After a few hours relaxing at Kamari Beach we packed up our things and headed for the next adventure! The famous Red Beach was our next destination. I couldn’t wait to see this gorgeous and unusual volcanic beach. If it was anything like the pictures I’d seen we were in for a real treat! It wasn’t until I started writing this post that I realized how dangerous this beach actually is…more on that later.
Getting to the beach is relatively easy by car. We parked our car near the ancient site of Akrotiri but this was a mistake! It seemed like many people were parking their car here and walking but really they were walking to Akrotiri not Red Beach. After about a 15 minute walk we arrived to find there is a parking lot right in front of the beach.
When you first arrive at Red Beach you are greeted by a beautiful little church. This white church is built directly into the mountain. This had to be one of my favorite parts about visiting this area. The contrast between the stark white church and the deep red rocky mountain was gorgeous. And there weren’t many people around so we were able to snap lots of pictures and explore on our own!
I will start by saying we did not walk all the way to the beach. We had already spent most of the day at Kamari and didn’t feel like making the trek all the way down-because, well it is a trek. Instead we chose to take the small hike up to what we deemed the best vantage point of the beach itself. From here we could see the beautiful red rocks up against the blue sea. For transparency sake Gabe looked down and said “that’s it?” I on the other hand did find it pretty beautiful! But, you can tell people play up the colors when editing their photos because the rocks weren’t nearly as “red” as I thought they’d be.
Now for the dangerous part, this area is literally known for huge falling rocks. Yes, giant rocks can fall on you while you are walking to the beach, laying on the beach, leaving the beach etc. You really aren’t safe from this anywhere on the beach itself. In fact, this beach was closed to the public for a time due to potential landslides and falling rocks. Hotels often urge guests not to visit Red Beach because access to the beach can be very dangerous and they are trying to avoid a real catastrophe from happening. So, if you have to see this natural site-I’d urge you to check it out from above. You can take a little hike towards the cliffs edge and snap a beautiful photo of the beach itself. About an hour is all you should need for this little excursion!
After exploring Red Beach we hopped in our car and drove to Fira for dinner. Fira is the capital of Santorini. It faces the Caldera and has one of the best sunset views. We grabbed a quick dinner at Lucky’s Souvlaki which is known for their delicious cheap eats. Coming in at under 10 Euros total for 2 gyros, 2 fries and 2 drinks I’d say they definitely live up to their affordable reputation. After dinner we roamed the streets of Fira a bit before we settled on a small veranda bar to watch the sunset. It was the perfect ending to a busy yet relaxing day in Santorini!
Outfit RoundUp: Under $80
Skirt: Old Navy $22
Shirt: Old Navy $12
Shoes: Target $20
Sunglasses: Forever21 $10
Necklace: Forever21 (Similar) $5
Earrings: Forever21 (Similar) $8
Total: $77
Britt Heller 