Recently in Santorini Category

With its black beaches and staggering cliffs, Santorini is as stunning as it is luxurious. Trade some of that hot and lazy beach time for a few days spent tasting all Greece has to offer. Three of the best ways? Hike an active volcano, take a cooking class at a phenomenal restaurant, and taste the local Assyrtiko grape.

One of the best ways to see Santorini is to leave it. Santorini Sailing Tours offers a number of fantastic options, but you'd be wise to choose the Sunset Tour. Santorini is essentially the product of a giant volcanic explosion that caused the volcano's central part to collapse, creating a dramatic caldera. The tour takes you on the waters of the Santorini Caldera basin. You'll depart from the Athinios Port and head to a volcanic islets, where a guide will teach you about the volcanic rumblings of the last 3,000 years that continue today - as evidenced by the hot fumes that still seep out from the ground. From there, you'll swim in hot springs, stop in a quiet bay to enjoy dinner, and head to Oia to watch the sunset. Once you've seen the best of Santorini, taste it: Selene, an acclaimed restaurant staunchly committed to the island's gastronomical culture, offers a fantastic 5-hour cooking course that's a mix of schooling and savoring. You'll learn about the island's native bounty (capers, baby tomatoes, fava), join the chef in the kitchen and learn how to make four Greek dishes - like eggplant salad with octopus - then enjoy them on the balcony. You'll enjoy a bottle of wine then, but there's more to be had at Santo Wines. Grab a seat on the edge of the cliff, look out at the Aegean Sea, and toast with a glass of Assyrtiko, a local, aromatic, citrusy white before heading back to the nearby Vedema Resort.

The rich, volcanic soil of Santorini is excellent for agriculture, with Mediterranean staples like cherry tomatoes, fava beans, white eggplant, and capers growing in garden plots all over the island. But of all the local crops, none is as prized as the island's succulent grapes, which are turned into some of the region's finest white and red wines. Visitors to Santorini who are interested in seeing how Greek wine is made can drop by the Boutari Winery, which is located near the Minoan ruins of Akrotiri. This world-class wine destination offers daily tours that take visitors through every stage of the wine-making process, from growing and harvesting the grapes, to pressing the juice and aging it in barrels, to blending and bottling the finished product. Guides offer up trivia along the way, explaining, for example, that no true red wines are produced in Santorini, as some amount of white wine is always added for balance. Of course, no true winery visit would be complete without a tasting, and at Boutari they do it right. Visitors can sample four wines of their choice - the Kallisti comes highly recommended - while enjoying flavorful mezedes between the different varietals. It's a delicious way to learn some local history. Starwood has two Luxury Collection properties on Santorini: Mystique, Santorini and the Vedema Resort, Santorini.

[image via Boutari]

Lately, I've been dreaming about the Greek Islands. Namely, Santorini, that magical isle of whitewashed villages perched upon soaring cliffs, above a sparkling caldera that was formed by a volcanic eruption many centuries ago. But here's the thing, I don't want to limit my visit to Santorini's two main towns Oia and Fira. I want to explore the whole island, venturing out to remote villages on its southern shores and desolate beaches far from the crowds, and I don't want to rent a car. Good news! This most beloved of Greek Islands has implemented a wonderful service called Santorini Smart Buses. There's a stop right near my hotel, Mystique, Santorini, in the square, by the bus terminal.

A network of Smart Bus routes sprawls through the island's stunning landscape, connecting delightful towns and villages with off the beaten path attractions, and main tourist sites. For 11 euros, I can hop on and off the comfortable, air-conditioned, brightly painted locomotives that traverse the "Red", "Yellow", and "Orange" lines as many times as I want in a single day. To access Ancient Thira, I'll have to purchase a separate ticket for the "Blue" line (10 euros), and another 13 euro ticket will give me access to the "Purple" line, which includes a two-hour boat cruise of the dazzling caldera. Sounds like heaven. So when do we go?