The new 2012 guide book
The ‘A to Z Guide to Santorini’ was the third book to be added to the ‘A to Z’ series. A comprehensive, accurate and impartial book that covers all aspects of the island, its history and the many attractions to be found on Santorini (Thira).
Santorini Book Cover
Tony Oswin the author of the ‘A to Z’ series of guide books, is a British expatriate now living on the Greek island of Thassos. He realised the need for such a book during his earlier visits to the Greek islands, finding it always difficult, costly and time consuming acquiring accurate information locally. With this in mind his objective has been to create a series of guide books that accurately cover all the subjects of interest to the holidaymaker and general traveller, to help make their stay more enjoyable and problem free. These include:
- History & mythology of Santorini
- The volcano
- Atlantis
- Local culture and customs
- Different ways of visiting the island
- Hotels, studios and apartments
- Camping on the island
- Places to visit
- Organised trips
- Activities for the very young
- Beaches and resorts
- Clubs, pubs and adrenalin
- Fira Town
- The island’s villages
- Archaeological sites on Santorini
- Eating and drinking out
- A guide to Greek food
- Sports & recreation on the island
- Car & Scooter hire
- Public transport
- Bus information
- Ferry information
- Weather facts
- Local products
- Money matters
- Health facts and contacts
- Simple advice on bugs and critters
- Shopping guides
- Organising a wedding on the island
- Hints and tips for the visitor
- Maps of Santorini, Fira , Ancient Thera and Akrotiri
- 2012 Calendar
- Greek glossary
The book has been revised for the 2012 season with all the latest facts, money saving tips and comprehensive information on the island of Santorini.
The ‘A to Z Guide to Santorini 2012’ is published by Arima Publishing and is priced at £9.95
Printed with a monochrome interior and full colour cover, 186 pages.
ISBN-978-1-84549-531-2
You can order the ‘A to Z Guide to Santorini 2012’ from all good book stores. However, if you want to be guaranteed the very latest edition, you can purchase the book online from our publishers Arima, or our eBay site below.
The following is a selection of major international book retailers. To go directly to their website click on the name.
Direct from ‘A to Z Guides’
Arima Publishing (Worldwide)
eBay (UK)
Dispatch within the UK
Dispatch within the UK and Internationally
Dispatch within Europe and Internationally
Dispatch within the US and Internationally
SANTORINI QUICK FACTS
• Dramatic scenery
• Picture postcard towns and villages
• One of the main Aegean cruise destinations
• Island airport
• Black volcanic sand beaches
• World renowned sunsets
• Home to Akrotiri, the ‘Pompeii of the Aegean’
• Quality shopping in Fira
• Wedding & Honeymoon venue
• Volcano tours
• Famous for its unique wines
OUR TOP FIVE RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS FOR SANTORINI
1. Ancient Akrotiri (when re-open)
2. Museum of Prehistoric Thera
3. Boat trip to Nea Kameni volcano
4. Fira Town and Oia caldera views
5. Visiting a winery
DISCLAIMER
• The comments posted below are the opinions of the reviewer only, and unless expressly stated otherwise, are not the opinions of ‘A to Z Guides’ or its representatives. ‘A to Z Guides’ also reserve the right to delete any comment at any time for any reason.
• To the fullest extent permitted by law, ‘A to Z Guides’ and Tony Oswin expressly disclaim any and all liability and responsibility to any person or business, in respect of the content of a posted comment.
Please note that when submitting a comment, the email address confirmed by you on the form has to match the source address. To eliminate unwanted spam, our system automatically rejects any submitted comments that do not comply.
Read More
16 Comments
Dear Bryan,
Thank you for your compliments regarding my Santorini book. As to your request for maps of the towns on our website, we have found major difficulties in supplying these for downloading.
First, there are no official maps of any of the towns or villages, including even the capital Fira, as is strangely the case with most Greek islands.
We therefore looked at producing our own, as we have done with the maps of Fira etc. which are already included in the book. However, we found that due to the myriad of streets and alleyways that wind through the settlements and the fact that few of these have names, the resulting maps would be of little use and in some cases even confusing.
I wish we could help further, but once again, thank you for your compliments.
Received your Santorini Guide in preparation for our May holiday in Perissa.
What a great read & maps; lots of information ahead of time.
Slight disappointment with the web-site link as it does not seem to contain any town maps for Santorini.
Looking forward to using the guide for real in May.
Dear Tony
We purchased your Santorini book some months ago for our August holiday on the island, we returned last weekend having had a magical time, much of it due to your excellent guide.
However, when we first received the book, we read your chapter on ‘Eating out’ and were a little sceptical at your reasons for not recommending many restaurants. Then we arrived on the island and after a few days we experienced the problems you refer to in your book. Although we always found our evening meals to be good value for money and many were excellent, we noted that the quality of both the food and service could alter significantly in the same restaurant on different nights. The worst example was at the ********* (name removed by ‘A to Z Guides’) in Fira. The restaurant was highly recommended by our hotel and therefore we visited and yes we had a wonderful meal with excellent service. So much so that we decided to return for our last evening’s meal, to celebrate our holiday and say farewell to the island in style.
