Never Travel Without My Butler

October 27, 2017January 22, 2019

Where to Stay in Santorini

Booking our hotel was probably one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to do! If you know me or have been reading our blog, you know I’m very dramatic.

It’s hard because all the hotels in Santorini look the exact same. But we’re here to help ease your decision.

Step ONE: you need to narrow down whether you want to stay in Oia or Fira.

Oia feels more romantic and luxurious.

Fira is has more locals and cheap eats.

Both have amazing views and sunsets!

Both towns are very small and no cars are allowed in the towns, you have to park outside of town and walk through.

For a more in depth review on Oia and Fira, check out Santorini Dave. He was a huge help during the whole trip planning process.

Step TWO: Set your budget.

Since Santorini is such a popular beautiful destination, some of the hotels can be very expensive. Oia is definitely more expensive than Fira.

If you haven’t booked your flights yet, going off season can definitely save you a lot of money! We went in late October towards the end of the season and the weather was perfect, it was super hot during the day and a bit colder at night. I didn’t even bring enough bathing suits!

Keep in mind that if you go between November-March some of the hotels are closed for the season.

Step THREE: Try not to read a million Tripadvisor posts, I particularly liked reading brotherleelove’s comments on the travel forums and is a Santorini pro! I usually go crazy with reviewing all of the comments but at the end of the day, you’ll only know how your stay is because you won’t have anything to compare it to so just pick the one you think looks the best and stick with it. All the hotels in Santorini are so beautiful!

In the end we stayed at Andronis Luxury Suites because our friends Tiffany & Ilir stayed there during their honeymoon and we trust their judgement!

I mean look at this view, but in order to get this view there were a lot a lot of stairs so if you’re not the best with stairs you might want to make sure to check the hotel’s website before booking. Most of the hotels are built on a hill.

We wanted to stay in a cave room. The rooms were cool but not the most luxurious place we’ve stayed for the price of the room.

(Image source: JG Black Book)

With a private outdoor jacuzzi- because I thought it was going to be cold!

The bathrooms were really cool!

(Image Source: Andronis Luxury Suites)

Our favorite thing about the hotel was the breakfast. The menu had 30+ different items that you can select the night before and every morning the hotel will bring you everything to enjoy on this beautiful private balcony. And if you know me, I love to eat! For other food recommendations, check out our What to Eat in Santorini post.

And this amazing pool that we had to ourselves everyday!

Step FOUR: Enjoy your amazing vacation exploring Santorini!

To read more about what we did in Santorini, check out our Honeymoon in Santorini post.

XOXO,

Nina & Ross

October 25, 2017January 17, 2019

Honeymoon in Santorini Greece, Part One

After celebrating our wedding, Ross and I took off from Nantucket to Santorini. From our favorite island to another amazing island, we were on cloud nine.

Day ONE.

Once we arrived from Santorini airport we rented a car from a local company called Motor Inn. Luckily Ross knows how to drive manual so we are able to rent cars wherever we go. We rented a little smart car because we read the roads were narrow and we were inspired by Just Married with Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy.

This trip is also where @nevertravelwithoutmybutler started because Butler is Ross’ last name and he’s such a great butler!

Since it was our honeymoon, we decided to splurge and stay at Andronis Luxury Suite in a gorgeous suite with a private Jacuzzi. How amazing is this view?

For other hotel options check out our Where to Stay in Santorini page.

After checking into our amazing hotel, obviously we relaxed for a bit on our private terrace with fresh fruit and free booze! Usually I’m a travel bully and I try to pack as much in our itinerary as possible but since it was our honeymoon and we were exhausted (with happiness) from our wedding we just relaxed!

Ross was in HEAVEN, this was his type of vacation!

After what I thought was enough relaxing, we sought out the famous Santorini sunset and dinner because I get hangry! Even though we went during “off season” there were still lots of tourists in the Oia area.

In Santorini there are two main cities that you can stay in: Oia and Fira. We decided to stay in Oia because the area is a bit more “luxury but more touristy.” Both towns were very cute and in our opinion both a bit touristy. We stumbled upon a really cute bookstore called Atlantis Books then went to dinner at Lotza.

Day TWO.

Every morning we got to select unlimited options from an extensive menu of amazing greek breakfast items such as greek yogurt, fresh fruits, pastries, and egg dishes. Our favorite dish was Kagiana. (Side note, we tried this recipe after we came back with fresh oregano that we bought from Greece and it was AMAZING!)

We ate amazing food in Santorini, some of our favorites were the greek salads! The tomatoes were so fresh and the oregano! To die for!! Check out our what to eat in Santorini post for more food information.

The weather in Santorini changed drastically between daytime and nightime. During the day the weather was sweltering hot (89 degrees) and at night there was a cool breeze (50 degrees).

