country #01: greece

Decided to celebrate my full vaccination by going big. Took a plane ride across the Atlantic Ocean and explored a country I’ve never been to…

Greece.

I absolutely did not regret it one bit during my entire trip.

We ate amazing food, explored beautiful areas of Greece, met very friendly locals, and overall had this sense of peace walking through the tight beautiful alleyways. So much blue and white. So bright. I now know why this is the perfect time of the year to visit Greece and we were fortunate enough to enjoy Greece as soon as it reopened to the world; we encountered way less tourists than we expected so we were able to take great pictures.

Best Restaurant of this Trip: Argo Restaurant (Google Maps)

We had an amazing sunset view from our table and the food was really good. Not only that, the server we had was very attentive and made us feel welcomed. She was hilarious and showed excellent customer service. I have to say though, the main reason for me rating this the best restaurant of the trip is due to the sunset view. Make sure to reserve your rooftop table as soon as possible so you get to experience a stunning sunset in all its glory. If I ever come back to Santorini, I will be visiting Argo again.

Best Food of this Trip: Veal Burger w/ Yogurt Sauce – THALAMI Restaurant (Google Maps)

Love burgers? Do me a favor and go to this restaurant and get their Veal Burger. Oh man, it was amazing.

Best Drink of this Trip: Freddo Espresso – Hungry Donkey (Google Maps)

Love iced coffee? Go visit Hungry Donkey and get yourself their popular Freddo Espresso. Noticed lots of locals coming to this spot to get themselves this iced coffee and had to try it. I do not regret it. It became our morning routine to go to Hungry Donkey to get ourselves a nice Freddo Espresso.

Best Dessert of this Trip: Lava Cake – Strogili Restaurant (Google Maps)

People who know me well know that I love lava cake. The mixture of warm chocolate cake with cold vanilla ice cream is perfection. The lava cake from Strogili is hands down the best lava cake I’ve ever had… and I’ve had my fair share of lava cakes. Try it out!

Best Hotel / Airbnb of this Trip: Radiant Santorini (Airbnb) for its hospitality, Charisma Suites (Google Maps) for the views

Big shout-out to Radiant Santorini for its incredible hospitality. The room that our group stayed in was cozy, properly air-conditioned (which was much needed), and had everything that we needed to enjoy our stay. The hosts answered all of our questions, gave us lots of valuable information about the area, and they seemed to always be around — ready to help! I highly recommend anyone staying in this Airbnb to go with their Breakfast Basket option. Incredible value for what you get and you will feel satisfied. If you are thinking about going to Santorini, do yourself a favor and try to book a stay in this Airbnb. Worth it!

Want a more luxurious stay at Santorini? I gotta give it to Charisma Suites. This hotel is located in Oia, northern part of Santorini, and any room you book in this hotel will guarantee an incredible view. Loved the pool cave that came with our suite — stayed almost all afternoon in it, tanning and relaxing. The group wasn’t impressed with the food, especially with how much we paid for it, so we actually recommend leaving the Suites and visiting one of the many other restaurants around the area for better selections.

That’s all I have for you! Our group took full advantage of each day and it still felt like there was still a lot we missed out on. I’m sure this is not the last time I visit Greece.

I’ve had folks send me messages via Instagram how much the entire trip cost. I paid the entire trip with my credit card points. Yup, the trip was entirely free for me. I’m happy to share how I was able to pull this off if there is enough interest in this.

Enjoy the photo dump below!