Santorini for sun, sea and… history

Greece is steeped in ancient history, and the archipelago of Santorini is no exception. The site of Akrotiri is still being excavated, revealing the lives of the inhabitants of this once great trading center of the ancient world.

A feature of the area is the different colored beaches: the red beach, the white beach, the black beach and so on. The water which laps against the darker colored beaches is apparently significantly warmer than on the lighter ones, because dark colors hold the heat while white and other pale colors reflect it.

The buildings are almost uniformly white in color, for the same reason. Temperatures in the area range from 25-32ºC (77-90ºF) in the summer months of June to September, and rarely fall below 10ºC (50ºF) even in the coldest months of the year.

If you are interested in the legends of Atlantis, Santorini is one of the most likely origins of the story. There was a huge volcanic eruption here around 1500 BCE, destroying the city of Thera and possibly causing a tsunami which devastated the island of Crete, leaving the Minoan civilization in tatters.

Santorini is served by Santorini (Thira) National Airport. Flights are available from Athens and Oslo all year round, and other places during the holiday season.