Santorini

An arrival into Santorini by boat is an extraordinary experience. Giant cliffs rise abruptly from the sea, their size made all the more imposing by the extraordinary colours of black and russet red that testify to their volcanic origin. After a massive eruption around 2,000 BC blew the top off of the volcano, the sea roared in and created the 1,300 ft-deep caldera that characterises Santorini today. Atop the black and rust coloured cliffs perches Thira, the tiny capital of the island, gleaming white between the blue sky and the dark black rocks to which it clings.

Santorini’s volcanic nature dominates all aspects of the island’s life, with black-sand beaches, jagged contours of gnarled rock and pumice stone strewn across the land, and fertile agriculture (the island’s wine is particularly well considered).

For those times when you wish to explore the island, swim off a blackened beach into the surrounding pristine waters, take an excursion out into the caldera (the crater which forms the bay), examine archaeological sites – maybe even discover long-lost Atlantis! – or try the local wine in a variety of pleasant vineyards. And no trip to Santorini would be complete without admiring the sunsets, so spectacular that crowds break into applause as the sun dips below the Aegean Sea.