FLIP FLOPS ONLY

Santorini, this white and blue perfect island, has been since forever on our travel bucket list. However, we've seen several videos and read lots of articles that talked about how crowded the island tends to get...and usually, we are not fans of crowded places.

But in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic and with all the travel restrictions for several countries, we found the ideal time to finally visit Santorini.

WHEN TO VISIT

Santorini is an ideal destination for almost the entire year, with great weather from mid April until early November. I would however avoid July and August as it can be way too hot for exploring the town during the day. We visited Santorini mid September and it was still torrid in the afternoon.

HOW TO GET THERE

You can either reach the island by plane or by ferry (from another island of course). The ferry is very connected and you can use it as a safe means of transportation to visit several greek islands. We took the ferry from Mykonos and it was 270 euros return ticket for 2 persons.

Here is where you can find the ferry schedule, prices and more information: Seajets.

WHERE TO STAY

There are three main villages in Santorini: Fira, Imerovigli and the most famous of them all, Oia. As Oia is the most popular one and as most of the attractions are here, accommodation on this village is a bit more expensive than on the other two.There are tons of great hotels to choose from in Santorini and you can find some at very reasonable prices! We could not decide on just one hotel so we stayed in 2 different ones, each with a different view.

CHARISMA SUITES

Location: One of the best in Oia

Room: *****

Breakfast: Excellent. Great assortments to choose from.

Price: $$$

Best thing: Without a doubt, the best thing was staying in the windmill room. Such a unique experience!

OLD CASTLE OIA

Location: Great location, close to the main attractions.

Room: *****

Breakfast: The breakfast could use some improvements, but overall it was good.

Price: $$

Best thing: The view! Without a doubt this hotel has one of the best views in Oia! And another great thing is that you get to experience it from their heated pool!

THINGS TO DO IN OIA

1. GET LOST ON THE ALLEYS

Wherever you set your eyes in Oia looks like you are admiring a perfect white and blue painting.

The hike between towns is quite spectacular, although it's more of a walk than hike, it can be quite exhausting in extreme heat. 

If you don't feel like hiking, you can still easily get to each town by bus. For example we only hiked one way and we took the bus back to Oia. Make sure you check the bus schedule before hand.

3. THE THREE DOME BLUE CHURCH

Without a doubt one of the most iconic places in Oia. It tends to get crowded, so I would recommend going in the morning.

4. THE PINK CAVE HOUSE

5. ADMIRE THE SUNSET

Sunsets hit differently in Santorini! Before sunset the streets turn to life and tourists gather in several hot spots to admire the famous Santorini sunsets. You can choose to watch the sunset from the famous viewpoint of Caldera, a sunset bar or from the comfort of your plunge pool.

6. CALDERA VIEWPOINT

7. AMOUDI BAY

Also known as the exercise of the day! There are 300 steps leading down to Amoudi Bay and if going down is relatively easy, getting back up has it's charm. However, it was clearly worth it as the view from down there is spectacular!

Even though this route takes you to the seashore, you won't really be able to swim there. Overall I would not say that Santorini is a beach destination.

The pictures really don't do justice to this stunning greek island! Without a doubt my favourite place in Greece and I for one, cannot wait to return one day.

Hugs,

O

Some places seem so far away and too difficult to reach, but I've come to learn that if you set your mind to something, nothing is really impossible.

Summer in New Zealand goes from December to February, when you can expect sunny days and warm weather. This time of the year is perfect as it allows you to enjoy all the possible activities, like hiking and relaxing at the beach.

The lupins season starts from mid to late November and supposedly ends early January, so in my opinion in December you can be sure that the flower fields are in full bloom, therefore making December the best month to visit.

We landed in New Zealand at the end of December and were lucky enough to still see the pretty pink and purple flowers.

HOW TO GET THERE

Unless you are from Australia, New Zealand is bound to be far. It took us about 48 hours to reach our destination since we left our home in Romania. We travelled by car to Budapest, Hungary from where we took a flight to Auckland with Shanghai Airlines. We had a long layover in Shanghai, China during the day, and although this option can be quite tiresome it gave us the opportunity to also visit the city. 

From Auckland we had another flight to Christchurch, our final destination, where we started our road trip.

HOW TO GET AROUND

I would say the best way to visit New Zealand is by camper van, this allows you to create your own itinerary, adjust it along the way and visit places at your own pace, not to mention that it's very easy to travel by camper in this country. Everything is very well organised, there are plenty of agencies where you can rent a camper van from and plenty of camping sites along the way, mobile apps designed to help you out and you get to have both a car and a bed, therefore cutting costs.

We rented a camper van from Travellers Autobarn and we were happy with their services. Our camper even broke along the way, but we called the agency and they sent someone asap the next day to fix it. If you go during summer we recommend that you book a camper in advance so that you can get good rates and you have more options.

10 DAYS ROAD TRIP ITINERARY - SOUTH ISLAND

LAKE TEKAPO

The first stop on our itinerary was the pretty Lake Tekapo. Besides enjoying the wonderful views the lake has to offer, there are several other attractions to spot here: there are quite a few lupin fields along the road as you get closer to the lake and the famous church nearby from where you can watch the mesmerising starry sky at night. Your eyes are in for a delight! 

LAKE PUKAKI

Without a doubt one the most beautiful lakes I've seen so far! We stayed in this area for about 1 day and a half and my only regret is that we did not stay longer.

MOUNT COOK NATIONAL PARK

Our next destination was the famous Mount Cook. The entire drive from Lake Pukaki up to it is quite spectacular. We had so many stops along the road because we just could not drive by some of the spots without capturing a forever memory. What's most interesting, is to notice how the scenery changes as you get closer to the mountain. New Zealand is truly a diverse country!

