Santorini hotels, Andronis luxury suites

Andronis one of the most spectacular Santorini hotels

You sail into a majestic gulf, surrounded by two small crater isles. The volcanic cliffs of Santorini are red, brown or greenish, surmounted by a string of white villages. It is rather like a model of a monster's jaw made by some infernal dentist; a sinister and alarming place, like nowhere else.

Santorini is the furthest of the Cyclades island to the South. The closest islands are Ios, Folegandros, Sikinos to the North, Anafi and Amorgos to the East and Crete to the South.

We refer to Santorini as one, but actually it is a complex of five islands. Santorini (Thira) is the main island and around it Thirasia and Aspronisi (parts of the ancient Stroggili) and the two volcanic islands Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni.

It was one island named Stroggili (“round” in Greek) until about 1645 BC, when the volcano in the middle of the island erupted and Caldera was created. The two volcanic islands appeared much later from various eruptions starting 157 BC and the last one to be was in the 20th century (1950). Today the landscape includes vineyards, fig trees, caves and churches.