My husband and I spent a couple weeks traveling through the Greek islands during the summer month of July. During the process of planning our trip, I did a ton of research on the island of Santorini. Specifically I wanted to know if we should plan on booking our hotel in the city of Fira (also known as Thera) or the village of Oia. There are pros and cons to each location, and it ultimately boils down to what kinds of activities you plan on partaking during your Greek island trip.

Read on to see my detailed breakdown of both the Santorini cities Thera and Oia. I also provide activities and itinerary suggestions for each location, making planning your own trip a breeze!

My husband and I spent 10 days vacationing on the Greek islands during the month of July. Greece is definitely a favorite summer vacation spot because the Mediterranean climate brings warm temperatures and the ocean water is perfect for swimming.

Whether you are going to a tourist hot spot such as Santorini, or seeking a calming and relaxing scene on a quiet Greek island, the Cyclades islands is the place to go for an idyllic summer vacation.

Once you’ve booked your tickets and planned out your vacation itinerary, the last step is figuring out what to pack for a trip to the Greek islands. In this practical guide I’ll give you valuable advice that I learned during our trip to Greece. I will give myself kudos on doing a pretty good job when packing my own bags, but there were a couple vital things that I completely forgot about. Read on to see everything you will need (and some things you won’t) during your Greek summer vacation.

One of the world’s most bucket-worthy places to visit is the Greek Island of Santorini. Right off the mainland of Greece there are literally thousands of small islands, and of those a little more than 200 are inhabited. But the single most scenic and iconic village is Oia which is the crown jewel of the Santorini island.

No doubt you’ve seen photos of the famous whitewashed buildings with the blue dome rooftops. While this style of architecture can be found all over Greece, the village of Oia has the most vibrant and preserved buildings situated right next to each other. The natural way the locals built their community right along the edge of the caldera turned out to be the most picturesque and photogenic layout. Very Instagrammable to say the least!

In this guide I will breakdown all the best Insta-worthy spots in Oia, Santorini and also other photo spots around the island of Santorini. If you’ve booked a stay of few days in Oia, you’ll have plenty of time to cover all the classic Instagram photo spots in Oia and then take day trips to other parts of the island.