The first week of our honeymoon was full of adventure and exploring, whether we were walking to the next cafe for espresso, scootering up and down the Amalfi coast, or cruising around on a boat (read more about that in this blog post). It was the best way to start the trip of a lifetime, and we kept that energy and adventure going throughout the trip, but in a much more relaxed way as we went into our second week in Greece. The second part of our honeymoon consisted more of poolside lounging, eating all the tzatziki, hot tubbing, and leisurely walking through the cutest European shops and boutiques!
We flew right from Rome to Athens, and then Athens to Mykonos. We stayed in two different hotels during our stay in Mykonos, and the first was at Myconian Ambassador Relais & Chateaux. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel for so many reasons and we highly recommend it! The biggest reason was the service; they treated you like royalty and were very accommodating. There was one staff member in particular that we’ll never forget, Hercules, who gave us the most pleasant dining experience! The hotel is situated on a hill overlooking Platis Gialos beach and is close to all the bars and shops in the oh-so-charming Mykonos Town. The rooms were so modern and sophisticated with all white and marble interior as you would typically expect in Greece. Our room had a terrace with a hot tub and amazing views. The hotel has a fine dining restaurant that we had dinner at one night, and it was exceptional. The cocktails were so creative and delicious, some of which were made by a very famous mixologist who won awards for his cocktails!
Platis Gialos beach is just a 5 minute walk from the hotel, so we spent one day at the beach, which was so relaxing and beautiful. The beach wasn’t overcrowded (keep in mind that we went in September which is when the crowds start to whittle down) and it had restaurants and bars lined all along the shore. In front of each venue/restaurant were their designated beach chairs and umbrellas, which you of course had to pay to get on. The venue we lounged in front of called Dk Oyster had a minimum consumption fee to stay on their sunbeds, so you at least get to buy drinks and food with that money as opposed to just paying to lay on the beach.
There was another day that we spent mostly by the pool at the hotel which was nice and the customer service was outstanding. The staff were always coming around with free small ice cream cones or water to all the guests. Each morning they have an American style breakfast buffet, which is out of this world and included with your stay! They have everything you can think of and more; smoothies, pastries, hot foods like eggs and bacon, all different kinds of breads and spreads, etc. We couldn’t believe how much food they had, and we thought it was funny that they call it “American style”, because Europeans don’t typically eat much for breakfast.
The second hotel we stayed at was Cavo Tagoo Mykonos, which is probably one of the dreamiest hotels in the entire world, and it felt so surreal to stay there! Since I did most of the wedding planning, Jonathan took over planning for the honeymoon. So, if you know anything about him, you won’t be surprised that we stayed at a hotel like this. People normally think I’m the “boujee” one in our relationship, but it’s really him! He’s a total diva when he travels LOL! Of course I don’t mind it at all, because our honeymoon was the best trip of our lives and he did such a wonderful job planning everything. As if I wasn’t lucky enough getting to marry my best friend and the most amazing man in the world, he then plans the most surreal honeymoon trip that took my breath away each and every day.
This hotel was a bit more upscale than the other one, and it had the most stunning views overlooking the Aegean Sea. The rooms here also had the typical elegant, all white interior with marble bathrooms, and our room also had a terrace with a private pool. We didn’t stay in our room much though because the hotel pool and lounge area was UNREAL! The views just took your breath away, especially during sunset, and the beds on the water provided the perfect way to observe it all and enjoy the sun and water! I normally always prefer the beach instead of lounging by a pool, but this infinity pool was too amazing! There’s so much more that we could’ve done in Mykonos, like a boat tour to explore more of the island, but we had such a good time by the hip bar and pool at the hotel that we didn’t want to leave!
We did go exploring into Mykonos Town a few times during the day to walk around the shops and grab a gyro for lunch, and also at night to have dinner. Mykonos Town was within walking distance from the hotel, but they also provide free shuttle transportation. I absolutely loved exploring this area, it’s a traditional Cycladic village with a maze of narrow streets, cubic whitewashed houses, small white churches, and beautifully colored windows, doors, and balconies. Bougainvilleas are everywhere, there’s no shortage of cute shops, and it’s filled with some of the most romantic restaurants. I’ve never gone anywhere in Europe that I didn’t like, but Greece is on another level with its charm and beauty. The architecture and designs are so unique, so distinct, so dreamy… I felt like pinching myself as we were walking around because of how picturesque everything was! Mykonos is known as the party island, but Jonathan and I didn’t do much of that on this trip. It just wasn’t the kind of thing we wanted to do on our honeymoon, but we definitely hope to go back to the island someday so that we can experience the party scene!
After a few days we packed our bags again and headed to our next romantic destination: Santorini. This time we took a ferry, and we quickly missed the planes! It was absolutely chaotic boarding the huge ferry, it was like herding cattle. Once we got on the ferry and found our seats it was okay, but getting on and off was insane with all the people trying to do the same thing. It was so crowded since tourism in Santorini has been booming, which is awesome for the country, but it does make for a crazy travel experience!