We tried so many times to do a jumping photo but this is as close as we got to a good shot, you can see the frustration in our faces! Ha!

After hanging out by our private pool we drove to Domaine Sigalas Vineyard for some wine tasting. We had the most amazing tomato salad called Ntakos with the most amazing cheese which we found out later the recipe just calls for local cheese.

After tasting some delicious wines, it opened up our appetite for dinner! Who are we kidding, anything will open my appetite!

We decided to check out the the Ammoudi Bay area to do some research on sailing tours and fresh seafood! We ended up eating at Sunset Ammoudi because of all the celebrities that ate there but we weren’t impressed with the food. We heard good things about Ammoudi Fish Tavern but we didn’t have time to go back down to Ammoudi to try it. The views from the water were gorgeous though!

Day THREE.

We woke up to another amazing breakfast and relaxation session in the jacuzzi. We could really get used to this life!

Today we decided to check out Fira, we heard that the hike from Oia to Fira was amazing but since we didn’t have that much time we just drove there. Fira was cute, we got the best gyros from Lucky’s Souvelaki!

We finally saw a good sunset when we were wine tasting at Santos.

Day FOUR.

For our last day in Santorini we booked the Santorini Yacht Club morning tour. I bet the sunset ones are beautiful but since we were 1 for 3 on the gorgeous sunsets and the weather gets a lot cooler in the afternoons we decided to get a little tan and do the morning tour.

The yacht company comes to pick you up from your hotel and we did the semi-private tour for 140 euros per person.

The cruise consisted of three stops: volcanic red beach, white beach, and volcano hot springs. We didn’t get to stop at the beaches, you just see them from a distance.

*PRO TIP: do not wear a white bathing suit if you want to swim in the volcano hot springs because the minerals will stain your suit!

The excursion also came with delicious greek food and the scraps were dropped into the water, I almost died taking this photo because all the birds were flying around and I’m glad I didn’t fall into the water because the photo was not as epic as it looked in real life…

After the sailing, we spent our last hours wandering the small streets of Oia.

Reluctant to say goodbye to Santorini but excited to head to the next stop on our honeymoon: Mykonos. See our Honeymoon in Mykonos Greece, Part Two to keep reading.

Some of the islands that are on our list are:

Milos
Crete
Corfu
Paros
Patmos
Rhodes

Did you know there are 6,000 greek islands but only 227 are inhabited?

Let us know about your experiences in Greece!

Xoxo,

Nina & Ross

September 3, 2016February 14, 2019

Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef

Driving the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne was incredible with breathtaking views but we were ready to dive into the Great Barrier Reef.

We flew from Melbourne to the Cairns Airport and drove to Port Douglas.

THINGS TO BRING

Swim suit
Sunglasses
Reef safe sunscreen
Waterproof case for cell phone
Gopro with stabilizer
Motion sickness medicine

Just like any tourist activity, many options to snorkeling. We were only looking at snorkeling because neither of us are scuba certified.

I love swimming but for some reason I breath through my nose instead of my mouth, I think it’s because I’m afraid of getting water up my nose so I’m breathing out of my nose. Does that make sense?

Anywhos, after we booked the trip we bought a snorkeling mask so that I could practice in the pool because a couple years ago we went snorkeling in Mexico and I wasn’t able to keep up with the group. Looking back it was because my life vest was way too tight and I wasn’t able the breath! After some practice breathing I was a pro!

We ended up going with Wavelength because a marine biologist is on board to explain all about the fishies we will see. The cost was around $240/person for the whole day.

We also had the opportunity to do a free swim which is instead of just snorkeling near the boat, the boat left and we had to swim to the boat. It is best to be an experienced swimmer to do this one.

We got to wear these wet suits that also worked as flotation due to the material. Since we went in September the water was a bit chilly but warm in the sun.

We learned that the colorful coral reef that people use as their computer background is actually when the reef is in distress. Scientists are estimating more than 90% of coral to die by 2050.

We took 954 photos and 2 hours worth of swimming footage, may have been a little overkill but I didn’t want to miss anything!

Here are the best ones:

Please don’t touch the coral!

I just wanted to be one with the fish!

It is also very difficult to take photos under water!

Right before getting out of the water, we saw a massive fish!

We must do everything we can to keep our oceans clean! You might not think the ocean or the coral reef system have anything to do with you because we don’t live in the ocean but coral reefs provide habitat for fish and other animals. If the homes and food source of fish are gone, fish will then become extinct and then everything that eats fish (including us!) will be extinct.

What can we do to help? Use less plastic, use eco-friendly products, and keep our ocean clean!

Heading back to land we saw dolphins and whales! We didn’t bring our nice camera so the photos aren’t that great but here’s the best one as proof.