We camped at White Horse Hill Campsite where we spent the most unique New Year's Eve. The next early morning we embarked on an adventure to hike the Hooker Valley Track. The track is pretty easy, somewhere around 4 hours return.

WANAKA

Besides the famous Wanaka tree that you cannot miss, the small town is very charming and lovely to visit! We recommend you try the best fish and chips in the world from The Catch, Wanaka.

QUEENSTOWN

On our way to Queenstown we had a short stop at the famous Onsen Hot Pools. We had a previous experience with the onsen on our trip to Japan, but this place took it to the next level, as the location was impeccable and the view breathtaking. You can book directly online and it is recommended that you do that with quite some time in advance, this way you can select your preferred slot time.

The one thing you must do while in Queenstown is to see the view from above! You can get there by cable car or hike for a few hours. Any guesses what we did? I will leave the cable car costs in the Expenses section below. From the top, if you feel adventurous, you can take the luge downhill or you can enjoy some food at the available cafeteria, although I would not recommend it, as the place is obviously touristic. 

Ferg Burger is the place to eat in Queenstown! There is always a line, as apparently this place has quite the reputation, but you won't regret it! There are a few place in the world where we actually waited in line for food for more than 30 minutes, but no regrets here. Just one small tip, go before you are completely famished.

GLENORCHY

I must admit that Instagram made us visit this place. Glenorchy is a really small town close (45 km away) to Queenstown. It gives the feeling of a remote quaint little village at the other side of the world. We spent just a short couple of hours here on our way to Fjordland National Park.

When it comes to the overnight stay, you can either pick a free camping site that it is a bit further from Milford or book a spot at the campsite in town Milford Sound Lodge. This campsite is quite pricey but it had the greatest amenities, including wifi, which is hard to find in that particular area.

Milford Sound is one of the wettest places on Earth, it rains an average of 300 days/year! But thanks to all this rain hundreds of waterfalls formed through time, making the place truly incredible! You cannot go there and not take a cruise in order to best experience the imposing fjords.

We booked our cruise tickets in advance with Cruise Milford. There are quite a lot of cruise ships to choose from and unlike other places we've visited, they had an offset schedule, that allows you to actually enjoy the uniqueness and have an unobscured view.

The boat captain kept us entertained with a lot of interesting information that made us appreciate even more the incredible place we where in.

Throughout the entire duration of the cruise we were supplied with water, coffee and tea to keep us warm.

LAKE MARIAN TRACK

There are plenty of hikes you can do in NZ. Some are easy, some more complicated  and some that require experienced hikers. As we are definitely not the latter, the hikes we focused on were low to medium. Lake Marian is one example. The hike takes you through thick woods along a furious river, challenging you in some areas to use both your feet and hands to climb some small cliffs and welcoming you at the end with an amazing view of Lake Marian. Unfortunately for us, when we reached the destination it started raining and mist descended from the mountains, so we could not fully enjoy the view. Nevertheless, it was worth it.

BLUE POOLS 

If these are on the way of your itinerary, you can have a quick stop. The water is indeed a stunning blue, but extremely cold! Not even Instagram fame could have made me jump in that water and trust me, I tried!

From here we returned to Christchurch on a slightly different path that allowed us to see a bit more of the island. We dropped our camper in Christchurch and departed by plane to Auckland.

THINGS TO DO IN AUCKLAND

Although on this trip to New Zealand we focused mostly on the south island, we really wanted to visit Hobbiton as well, so we scheduled a couple of days on the north island considering that our flight back was from Auckland anyways.

There are a lot of great places to visit on this side of the country, but here is what we managed to squeeze in two days.

HOBBITON

We knew this place was going to be amazing, but we had no idea it would blow our minds! From the moment we stepped through the gates we felt like entering a fairytale land full of laughter and sunshine. It felt just like in the movies! We never had such an immersive experience! The intricacy of the place, attention to detail and the sheer work that went into all of this make this place a unique and a must visit!

WAI O TAPU THERMAL WONDERLAND

ROTORUA - REDWOODS FOREST

- For safety reasons, New Zealand law prohibits the rent of a camper van the same day as your arrival flight, so make sure you book a room for the night at a hotel or Airbnb and rent your camper starting the next day. They also check this information when you land at the airport.

- Do your grocery shopping in the big cities! After we rented our camper van in Christchurch we hit one of the supermarkets and we stocked up with all the needed for next days. You will find here more options and at convenient prices. Pak'n Save was our go to supermarket.

- There are a lot of free campsites where you can spend the night. Most of them have a public toilet that you can use. Of course there are plenty campsites that have power, showers and lounge areas that you can use, prices depend on the amenities of course.

- As Milford Sound is quite remote, campsites over there usually keep 1-2 emergency spots in case your car breaks down and you need to stay somewhere overnight. Theory tested!

- The Milford Sound cruise is bound to get wet no matter the weather conditions, therefore wear waterproof clothing and layers.

- When visiting Hobbiton we took the earliest tour available. This way we had the perfect lighting conditions and we avoided the crowd of tourists in front of us.

EXPENSES AND COSTS

The below costs and expenses are for two people and were available in December 2019 - January 2020, so please keep in mind that these are susceptible to change. 

- Campervan = 130 Euros/day

- Petrol = aprox. 2,5 NZD / L

- Campsite = between 30 NZD - 100 NZD /night

- Sim card = 60 NZD 

- Onsen Hot Pool = aprox. 126 NZD/pool/hour

- Milford Sound cruise = 198 NZD/ 2 tickets

- Hobbiton tickets = 168 NZD / 2 tickets

- Fish and chips meal = aprox. 15 NZD/person

- Ferg burger = aprox. 20 NZD

New Zealand made an indelible impression on us, and despite the fact that it took us days to get there, we can't wait to return! 

Hugs,

O