until then please click around a bit, ok? I’ll be on my Facebook fan page, Instagram and Twitter over the weekend so connect with me there!

Good Food In Santorini

November 19, 2014 by Roni Filed Under: food, Greece, Public Transportation, Rentals, Restaurants, Santorini, Travel

20141021_133116

If you want some good food in Santorini, please make your way to Pito Gyro. I came across this place by walking around and I saw there were tons of locals standing in line waiting for their order. I was in Santorini for 5 days, found this place on day 2 and ate there everyday after. It was to the point that when the owner would see me coming he would say, “chicken gyro with fries, yes?”

I tried beef and chicken gyro but I preferred chicken and it was especially tasty with Greek beer (which you can also buy there). The whole meal was barely 5 euro and for that price I couldn’t help but eat it everyday. The restaurant even has WiFi and a small area where you can sit and eat. There are no tables inside but there are stools inside and out.

 

IMG_4021

It’s a family owned business and everything is cooked fresh so if there is a line don’t get irritated, it’s because your meal is being prepared to order.

20141022_080314

IMG_4018

 

Have you ever eaten a gyro? 

 

THE NEXT STEP: Wanna learn more about travel?  There is so much more information for you to discover. Type in “5 Ways To” in the search bar or click on “Recently popular” to the right or “you may also like” underneath this post.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back!

Fish Pedicure In Santorini, Greece

November 14, 2014 by Roni Filed Under: Greece, Rentals, Santorini, Travel

20141020_121936

Have you ever heard of a fish pedicure? I have wanted to get one for ages and I finally did it in Santorini. I went to Kissing Fish which is right in the heart of Oia, Santorini. It’s open from 10:00am to 9:30pm and it’s great!

I don’t even know how to describe how it feels when my feet first went into the water and felt the fish on my feet. It was like no other feeling I’ve ever had. It was a combination of extreme tickling, someone softly touching my feet with the tip of their fingers, and a bit of the “eeww!” factor when I thought about live animals sucking on my feet.

IMG_4119

Before you can put your feet in the water you have to go into the shower and wash off your legs. And not just wash, you basically have to scrub all the lotion and/or cream off of your legs and feet because if not it can kill the fish. Once you are sufficiently scrubbed then and only then are you allowed to sit in a chair and start your pedicure. Even though pedicure is in the name you don’t actually get any type of polish or anything at all normally associated with a pedicure, you get the fish kissing your feet.

The pedicure is supposed to make your feet super smooth and I was told that this is a great treatment for people with eczema. I’m no doctor so don’t quote me on that but that is what I was told.  My feet were very smooth when I was finished so I have no complaints.

IMG_4104

 

IMG_4101

Isn’t she adorable? The little girl, not me. That’s my friend’s daughter, we were laughing so hard when we first put our feet in! I had someone take pictures and they capture the moment but they are blurry and the one picture that isn’t blurry has my dress hiked WAAAAAY up so yeah, that won’t be featured here. Anyway, we laughed and screamed so hard when we first put our feet in that people from off the street stopped to watch us.

20141020_121822

IMG_4124

 

Does a fish pedicure look like something you would want to do? 

 

THE NEXT STEP: Hey, where are you going? There is so much more information for you to discover. Type in “5 Ways To” in the search bar or click on “Recently popular” to the right or “you may also like” underneath this post.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back!

Travelncycle In Athens

November 3, 2014 by Roni Filed Under: Greece, Public Transportation, Rentals, Travel

I was given a complementary bike tour yet I was not asked to write a blog post.  Therefore I was in no way told what to say, what to photograph or what to highlight. All opinions are my own. 

20141027_044002

 Have you ever taken a bike ride around a city? Thanks to Travelncycle I was able to take an extensive bike tour of Athens. The best part about riding a bike around town is you get to see so many different neighborhoods that you would never even know about.

 Our tour started near The Acropolis and our guide would stop every so often to give us helpful information about the things we were seeing.  Did you know there are no straight lines in the Acropolis? I didn’t either until my tour.

Each tour can be customized to your specific likes and wants so your tour can start where you want. The crew can even come to your hotel and pick you up, they are there for your convenience!

20141027_045314

20141027_050637

See this little boy’s eyes? He was walking with his sisters in a cool neighborhood we were riding through and I asked if I could take his picture. Well, my guide asked him in Greek if I could and he said yes. He had amazing eyes that were so bright! The guides on Travelncycle are more than just there to tell you what you’re looking at, they help you become a part of the neighborhood you are riding through.

 

20141027_052522

 If you are in Athens and see this street art it’s from the same artist. He’s an underground artist and these paintings represent his ex-girlfriend. Apparently he painted tons of them around the city in a variety of shapes and sizes and he did all of them after they broke up.

20141027_054158

You know how much I love street art so this bike tour was perfect! We got to ride through areas filled with amazing art. I could barely take it all in!

 

20141027_054212

20141027_054322

20141027_054624

One of the highlights of the trip was this fish market that I didn’t even know existed. It was filled with seafood of all varieties, shapes, and sizes.  We were led through the whole thing by our guides and were able to see daily life in Athens that normally would not be accessible to tourists. The market is free to enter but it’s one of those places that you have to know where it is to be able to benefit from it.

 

20141027_060748

20141027_061138

20141027_060407

20141027_060732

 We were also able to see the Changing of the Guard which was pretty cool. The soldiers that are picked to do this go through rigorous training. They have to be 1.86 meters tall in order to qualify and the soldiers are rotated every hour. It’s quite a ceremony and worth seeing if you’re in Athens.

20141027_070022

There is a lovely park in the middle of the Athens. An oasis in the middle of a bustling city.

20141027_073414

20141027_073704

After a while we stopped for light snacks and a few drinks. Travelncycle really know how to take care of their riders! If you book a tour with them you can decide what type of food you want to eat and they will find the place for you. And this isn’t only possible in Athens, they do tours all around Greece. We ended out tour in Karameio Restaurant in Athens, a magnificent spot with the coolest interior!

20141027_103139

20141027_091206

20141027_103203

 If you are heading to Greece, don’t hesitate to make a reservation and get your customized bike tour. It will be an excellent way to spend your day!

 

travelncycle.com

2 Vilara  St. 10437

Athens , Greece

Tel +30 210 5249878-9 , Fax +30 210 5249889
E-mail : hello@travelncycle.com

About

She speaks fluent English, French and Spanish, and works for a major airline. And guess what? She’s also a licensed elementary teacher and has an MBA. Read More…

  • Planning
  • How Do I…?
  • Charlotte
  • Need a pretty mask?
  • Travel Products

Copyright © 2021 · Roni The Travel Guru / Roni Faida