After swimming with the fishies and learning about the dying coral, I wanted to quit my job and join the Wavelength team to spread awareness about the beautiful great barrier reef!

But let’s be honest, we got went to go get sushi at On the Inlet! Needless to say, the sushi was very fresh!

If we had more time, we would have loved to check out the Whitsunday islands. One day we’ll sail there with our sailboat. Ross is planning on taking sailing classes this summer.

Have you been to the Whitsundays? If you have any tips please leave them in the comments!

The final stop on our journey down under was Sydney.

Xoxo,

Nina & Ross

August 27, 2016February 8, 2019

Melbourne, Australia – The Perfect Three Days with Road Trip to Twelve Apostles

Exploring the land down under has always been at the top of our bucket list. I personally just love the Australian accent, Nicole Kidman in Australia am I right?

After finding a flight deal with United for $570 roundtrip from TheFlightDeal.com we booked it immediately!! That’s the trick to getting these amazing fares, buying the tickets as soon as you see a flight deal.

The flight had a one night layover at LAX so we saw some of our LA friends for brunch and a little walk on the beach, LA life seems so nice… one day…

Love how Ross and I are the only ones in our bathing suits, we’re like such New Yorkers. Sun? Clothes Off!

In LA we stayed at the Ace Hotel Downtown, the hotel itself was very nice and the rooftop was jamming but the area still needs some time to develop.

When we booked the flights, all of our friends asked us how long the flight was. The flight from NYC to LA is 6 hours and LA to Melbourne is 16 hours! Honestly Ross and I don’t mind long flights. You watch movies, the flight attendants bring you food, you sleep then wake up and do it all over again. It’s amazing!

Day ONE.

We arrived in Melbourne around 7 AM and had to drive off site to Fox Rent-A-Car, this was a huge mistake. Even though the company was very nice and the car was cheap and cheerful, we have not booked another “off site” car since then.

Our first stop was breakfast then checking out the graffiti at Hosier Lane.

Lucky Becky…

After walking through the graffiti, we walked around downtown Melbourne.

After relaxing by the Yarra River, we hopping into the car to drive down to Phillip Island to see the penguins!

The drive from Melbourne to Phillip Island takes approximately 2 hours, people warned about seeing kangaroos on the side of the highway but we didn’t see any. In fact, we didn’t see any kangaroos the entire time we were in Australia!

Can you tell we were excited to try out our gopro selfie stick? And by we I mean me?

*PROTIP: Get to Phillip Island before 8 AM to save on parking. Parking between 8 AM to 8 PM is $3.40 AU/hour

Penguins arrive at sunset every evening but the actual time varies with the seasons and it is recommended to get tickets before hand or you will have to stand in a long line.

Here’s us standing in line but we were so excited to see the cute little penguins!

Other things you can do in Phillip Island are:

Koala reserve
Nobbies Centre

Day TWO.

Driving out to The Twelve Apostles was the most memorable activity we did in Melbourne. We set out early to do the entire drive in one day. The journey takes approximately 5 hours on the way there and on the way back there is a inland shortcut that reduces the trip to about 3 hours.

The views were incredible the whole drive to the twelve apostles, it was hard not to get out of the car every 10 minutes to take photos!

Once you reach the twelve apostles, you can walk down to the beach to get a different perspective of the formations. Not sure what I saw in the water…

Or you can walk across a bridge to get an above ground view of the Twelve Apostles.

Interesting fact, the twelve apostles only has eight left- the ninth one dramatically collapsed in July 2005 due to erosion.

*PROTIP: If you do the drive in the winter, bring lots of warm clothes because the weather can be windy.

If you have extra time along the drive, you can check out the Ironbark Basin Walk.

(Image Source: AdventureMe)

This is us trying to set up our gopro- we have about a million photos like this. Who can relate?

Day THREE.

Hiking Fly Treetop was on my list to check out in Melbourne but it costs $25/person to hike. After doing more research it looked a bit too touristy for nature so we decided to do the 1000 steps walk in Yarra Valley.

Me during the whole hike:

Some other popular hikes in Melbourne are:

Point Nepean Walk in Mornington Peninsula

(Image source: AdventureMe)
Bushrangers Bay Walking Trail

(Image source: AdventureMe)

To read more, check out the best walks near Melbourne page.

After the strenuous 1000 steps we had a relaxing visit to Peninsula Hot Springs. At the natural hot springs you can experience 30 different bathing spas from cold plunge pools to cave pools.

The next stop on our trip was Port Douglas to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef, to learn more about our snorkel trip check out our Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef post.

Need more Nina & Ross in Australia? Check out our Australia video!

XOXO,

Nina & Ross

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