Welcome to Santorini! Make your way to your hotel near the black sandy beaches of Perissa.

Options to get to your hotel:

$ - Bus Take a local bus into Fira then transfer to a bus to Perissa. The journey should take between 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 depending on the time in between your transfer and will cost roughly €4 per person.

$$$ - Taxi or transfer The journey is only 15-20 minutes direct to Perissa but will cost you around €40-50.

Depending on your arrival time, you could take a look around the quirky beachside cafes in Perissa, grab some lunch and have a swim. You can rent beach chairs and umbrellas for a reasonable price or head back to your hotel to enjoy the pool there.

Take a bus into Fira for sunset. The bus will take roughly 30-40 minutes and make sure to check the local bus times to give yourself enough time. The buses will often run on 'island time' (also known as late) so keep this in mind as well.

Either grab a drink at PK Cocktail Bar (best to reserve a table in advance if visiting in peak season) or grab a take away drink and a cheap gyros from a local takeaway store and watch the sunset along the Fira Wall (the wall running along the main street in Fira and next to PK Cocktail Bar). Two other sunset options are Volkan on the Rocks (pay for food/drinks) or the Three Bells of Fira (grab takeaway). Put 'Divine view Sol Homes' into Google Maps to find the exact location.

If you're feeling like a night out, Fira is the best place to visit the bars and clubs. Most of the bars and clubs can be found along Erithrou Stavrou. 2 Brothers is a really fun bar to visit with good music and a lively atmosphere. Murphys Bar was also fun with a good sized outdoor terrace out the back. Some places like Koo Club and Enigma stay open into the early hours of the morning.

If staying out, keep in mind that the buses to Perissa stop at between 11pm and 12am so make sure to check the time for the last bus back. Otherwise a taxi from Fira to Perissa will set you back €50-60.

Good morning. For your first full day in Santorini, make the most of it by hiring a car or quad bike.

If opting for car hire, I would recommend booking something in advance. Most of the hire companies will be based near the airport or ferry port but there will be options in the bigger towns.

For quad hire, there are places around Perissa, Fira or companies that will drive the quad bike to you. Arrange to have it picked up/dropped off to you around midday so you have it for 24 hours and can utilise it for the following morning.

Once you have the vehicle, it's time to explore. If you don't want to hire a car/quad, you can do the villages and towns by bus instead and skip the beaches and viewpoint.

Head to Red Beach for a unique and beautiful landscape. If you want, you can also visit White Beach and Black Beach nearby via water taxi.

Next head up to the highest viewpoint on the island Prophet Elias Lookout Point. There are some chapels to check out up there too.

Then visit Pyrgos village, the old capital of Santorini with a lot of historic buildings and quiet streets. A nice change on this popular island.

Next head to Imerovigli for some caldera views and the added bonus of Skaros Rock in sight.

Oia is next. It should be getting close to sunset time, so it will be busy. You can leave most of your exploring of Oia to tomorrow morning (when it's much less busy) and get yourself set up for sunset.

For sunset, here are my recommendations depending on your budget:

• $: get food/drink and go to Oia Castle at least one hour before sunset (more if time allows) to get a good spot and enjoy a picnic with the most amazing view. We found a great spot by jumping over the end wall up the top of the castle. If it's already too busy by the time you get there, walk down the path towards Ammoudi Bay and then climb up the castle walls from there. You will find a similar view and barely any people.
• $$: reserve a table and have drinks at Sun Spirit (next to the windmill).
• $$: reserve a rooftop table at Vitrin Creperie.
• $$$: have dinner and drinks at Kastro restaurant whilst surrounded by people lining the streets. This restaurant is right by Oia Castle.
• $$$: Ombra restaurant is a little hidden away from the chaos.
• $$$: have dinner on the water in Ammoudi Bay.

There isn't much in the way of nightlife here in Oia so once you've witnessed the magical sunset, head back to your hotel in Perissa. The decision to have an early night will be totally worth it once you get Oia almost to yourself the following morning.

Rise and shine! Make your way to Oia as early as possible. I recommend going for sunrise for empty streets and soft beautiful lighting for photography. Remember the journey from Perissa will take you around 40 minutes but trust me it'll be worth the early alarm.

Here are some of my favourite spots to take photos in Oia and how to find them on Google Maps:

• The Three Domes (best two viewpoints are out front of The Bubble Suite & Spitia Santorini)
• Viewpoint and Photo Point over 3 Dome Church. You get some amazing views from both directions here.
• Church of Agios Nikoloas. Get a photo right next to one of the famous blue domes with some flowers overhanging from above Red Bicycle in the shot.
• Windmill of Oia
• Kastro Oia Houses
• Ammoudi Bay

You could either opt to go back to your accommodation early to do a full day tour to Nea Kameni or stay a little longer in Oia before dropping back the car/quad. The Vitrin Creperie was lovely for breakfast, or try the Terpsi n Oia which had incredible views upstairs (but to be honest their poached eggs could do with some improvement).

If you drop your vehicle off around midday (or organise pick up) then here are some options for your afternoon:

• Half day tour to Nea Kameni Island where you can hike up the active (but dormant) volcano and swim in the geothermal hot springs around the base of the island. Bonus if you can also get a tour that includes a sail for sunset.
• Visit Santo Wines winery
• Go shopping in Fira
• Sea Caves Kayak Tour
• Visit Kamari or other beach areas such as Monolithos or Yalos.

For sunset you could either splurge on a sunset sailing cruise or head to one of the other spots in Fira or Oia (mentioned in Day 1 or 2 options).

Enjoy a relaxing last morning in Santorini before saying goodbye to paradise.

If you are staying longer than 3 nights, here are some additional activities or places I would recommend to spend your remaining days:

• Hike the Caldera Trail
• Akrotiti Archaeological Site
• Tasting at Santo's Winery
• Pyrgos - the ancient capital
• Thirasia Island
• Nea Kameni & Palia Kameni
• Catamaran Cruise
• Tour of White, Black and Red Beach
• Sea Caves Kayak Tour
• Ammoudi Bay
• Megalochori village
• day trip to other Greek Islands including Ios, Mykonos, Paros, Folegandros, Naxos, Milos or Sifnos.

Hope you have the most amazing trip to Santorini!