Hostel Review: Cozy Caveland in Santorini

Blame it on Mamma Mia and The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants. My dream trip to Santorini: luxurious, romantic, and chillax to the max. My room would have this breath-taking view of the sparkling blue ocean and I'll  be eating an endless supply of hummus and feta cheese. That didn't happen (well, not yet :P). I ended up staying a hostel called Caveland located in Karterados. Far from the noisy town of Fira and pricey town of Oia. 

I learned about Caveland through a friend I met during my Mount Pulag Climb. She backpacked across Europe as well and stayed in Caveland for her Santorini leg.

Bouganvilla in this side of the world

We stayed three nights in the 4-bed girls dorm in this wonderful hostel in Karterados. The dorm rooms were huge and they were cozy, well kept, and always clean. Lockers and hangers for each Cavelander. The lockers had the sockets in them so each Cavelander can charge her gadget. They provided two towels (one bath towel and one smaller towel). A really good deal for €18 a night. You pay a downpayment of 10% when you reserve a room.

The dorm had sofas, plenty of space for your stuff

Their breakfast includes bread, assortment of jams, butter, muesli, milk, coffee and tea. You can use their communal kitchen if you want to cook your own meals. Bring your swimsuit so you can swim in their pool! The water was cold. I had to run back to the dorm because it got windy after I swam.

 

The staff was just really welcoming and they made really good suggestions how to make our stay more enjoyable. Kostas and Veronica were very warm and welcoming to all their guests. Veronica holds her yoga classes by the pool for €7.00.

Grandpa (I forgot his name) gave us valuable tips how to explore the city. E.g. Take the bus to Oia then do thehike to Fira so it would be downhill (most people do it the other way). Don't buy anything in Oia! Everything is expensive there. Just enjoy the view and take photos.

Now if you are a bit apprehensive about staying in a hostel 20-30 minutes away from Fira (by walking), I would say that is a quite a walk, but it is a nice walk. Don't be in a hurry to do anything and do everything - the vibe of Santorini is not your usual busy buzzling town. It is near a bus stop but you can just walk to Fira anyway. 
 

 
One advantage of staying in this location is being near restaurants which offer authentic and delicious Greek meals at a really affordable price - almost half the price of those in Fira! The place is also a couple of minutes away from supermarkets and bakeries.

If you are fond of dogs, Caveland has a friendly bunch.

Staying in Caveland made Santorini more charming to me! Good value for money!

Kostas arranged a cab to take us to the airport. His advice: Be at the airport 30 minutes before the departure time. "There's nothing to do there! I have a friend who flew out the other day. He was at the airport 30 minutes before his flight and it was fine."

That idea didn't sit too well. We insisted on being at the airport two hours before our flight. True enough, there's nothing to do there. The lines were gone 30 minutes before the flight.
 

And that was Santorini!