Where to stay in oia?
Jan 27th, 2002, 05:35 AM
#3
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Oia, one of the most famous places in the world. For the totally uneducated traveler, it is at the end of the island of Santorini. That's in Greece. Which is in Europe.<BR>But it is annoying when people don't tell where a place is. I keep seeing posts asking about Paris, Portofino, Bellagio, and London, and those people don't tell us where those are either.
Jan 27th, 2002, 06:02 AM
#4
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I hate to start a major debate, and I'm not sure of places in Oia, but we loved The Loucas in Fira for less than $150 per night. Some say that Fira is too busy and noisy, but the Loucas is built down the side of the mountain and faces out so that we were never aware of any noise at all. Plus it was so much more convenient if you enjoy more activity during the evening. Actually the worst crowds I got into in Santorini were in Oia when we made the mistake of going there for the "famous" sunset. There were mobs of people in the tiny streets, and we hard a hard time getting there and parking due to the number of busses taking groups over for the sunset. And actually we felt the sunset from our balcony at the Loucas was even more spectacular as you also got the image of the other islands against the sun.<BR>Every time I see a spectacular picture taken from Santorini I do a double take as they often look like the same shots I took from our balcony at the Loucas.
Jan 27th, 2002, 09:25 AM
#7
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I chose Ois because a Greek friend had told me it was the most Greek of Santorini towns. Maybe before the earthquake of some years ago, but not now. Sure it was lovely, but everything was for tourists, with not a speck of Greek life. Fira may be bigger but people live there, so I wold pick Fira. If you have a fear of heights neither town is too bad despite cliffside walks, but the road between them is horrendous with no guard rails. Since Santornini is shaped like a wedge,the cliffside being beautiful<BR>and overlooking the volcano cauldera<BR>the other side sloped toward the sea and beaches (not beautiful) so we ended driving back and forth by going down to the beach side then up the island, actually found it interesting because there were people living there. DO NOT MISS Acroteri, the excavations of a Minoan town preceding the volcano eruption in 1300 BC that covered the island in ash. It is an ordinary town unlike the ruins on Crete which was the capital,<BR>interesting too, but different. In the Acroteri ruins you see town streets, a town square (triangle actually) with a shop window, a multistoried house, a bed in the street that the people abandoned when they fled, etc. Every house had floor to ceiling frescos instead of our wallpaper, but alas, those have been removed to Athens. Just downhill from Acroteri toward the sea is a restaurant with a pier with tables and chairs; very romantic. You can take a bus from Fira (walk to the restaurant at Acroteri is easy) to Acroteri. Another great place is the wine tasting room on the side of Fira away from Oia; I dont' know how to get there other than by car, but it had the best view on the whole island, if that is possible, overlooking both Fira and Oia. You'll love Santorini!
Jan 27th, 2002, 09:37 AM
#8
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Well put, Carol. I know many people love Oia, and I've never stayed there, but on the other hand I've never talked with anyone who had actually stayed in both and still preferred Oia. I have met people who stayed in both and preferred Fira. We got a little nervous before we got to Santorini because we talked with people on a train who said their travel agent refused to book them in Fira and particularly at Loucas because it was right on the donkey path. Actually it was nowhere near the donkey path, but we did find out that the hotel doesn't normally pay a commission to travel agents so that seemed to explain why they wouldn't book it. The other usual complaint is that Fira is noisy, but as I mentioned, if you're staying in any of the hotels built outward on the slopes, there is no noise to worry about. And if you plan to visit Fira for restaurants it seems easier to be there, rather than to make the "commute".<BR>Regardless, despite its heavy tourism, (the reason we're all there) is that it is a remarkably beautiful place no matter where you stay.
Jan 28th, 2002, 06:42 AM
#11
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Esperas Traditional Houses are awesome. We stayed there last June and it surpassed our expectations. The staff was friendly and helpful and the rooms were great. We had their least expensive room which is a studio. <BR>http://www.greekhotel.com/cyclades/s...peras/home.htm
Mar 5th, 2002, 09:08 PM
#12
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Hi, The Fanari Villas, right under the windmill. www.fanarivillas.gr
Mar 6th, 2002, 06:49 AM
#13
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For our honeymoon, my husband and I stayed in Imerovigli, which is between Fira and Oia. We walked to/from Fira, which was not bad. The streets are narrow and windy, so I wouldn't want to drive there. We walked toward Oia to see the sunset, and didn't make it all the way there, but it was still beautiful all along the coast. If you're interested, the place we stayed in Imerovigli is called Caldera Apts (http://www.greekhotel.com/cyclades/s...ldera/home.htm). I don't know what the price is now, but when we went (late June/early July 2000), it was ~$90/nite, including free transfers to/from the ferry/airport, generous daily breakfast brought to our door, very clean apt w/distinctly Greek decor, nice private balcony w/amazing view of the caldera, very nice and friendly host. We highly recommend it.<BR><BR>Oh, and if you are interested in wine tasting, we visited Boutari Winery in Santorini. We took the local bus there. I don't remember how I knew which bus to take. You definitely need transportation to get there. We tasted a bunch of wines, they gave us a tour, taught us about grape growing in Greece, and we bought a couple of bottles. There were only a few people there, so it was easy going. The tour was informative and interesting and everyone was very nice. I guess it's not overtrodden by tourists b/c it's not super easy to get there.
