Seems like everyone I know or follow on social media went to Greece this summer. And because I have a terrible case of travel envy, I jumped on the bandwagon too.

I’d been to Greece in my “youth” – in fact, it was one of the first places I visited when the travel bug bit me – but it was time for a re-do. So when my best friend Tav and her friends from Toronto planned a trip to the Greek islands, I invited myself along for the joy ride.

After a quick pit-stop in Athens, we found ourselves on the beautiful island of Santorini. It’s nearly impossible to take a bad picture of this place. The dramatic cliffs decked with whitewashed building compliment the turquoise water so perfectly.

I’ve never found myself snapping and posting so much on a holiday in recent memory. I mean LOOK at this place.

We were staying in the village of Fira – the most popular and lively one. For our full day on the island, we opted for cliffside strolling over relaxing on the beach. After treating ourselves to a hearty lunch, Tav and I decided to slowly make our way towards Oia on the northern tip of the island. We made it as far as Imerovigli before getting lost in the beautiful streets and stopping for a refreshing bevy.

The first thing you realise when you get to Oia is that it’s stunning. The second is all the tourists. There’s no denying Santorini is very touristy, but hey – gotta share the love! To find just a bit of solace, we walked down the steep cliff to Amoudi Bay (caution: watch out for the donkeys).

My top tip for Santorini is go to Amoudi Bay. Brave the steep cliffs and painful rocks to find this beautiful swimming spot. The water is divine. Watching cliff-jumpers (or jumping yourself) is highly entertaining. Sunbathing is a plus. And you actually get some quiet and calm in the craziness of Santorini.

We wrapped up our evening with a dinner along the bay and watching the sun go down in the most spectacular way.

The next day we island-hopped over to Mykonos, and that journey in itself was quite the adventure. More on that in the next post.