Santorini is no doubt one of the most beautiful islands in the world. It is a volcanic island in the Cyclades group of the Greek islands and has a reputation of having some of the most spectacular sunsets. Since our time was limited in Santorini (read here to see where I stayed at), I wanted to hire a private tour guide who can show us all the fantastic hidden spots in Santorini to maximize our time there. I did research on TripAdvisor and stumbled on the Santorini Photo Tours.
I immediately reached out to the Santorini Photo Tours due to the great reviews and booked an 8 hour “Secrets of Santorini” tour. What I loved about this tour is that it was a photo tour. I love photography and always looking to improve my photography skill. This tour offered to teach how to take stunning photos of Santorini while visiting amazing viewpoints of Santorini. In addition, it’s a private, customizable tour with a maximum of 4 people, which was perfect for our group of 4.
Judy Reinen, owner of the Santorini Photo Tours, picked us up at our hotel around 11:30 A.M. We started the tour late because I wanted to see the sunset during the tour. Judy began the tour by introducing herself on how she became a professional photographer for the last 30 years.
Our first stop was at a private church where Judy taught us how to read the histogram on my camera prior to taking pictures to ensure the exposure is set correctly. This saves time from post editing. We learned how take pictures in different perspective and what makes a good picture. She also taught us how to use our camera to get the best result for our photos.
We then stopped by the Santo Wines to enjoy the beautiful view of the caldera, the volcano and the Aegean sea. We also the area where the MS Sea Diamond cruise ship sank off the coast of Santorini in 2007. The Santo Wines is one of the finest wineries of Santorini, making it a popular spot for wine tasting. We wished we had more time to come back to sample the wine. After that, we visited the Holy Chapel of St. Nektarios, which was built and dedicated to the Prophet Elijah.
For lunch, Judy brought us to one of her favorite’s restaurants, “to Psaraki” because we wanted to eat seafood. We ordered fava, local boiled greens, white aubergine based on her recommendations along with calamari, crab salad and shrimp linguine. The seafood tasted fresh and delicious. My favorite dish was the crab salad, which was filled with sweet crab meat.
Sunset was around 7 P.M. mid-September. The most popular spot to watch the sunset is at the Oia Castle. We did not want to waste time saving a spot at the Oia Castle to watch the sunset since our time was limited while on the tour. People who wanted good spot to watch the sunset had to come at least an hour early. We followed Judy to the Windmill to watch the sunset from that view. It was a couple minutes walk from Oia Castle. During sunset, the sun glowed and illuminated the sky in rich hues of red, orange and yellow. It was a stunning view during the sunset. We also learned to take picture during the blue hour, which occurs after the sunset in the evening when the sun has dipped a certain amount below the horizon.
Santorini took my breath away. What I wanted was to find the most picturesque photography spots on the island and I got to experience it by taking the Santorini Photo Tours with Judy. The tour was a great way to see the best of Santorini in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, while learning how to improve your camera skills and photography.
Have you been to Santorini before? What was your favorite thing to do there?