Island Hopping in Greece - My Experience

Island Hopping in Greece - My Experience

I had the most amazing Summer I’ve ever had this year and part of that Summer was spent island hopping in Greece for three weeks. We flew in Athens then headed off to Mykonos, Ios, Santorini and then finally Crete. It was the best time ever and a great bonding experience for me and my friends. Greece is paradise. There is no other way to describe it. Amazing weather, clear warm water and stunning architecture, I never wanted to leave! Here’s my experience. Hopefully it can inspire you to book your flights for your next lads or girls holiday :)

I have made a video of my time there so if you prefer watching rather than reading here is the link :)

Athens

My first experience of Greece was Athens. We arrived early in the morning and only spent one night there. So there wasn’t much time to see much of it. This could mean that my opinion of Greece’s capital city isn’t that credible. But I wasn’t too fond of Athens. Its was dirty, unbearably hot and the driving is insane! That doesn’t mean that the historical areas weren’t stunning. We saw the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Then we had a wander around the small shops and searched all of Athens for a pharmacy so my friend could buy sun cream with no parabens. Turned out there was one at the point where we started an hour ago… typical haha We stayed at Hotel Dioskouros. It had a couple of cockroaches but it was cheap and had a stunning back area with sun chairs, music and a couple of sleeping cats here and there.

Mykonos

View from our apartment. Mykonos town

Paradise Beach

View of the sunrise from our apartments balcony

Windmills in Mykonos

So that was basically our entire Athens experience. After one night we headed off to what I considered to be the actual beginning of our holiday. This was my first time getting a ferry and i had no idea what to expect. We got Blue Star Ferries and I don’t have much to compare them to but it was a very pleasant journey considering how jet lagged I was at the time and I suffer from travel sickness. Mykonos is by far one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen. The streets, the buildings, the water, it’s just beautiful! We used Airbnb for accommodation. Oh My God, we lucked out on our apartment. it was in the very centre of town and had a balcony with the most spectacular views. Our host was as helpful as she could possibly be. Here is a link to the apartment if you are considering going to Mykonos you have to stay here!

Most of our days were spent at Paradise Beach, a beach resort with extremely comfortable beach beds and crystal clear waters. Watch out for the creepy nude man who walks up and down the beach… not the most pleasant sight haha Nights were spent either at a restaurant having a late dinner or at one of the clubs. We usually just wandered around cause the clubs are spread around the whole town. But Little Venice is where you go for all the clubs in one area. Mykonos is one of the more expensive islands for food and drink so keep that in mind if you head out to dinner.

Must see:

The Windmills

Paradise Beach

Captains

Ios

Caves in Ios

Caves in Ios

Happy Bar in Ios

Ios is where the nightlife really starts. If you want to party, go to Ios! This was by far my favourite island! It still had the beauty and small streets of Mykonos but it just had so much excitement and things to do. There were beach clubs and water sports and clubs and affordable food. If you’re looking for a cheap hangover meal, Thai Smile was our favourite place. Our first night, we went on the Ios bar crawl. This is the best thing you can do because it introduces you to the best areas to drink and you meet some great people. One of the highlights of the trip was the jet boat day trip where we swam to underwater caves and then hung out at a secluded beach. We finished the trip with jumping off the boat and snorkeling to a sunken ship. This was something to remember and I got some great videos that day.

Must see:

Slammer Bar

Far Out Beach Club

‘Meltemi Watersports’ Jet Boat Day Trip

Sweet Irish Dream Nightclub

Santorini

Mud Baths in Santorini

The Dark Knight Rises to cure our week long hangover

Sunset in Santorini

Sunset in Santorini

We purposely planned to go to Santorini after Ios so we could have some downtime after all the party. I’ll be honest, most of the four days we spent in Santorini, we watched movies on the only English channel on TV. No regrets though! We were all sick and tired after Ios and we needed it! We stayed in Markakis Studios in Fira. I wasn’t to fond of the location but the apartment was perfect! I would definitely recommend staying there. We went to Oia one evening to see the sunset and that is a must see! You don’t see colours like that in the sky in Ireland! As a day trip, my friends and I went on a boat trip from the Old Port that brought us to a hot springs and mud bath. This is so nice and relaxing but just be warned that you swim about 60 ft from the boat to these springs. After the boat goes to an active volcano and you climb up to the top. The views are amazing! One of the not-so-great-at-the-time but it’ll-be-a-great-story moments of the trip as climbing up the path that the donkeys climb. Believe me, this is not easy! In the midday sun, a half an hour climb feels like forever! Its a funny story to tell at least!

Must see:

Sunset in Oia

Hot Springs/Mud bath

Volcano hike

Crete

Foam Party in Star Beach, Crete

Parasailing in Crete

Our final stop in our trip was Crete. Finally rested, we arrived in the port in the evening. We wanted to get to our apartment before it got dark but that never happened. Crete is a lot more built up compared to the other islands so we got a bit lost looking for the bus station. Three hours later, very tired, sweaty and dehydrated, we made it to Sirius Apartments. Another stunning accommodation! Its very quiet and family run so we were a bit conscious about making noise when we were going out at night but we never had any problems. We stayed near Hersonissos rather than going to Malia cause that has a younger crowd. There is a strip in Hersonissos next to the waterfront and it has all your dining and nightlife needs! Everything was just a five minute walk away. My highlight of the trip was our last day at Star Beach. We went parasailing and banana boating, had a quick foam party and then got some henna tattoos. Was a nice day to end the trip.

Handy Tip: It may sound like there is an army of crickets coming to take over the world but it's just very loud bugs called Cicadas that come out during daylight. They’re annoying in the morning but you get used to them.

Must see:

Parasailing at Star Beach

Water front in Hersonissos
Aqua Plus Water Park

So that's the end of my Island Hopping trip to Greece. I can honestly say it was the best holiday ever and a great time for me and my friends. Hope this inspires others to go to Greece because everyone deserves to stay in paradise just once! Talk soon!

Uiscebawn x