We stayed at the Andronis Concept Wellness Resort, and it was yet another dreamy place! My husband couldn’t have done a better job choosing all the places we stayed at during our honeymoon, and I am forever grateful to him for that. We usually don’t spend a lot of time at the hotels on vacation because we’re either on the beach or out and about somewhere else, but these hotels and resorts had so much to offer and the views were unbelievable, that it wasn’t usually necessary to leave and spend time anywhere else.
This hotel was located in the romantic village of Imerovigli, which sits on a clifftop overlooking Santorini’s caldera islands. Our room had two floors; the first had the master bathroom with an enormous rainfall shower, and the second floor had another half bath, the bed, and an outdoor terrace with a private pool and the most incredible views I have ever seen. If I could sum up our honeymoon in one word, besides *love*, I would use the word *views*. It was all about the views, and I have yet to talk about the best one of them all…
Now onto the reason why I fell in love with Santorini, specifically the town of Oia: the sunsets. The sunsets are breathtakingly beautiful, and no amount of words or pictures could ever do them justice compared to what can be seen with the eyes in person. I love watching sunsets, and I couldn’t believe that I got to watch one of the most beautiful ones in this world! Another *pinch me* moment, and there’s no one else I would have rather experienced that with than my husband.
The village we stayed in was just a 20 minute drive to the town of Oia, so we took taxis which the resort arranged for us. They also arranged our dinners and had some really great recommendations. I’ll list all of the spots we went to for lunches and dinners below, but I would also recommend asking the staff at whichever hotel you stay at because they usually have the best recommendations.
When we stayed at the resort we were mostly on our private terrace enjoying room service, in the private pool, and lounging around. They have great spa services too, so I had a massage and got my hair done one day. When we explored outside of the resort we spent all of our time in Oia. It’s the prettiest, most remarkable little town with whitewashed houses carved into the rugged clifftops, overlooking a vast caldera filled with water. Talk about dreamy. We walked the narrow pathways endlessly, admiring all of the quaint shops and the architecture, especially the famous three blue domes. There’s so much to see that you could easily spend an entire day wandering around until sunset. We didn’t do any kind of boat tours in Santorini, but when we revisit someday for an anniversary I definitely want to! We saw so many people out on boats during sunset and it looked like an amazing way to watch it.
Here’s the list of all the places we ate at outside of our hotels (which Jonathan helped me put together because he’s the best!):
Mykonos
Remezzo – Lovely restaurant with outdoor seating and a great atmosphere. They had live music when we ate there and the woman was walking around singing and engaging with guests, we got to sing on her mic too, it was so much fun!
Avra – This restaurant has the most romantic and gorgeous setting that I have ever dined in! We sat in their beautiful courtyard garden and it was truly magical. Very busy so you can’t dine without a reservation!
Sakis Grill House – Great spot to stop for lunch and grab the traditional gryos and local beer.
Dk Oyster – This is the venue that we lounged in front of when we went to the beach. They had great sunbeds, yummy drinks, and good music!
Avli tou Thodori – We had a casual dinner here right on the beach! Our toes were in the sand and it was a very chill, laid back atmosphere. They also had indoor seating. Very good, traditional Greek food.
Santorini
Ammoundi Fish Tavern – This is probably the freshest seafood I’ve ever eaten in my life! They bring you over to the cases to see their fresh catches of the day and you literally get to pick exactly which lobster or fish you want to eat! Beautiful spot right on the water. Tip: have a taxi take you down to this spot because it’s all the way down the cliffs, that way you’re not walking up and down the stairs (known as the donkey trail) twice!
Lauda – This was my personal favorite dining experience, EVER. First of all it was my birthday, then there was the SUNSET VIEWS, and then the FOOD AND SERVICE! I could go on and on about this place. I will never forget the experience and I could not recommend it enough! Such a stunning location. The picture of me above holding a drink with a rose on the table was taken at this restaurant.
Pitogyros – Another great location for a quick lunch of traditional gyros (one of the best I’ve ever had!), most people do takeaway but you can also sit and eat.
That pretty much wraps up our honeymoon! Writing about it gave me so much nostalgia and made me so happy to relive it! I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have the man of my dreams as my husband and to have gone on this unbelievable trip with him, and I love sharing that with all of you! I hope that this helps when planning your trips, because I know many of you are also going to these destinations on your honeymoon or upcoming vacation.
I also have saved story highlights on my Instagram where I took videos of our hotel rooms and other stuff during our honeymoon, so definitely check that out if you haven’t seen it! Lastly, if you have any questions at all please feel free to leave them in the comments below or message me directly on Instagram (@sandycarvs).