IF YOU ARE VEGAN & GOING TO SANTORINI, GREECE STAY HERE.
Utopia Dionysos/Tranquilo exceeded our expectations immensely. But we had some trepidations at first because:
- we knew we were going to be on the non-touristy side of the island, & feared we’d miss out on things. The city you see in postcards, Pinterest (^^& above^^) are of Thera, and our accommodations were on Perissa Beach, the opposite side of the island.
- we were backpacking, and for us, renting cars isn’t typically an option so we didn’t know how we would get to Perissa (affordably).
- after we booked our accommodations, there was a strike at the Piraeus Port of Athens.
- the ferry trip from Athens to Santorini is 10 hours. Was it worth it at this point?
It seemed like everything was falling apart & were tempted just to cancel everything, maybe choose another island, or just go to another country all together. BUT we continued to communicate are problems to Andreas, our host, and he fixed everything! (Well, he didn’t fix where Perissa was, but turns out Perissa is SO MUCH better than Thera. & the ferry trip was still 10 hours. Oh well.)
He helped us by:
- arranging a shuttle to pick us up at the port and drop us off at Tranquilo.
- keeping a close watch on the port strike, & assured us that the strike would be over by the time we’d departed from Athens. (It was difficult for us to figure out the strike, but Andreas being Greek knew where to look online.)
- providing SUCH a relaxing experience.
Andreas graciously drove us out to Thera one evening where we enjoyed the sunset & some food. But we anxiously waited to go back to the black sand beach of Perissa. We were so relaxed & comfortable there! (& honestly Thera has so many tourists!)
Met some Grecian kitties while we explored. ? (Here are the rest of the kitties we met in Europe!)
Awww, back in our element. Tranquilo provides a laid-back atmosphere that was more our speed. We are not “luxury” travelers, so the vibe at Thera (from this experience, I’m willing to give Thera another try) seemed more expensive than we preferred.
Their sitting arrangement is so comfortable! See that sign? It says “feel free to take your shoes off.” The staff of Tranquilo really do their best to make sure you’re comfortable.
The view from Tranquilo. If you are a patron of Tranquilo then you get to use their lounge chairs & umbrellas on the beach. Also if you book their accommodations, you get discounts at the restaurant.
The black sand of Perissa. Santorini used to be a volcano, so this is lava rock sand.
#breakfastviews at Tranquilo.
I read TWO books while at Tranquilo. TWO! We didn’t have much on the itinerary so we laid on the beach and read for most of the time. (If you’re familiar with the rest of our trip, we were going to so many cities & traveling so much, it was nice just to relax.)
I read One Day by David Nicholls (^^this is the first page^^) which I REALLY enjoyed & definitely recommend. & I read The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. It was okay.
LOVE THIS. We really disconnected on this part of our Euro trip. Sometimes while traveling I felt consumed by having to document and post on social media but our time at Tranquilo reminded me to just relax. #islandlife for sure.
Before we arrived in Santorini, we were worried about the availability of vegan options. Turns out Tranquilo is VERY vegan friendly with gigantic salads, smoothies, hummus, & lots of vegetable options. It really added a great peace of mind that the staff was knowledgable on what veganism is. (They do have omnivore options on the menu as well.)
Below are some of my favorite items. But there are more than what is pictured below!
Quinoa Salad: mixed salad, quinoa, avocado, little Santorini Tomatoes, cucumber, green apples & orange with an olive oil, lemon & lime dressing.
The salads are very large. Great for a filling meal or to share.
The Garden Salad: With boiled Naxos potatoes (Naxos another island in Greece where they are famous for their potatoes), little Santorini tomatoes, fresh cucumber, spring onion, carrot, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, fresh green salad onion, & olives. (order without cheese!)
Tranquilo Dip: Fresh Santorini tomatoes, peppers onion zucchini, olive oil & chilli dip served with pita.
Hummmussss. with pita!
Jungle Smoothie: Banana & mango
Koh Tao: Banana, coconut & peanuts.
This sounded odd to me at first, but I assure you, this is the best smoothie I have ever had.
Other vegan options are Veggie Wrap without cheese. Gigantes, giant beans cooked in the oven with carrot, garlic, fresh tomato salsa, parsley and dill. Mushroom Cream Cashews, mushrooms marinated in soya sauce and balsamic with cream made from cashews. (Makes as a great appetizer or light meal.) Fava Dip, Traditional Santorini dip made from Santorini fava beans with onion served with pita. Fresh Fruit Salad. & various smoothies that can be made dairy-free, but I HIGHLY suggest the Koh Tao!
Sean, Keith, Andreas, our host, me & Valya, server at Tranquilo.
Kylie, Tranquilo server & yoga instructor & myself. She lead us in yoga on the beach one morning. A memory I will not forget!
When we left on our last day, we had some salad & needed our leftovers packaged up. On the ferry to Naxos, we saw this note that the Tranquilo team left us. THEY MADE US FEEL SO SPECIAL. I cannot suggest going to Tranquilo enough.
I have never felt as relaxed as I did at Tranquilo in my life. I was relaxed physically & mentally because I never had to second guess what I was eating. We had no worries what so ever. There is no doubt that this was one of the best Airbnb experiences we had. (Here are some tips to find the perfect Airbnb listing!)
Here’s a short video that another guest of Tranquilo made a few years ago that perfectly shows the vibe of Tranquilo.
https://youtu.be/22iWip7fKpY
I hope you visit Tranquilo one day & I hope to return soon! Have you been to Greece? Any plans or dreams to visit an island & just relax? Tell me all about it in the comments section below!
– Christina