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Greece: Second Honeymoon

In September, we took off for one of our top bucket list items: GREECE!! 💑 I've dreamed of visiting Greece for years, and it still feels surreal that we actually did it!

The journey started with an emergency landing in Germany and several hours of delay. We weren't too stressed because we had access to the airport lounge (thank you AmEx Platinum card!) and could eat and drink our worries away. Still, Aegean Air was amazing. We ended up getting free one-way EU flights AND nearly $900 cash. Best travel delay ever! 💰💸

We started by soaking up the sights and history of Athens for a couple days. The #1 thing I  would recommend here is the Athens Free Walking Tour. All of the main sites in Athens are pretty close together, so the guides spend a few hours guiding you around, providing history and facts, and giving amazing food and tour suggestions. Yes, the tour actually free (except for the tip to your awesome guide at the end), and we're told this program is in most big tourist cities!!
Hiking around Acropolis and the Parthenon. Also Go Jets? 😑
We stayed at the Royal Olympic Hotel, and it exceeded all expectations. The service was fabulous, and the pool was a great way to relax after long, hot days (it was around 95° in Sept.). We also had dinner at Balcony (an amazing restaurant on a private balcony), visited the Acropolis museum, and grabbed night caps at our hotel with lit up views of the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus. There is so much culture and history in this city! A truly humbling experience.
Amazing evening views
Temple of Zeus behind us and Parthenon was to the left
Next → we took off to Santorini. I had so many plans and activities in mind, but once we got there, my to-do list faded. All I want to do was kick back with a glass of wine and stare at the beautiful, never-ending views. It's exactly what you imagine: white buildings, blue water, and love birds everywhere.
Cheers 🍷
We picked hands-down the best villa in the area (between Fira and Firastefani). Everyone who passed by stopped in awe and took picture of our amazing place. Again, their service was impeccable. We didn’t lift a finger our whole stay; they even brought us fresh ice and glasses for our wine every afternoon by the pool and woke us up with a freshly prepared breakfast with a view. I’m not sure what made me choose this one out of hundreds of hotels, but it was the best decision ever. Huge shout out to our friends at Anteliz Suites! See you again soon!
Unreal
Though I could’ve happily sat on our villa deck all day, we did a few excursions. We did the must-do of dinner and watching the sunset in Oia. The ambiance was great, but overall I found Oia to be overrated. It is more touristy, slightly more expensive, and way more crowded. Still, catching the sunset there should be on everyone’s bucket list. We also did a sunset cruise around the Aegean Sea, making stops to snorkel, dip in hot springs, and refill our cups. I also want to give a shout out to our favorite restaurant in Fira: Da Costa. They have traditional Greek food with skewers (souvlaki) and tzatziki to DIE FOR. I still dream about the tzatziki🍲 It has great views of the sunset too!
Waiting for the sunset in Oia
Low quality picture of an amazing day
Jon and I also did a lot of reading, relaxing, and walking through the little towns. I did want to do a couple other activities while we were there, but I don’t regret taking it easy and laying low. Especially since we will visit again anyway 😉 But if you need more ideas for your trip here, I'd suggest a wine tasting, renting ATVs or a car and drive around the island, or a cooking class. There’s also an epic hike from Oia to Fira (or vice versa) along the cliffs. We only did parts of it due to time constraints, but it was beautiful and rewarding!
Budget: Overall, this trip was not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be. We combined miles and cash to buy tickets ($700 total out of pocket). The views are free and the drinks are cheap, and the extra cash from the airline helped too. We used our favorite site booking.com to book hotels in both areas and got great deals for 5 star hotels. ⭐

Speaking of great deals: use me and Jon’s link here to get $20 off your next vacation. It's already cheap, but why not get an extra $20 back? Again the link is: 
and it's for a limited time, so book a staycation or short weekend getaway now! 

Greece was a dream, and we truly felt rested afterwards. Many people told us not to do Santorini because it is too touristy and main-stream, but I disagree. I've been to 30+ countries, and it's by far my new favorite experience. I want to check out the other Greek islands too, but Santorini is so tranquil and beautiful that I know we will stop by and visit again!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our dream vacation! Let me know if you need help planning yours!💙
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Location: Santorini, Greece

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