Sadly the meal was not up to the quality of the first night, especially surprising as Sue had the same selection of main course, the service was also not up to the standard we had experienced previously.
I now realise that as one who lives in Greece, you know better and that I should not have questioned your local knowledge!
Once again thank you for a wonderful guide book and ‘spot on’ advice.
Jed and Sue, Manchester
(Received by email)
Just a quick note to congratulate you on a brilliant guide book. It never left our side during the whole holiday. We picked up one of the free ‘Red’ guide books to compare and found out why it was free! About 90% of the book was adverts and the rest was impossible to follow. Keep up the good work!
(Posted Comment)
Fabulous book and website. They made all the difference to our holiday.
Thank you so much!
(Posted comment)
We are sailing round the southern Aegean this summer and our charter company recommended the A to Z Guides on Kos and Santorini, two of the main islands we will be visiting. What decided us on purchasing the books was the fact that they are up-dated on a regular basis. Too many times we’ve bought guide-books and found them to be way out of date. What also impressed us was the A to Z web-site, thoughtfully laid out and full of useful information and help. No book photos, but this is explained that due to the need to re-publish regularly it isn’t viable. We don’t find this a problem as photos don’t contribute to making a vacation successful, whereas accurate information does! We will certainly be recommending the books to any friends visiting these Greek islands.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
I used Tony Oswins Thassos Guide A to Z Guide to Thassos 2009 a few years back and so was really pleased to see he had written a similar guide to accompany my trip to Santorini. Again, well written and clear up to date information. I would never have done half the stuff I did on the Island if it wasn’t for this guide. Worth every penny if you are travelling or considering a trip. I hope the author will be writing more guides to the Greek Islands. Its a beautiful part of the world. Get this guide and explore.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
Thank you Mr Oswin for yet another great book.
Your Thassos 2008 publication was so helpful when we visited this lovely and historical Island again last year, that we had no hesitation in getting hold of a copy of same for Santorini which we plan to visit in 2012. By the way, whilst you will probably not remember my husband and I, we did have the pleasure of attending one of your History Shots presentations on Thassos in 2010 and were totally blown away by your immense knowledge of the Island. Will you be doing anything similar for Santorini? If so, may I respectfully suggest, if its ethical to do so, you make reference to this in your publication
Its something everyone who visits the Island should attend if they would like to know more about the Islands History. Do you have any more books in the offing?
Thank you
Best regards
Christine
(Amazon.co.uk review)
Great book! Well laid out and full of useful information. We personally found the story of the island and volcano easy to read and so interesting, painting a vivid picture of this islands dramatic past. Not so much to see on the island, but what is there is well covered in the book and accurate, including good information on the beaches and attractions. We stayed in Oia and found a lovely restaurant overlooking the volcano, the first meal was perfect the second was just passable, so we understand the authors approach to eating out! The A to Z web site is also a great idea and backs up all in the book. Highly recommended guide.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Oia in Santorini. This book was absolutely brilliant and essential for the trip. It was very accurate and up-to-date.
I would recommend that anyone visiting or planning a trip to Santorini purchase this book.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
We are going to Santorini next July, and have already found the A-Z Guide useful and concretely practical. As a tool for what to expect, how to get around, where to eat, what each beach has to offer, and the intricacies of excavation sites, we feel the A-Z Guide is more instructive than the other books we’ve seen. Nicely laid out and user friendly too. Tony Oswin was even good enough to answer additional questions through email.
Nora Bonosky, Brooklyn, New York
(Amazon.com review)
Great communication, fast delivery. thanks
A to Z Guide to Santorini 2011
(Feedback on eBay.co.uk)
I thought I’d send a message and say thanks for the guide book! I have to admit I went for the Thomas Cook guide book first, because of the price. But when we received it it is only 4 x 6 inches and extremely hard to follow. All the resorts are broken up into different sections and I am sure it would be a nightmare to follow when we get there! So decided to invest in your book and what a difference, easy to read, well laid out and packed with lot’s of useful facts and info. OK it doesn’t have photos like the Thomas Cook guide, but I know what a plate of Greek food looks like as well as a flower decked balcony and the beach photos are as uninformative, so your point is well founded.
Now looking forward to Santorini next year!
Thanks, it confirms, you should not always go for the cheapest!!
Pete Humphries
(Posted Comment)
The guide is just that… helpful and has all the information you need to make your vacation an even more memorable one. No pictures but hey, you get to go see for yourself! All the information was useful and up to date. Excellent book, we took it all over the island with us and felt that Tony was on holiday with us! Well worth the money.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
Just been on an aegean cruise with a day stop at Santorini.
Purchased the book and found it very useful.
(Amazon.co.uk review)
Having used the A to Z Guide for Thassos, it was an obvious choice for our trip to Santorini. Most books include useful everyday hints and tips and this one is great at that, but it’s unique point is the well researched and fascinating information it contains that allows the reader to see the real Santorini.
Thanks – more please!
(emailed and Amazon.co.uk review)
Post a Comment