Thirassia, cross over and travel through time

If you want to get a taste of what Santorini was like several decades ago, you don’t need to look back in a photo album of the 50s but simply take the boat and cross over to the small island of Thirassia and its traditional settlement of Manolas (photo), which also stands on the steep volcanic rocks of ancient Thera, Strongyli.

find it quickly:

Accommodation
Photos
Map

If you look at the map of the Aegean and focus on Santorini , or better yet, fly over it in a plane (photo), you will notice the round shape that the island had before the great volcanic eruption of 1600 BC. This shocking geological phenomenon engulfed most of the island in the sea leaving Thera as we know it now along with Nea and Palea Kammeni (the volcano), Glaronisi and the north eastern part of ancient Strongyli, modern Thirasia.

Flying over Santorini island – Flying over Santorini island

Access to the unknown but beautiful Thirassia

Thirassia is located a short distance (1.4 nautical miles) from the port of Oia, the beautiful Ammoudi. From there, small boats (launches) will take you to the small seaside village of Rivas (Agia Irini) in Thirassia. The boat trip takes about 15-20 minutes and costs 1,04 euro (price in 2016). In Ammoudi there is no parking and you leave your car on the right and left side of the road (depending on the time and traffic you may have to park at a spot with a long walk to Ammoudi)

Oia and Ammoudi as seen going towards the islet of Thirasia

Alternatively, if you stay for example in Fira and don’t want to go to Oia, you can get off at the port of Athinios from where there are routes to the second port of Thirassia, Korfos (which we will mention later) while several sailing boats and tourist boats end up at Korfos for a short break and perhaps a meal after visiting the volcanic crater of Nea Kammeni. Now if your first destination is Thirassia there are also some ferry or speedboat routes that pass by this small island.

Once you arrive in Riva, you will board the bus for your transfer to the main town of the island, Manolas, while if you have time and appetite you can also get off at Potamos village, which is an intermediate stop of the bus.

Enjoy the majestic view of Manolas.

When you arrive in Manolas, we would suggest you to start walking immediately in its narrow alleys and initially head to the right of the settlement (as you look across Santorini) towards the edge of the settlement from where you will find places with the best view of the landscapes of this unique place (we found the best view in the kiosk of an old hotel “Zacharo Studios” although a large complex had started to be built that had already cut off the view to the settlement, I don’t know what it will be like when it is completed).

Thirassia, the settlement of Manolas and Santorini

At this point you will understand that the natural landscape has no particular differences from that of Fira or cosmopolitan Oia, although I think that Fira, for example, is at a higher altitude than Thirassia which maximizes the awe that the observer feels. Either way, Thirassia and specifically the view at Manolas offers similar pleasure while still remaining away from the noise, aesthetic interference of tourism and its effects on the traditional character of Santorini’s settlements.

So the truth is that you don’t have too much to do with Manolas, which made me curiously happy.

I think I spent most of the time enjoying the natural scenery and walking through the narrow streets of the village taking pictures of a village that has been left behind in time. We saw several houses of course in ruins (photo) as well as a relatively large old tourist business which may be explained by the fact that Thirasia now only has 320 registered residents from about a thousand several years ago.

In Manolas you will find a couple of cafes and two taverns. I ate at one of them, you will find it at the beginning of the paved path leading to Korfos, once again gazing at the wonderful view of Korfos and Santorini while enjoying the well-cooked stuffed fish that I ordered. I think this wonderful combination is hard to describe and surpass!

Descending to the Korfos

Prickly pears dominate the steep slopes of Thirassia

But the time had passed and I had to go down to Korfos to take the boat that would take me back to Ammoudi (a small harbour below the settlement of Oia) where I had left the car. So the path to Korfos is quite downhill which made me think that I was right to choose this particular route (to climb Manolas from Riva by bus and walk down to Korfos) since the climb is demanding, especially if it is done at noon under the strong summer sun, something particularly evident in the faces of those who were climbing from Korfos to Manolas.

Of course, this inconvenience is part of the experience that Santorini offers and I am not discussing the multiple benefits of such a physical activity. Do not attempt it unless you have eaten a little before in some of the taverns of Korfos, if you are not feeling well or are not in a relatively good physical condition. Alternatively, you can go up on a donkey (photo).

In the second port of Thirassia, Korfos

Arriving at Korfos, I realized that it would be great if I had a little more time to take a dip in the sea and its green and dark blue waters. There is no particular beach but small patches of pebbles and rocks for diving and I was really jealous of those who were already in the deep clear waters of Thirassia. Next time I’ll know and I’ll have more time for a swim anyway. After the dive you can eat at the several fish taverns that are basically most of the buildings of the settlement. Probably in winter no one will stay down here.

Back to Amoudi of Oia

The boat came and I took the way back to Ammoudi and Santorini. If after all these hours you still haven’t eaten anything, in Ammoudi you will find even more fish taverns so you have no excuse for the unjustified fast you have imposed on yourself.

Personally, I had already started to digest the stuffing I had eaten in Thirassia and since I wasn’t hungry I decided to take the bath I owed myself by following the path that starts after the last taverna in Ammoudi.