Our flight into Athens was a scary and bumpy one. The wind was strong which bobbled the flight in the air, the whole plane clapping like an audience and the captains landing was the show. We caught a bus from the airport to our hotel, situated right on Edem beach where we relaxed for two days before meeting with our tour group, our first ever tour with Contiki.
ATHENS
We toured the city of Athens, including the Panathenaic stadium which held the first modern Olympic games. The Temple of Zeus, the Parthenon and the Acropolis, which so many people would mistakenly call the apocalypse.
We explored the beautiful neighbourhood known as Plaka, the district of Psiri, the streets, the markets and shopping districts. We grabbed a coffee from Starbucks, wondering what interesting name we would get as every time we order one our names are never right! My name is Carlie, and my boyfriends name is Wade. Starbucks version of our names are below…
Back to the hotel, we finished our three nights with drinks on the rooftop bar where we met our tour group, made up of 60 people & two bus loads full!
Athens Accommodation: Hotel Poseidon
We boarded the first ferry to the island of…
MYKONOS
Mykonos is beautiful. Whitewashed buildings make up tiny maze-like streets filled with shops and treats in the main town. The water is so beautifully clear. It’s a sight to see as fisherman hang freshly caught octopus like they were clothes to dry on a washing line.
We stayed at Aphrodite beach which was quite a way from anywhere; the main town or paradise beach. But, the sight of our hotel got us excited as it sat right across the road from the beach filled with beautiful blue waters and endless sun chairs. The restaurant perched on the waters edge was amazing!! Especially the bar tender Costa. Surprised at just how cheap ‘fast food’ is in Greece compared to other European cities, we enjoyed kebabs for €2.50 and large bottles of water for €0.50 ! It made you want to pay more.
We watched the sun set over Mykonos town, the traditional Cycladic houses known as Little Venice from the famous windmills. We went into town for a traditional Greek meal before hitting the many bars the town had to offer.. In love with the island already!
We went to the world-famous Paradise Beach, ministry of sound was the event as we partied into the early hours of the morning. Unable to get a taxi home as our accommodation was too far a drive, we partied until the 6am tour bus took us back and caught the beautiful sunrise.
There is plenty to see and do in Mykonos, from the pelican man, toga parties at the hotel and relaxing on the beach all day. Our three days were up, and we were on to the next island…
Mykonos Accommodation: Aphrodite Beach Resort & Hotel
SANTORINI
Santorini took me completely by surprise! Of course it’s as beautiful as everyone makes out. Photos of beautiful whitewashed buildings, blue roofs perched on the cliffs edge overlooking the beautiful blue Aegean sea – it’s when you turn around that it shocks you. The island is way bigger than I anticipated and it resembles a desert! I guess after all, it is a volcanic island.
We stayed in the town of Fira, the perfect base to explore Santorini. Get ready for more whitewashed buildings and narrow streets filled with cute shops. The sunset is also great from this town. After dinner, we had free shots of Ouzo before heading to KissingFish, a spa where hungry fish ate at our feet… Yep it’s as gross as it sounds.
A group of us decided to hire a car and some hired buggy’s so we could leave the Contiki group to tour the island on our own. We visited the famous red sand and black sand beaches – so good to swim in the refreshing icy waters. Ending our day at a beautiful restaurant that had the best views over the island and the volcanic crater that sat in the ocean as the sun set around us.
You mustn’t miss out on what this island is really famous for though, head to the town of Oia. The sunsets aren’t famous for nothing! As you navigate around the town, watch out for the donkey trails. Find a spot on the cliffs edge and watch the sun set – there’s not much else more spectacular than this.
Santorini Accommodation: Haroula Hotel
IOS
The last and honestly our favourite stop of the Greek Islands, the island of Ios. Definition of relax all day, party all night. Our accommodation was amazing as our room had a private balcony with beautiful views of the beach below. Added bonus that it’s only a short walk from our hotel to the beaches below where our days were spent relaxing or doing water sports at Mylopotas beach and our nights were spent partying at Far Out Beach Club.
We jumped on the bus and head to the small streets of Hora, filled with small clubs and restaurants, most with signs outlining ‘sorry closed – gone fishing’ – that’s how relaxed Greece is for you! We had a pretty sweet dinner with everybody celebrating Mary’s birthday !!
We waved goodbye to the Cycladic islands headed back to Athens….
Ios Accommodation: Far Out Hotel & Spa
This tour appealed to us mostly because we had 3 nights in each destination and honestly it was great! The only negatives being that we had way too many people in the one group so it made it hard to get along with everyone – But in all honesty, it didn’t matter because we met some of the best people!!
Comparing Travel Ways
Solo: complete flexibility, choose your own itinerary, usually requires prior research for transport, may not be as easy to meet people.
Busabout: great option to get around Europe, meet lots of people, can choose how long you want in each city, flexible, can use it as a tour or do your own thing.
Contiki: set tour days, same people which can be great if you have a good group! Or suck if you have a bad group. Hardly any flexibility, can feel like a school excursion with set meeting times every day. Great to get an insight into each destinations, to see if you want to come back. Most excursions aren’t included in the already high price.
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 