Greek Island Hopping with busabout

The Greek Islands are well known for their jaw dropping views, friendly locals and mouth-wateringly fresh sea food. Less well known - to us British - is the concept of "hopping" around them with the company Busabout. Although a British company, they mainly attract Aussies, as it is a unique way to travel with all the benefits that come with group travel (our tour guide Micky called it a "good time atmosphere") but with all the flexibility of solo travel (as you pick your own accommodation and every excursion or pub crawl is completely optional). For me and my boyfriend Busabout was a perfect way to explore the Greek Islands, it offered us just the right amount of guidance, amazing friendships and alone time in perfect measure.

Mykonos - Paradise Beach resort

Paradise beach is exceptional value for money, with the choice between tents, huts, bungalows (which we stayed in) and dorm rooms there is an option to suit every budget. What's more, there are tunes playing all day from the bar, which puts you in just the right mood for the slightly-expensive-but-not-surprisingly-so two-for-one cocktails right on the beach.
If you need something from your room? No problem, the beach is a five second walk to the accommodation. Feel pekish? No problem, a two second walk down the beach will place you at a nice cluster of restaurants serving salads, sandwiches and some of the best stone oven baked pizzas I have ever had the pleasure of eating twice daily! Maybe then you will, like I did, take a nap on the beach, and what better way to be awoken than with catchy holiday tunes and men in pink hot pants announcing that it's happy hour? Paradise beach is a laugh to say the least!



Paros - Elizabeth Pension Guest House

After the craziness of Mykonos, Paros is a welcome haven. You can get lost wandering round the winding cobbled streets of the quaint town, let rip with some traditional plate smashing and laze on the beach in the heat. The optional bus about boat trip was one of the best trips of the whole holiday, with swim stops all around Paros you work up an appetite jumping off the boat and exploring caves before weighing anchor at a secluded beach where you can play volleyball or sunbathe while captain cooks up barbecued octopus, fresh greek salad, and shots of ouzo to wash it down.

Santorini - Hotel Antonia and Volcano View Hotel

For our first few days on Santorini we stayed at the recommended "Hotel Antonia" which is an extremely friendly family run hotel where a coffee is offered to you at every venture down to reception. As for the optional trips, the Santorini bucketlist was slightly overpriced and not much for our money, our friends rented out a car and saw the island for a fraction of the cost and at their own pace. The trip to Oia, on the other hand, at around €5 is not to be missed! After being driven to Oia, you walk through the shops and bars to the end of the island where you can perch on ancient walls and prepare for the sunset with your provided drinks and soulvjaki with all your busabout friends. If your brave enough, you can climb and sit on the ruins, or for the really gutsy jump down a level to escape the crowds and watch in privacy.  For our next two nights in Santorini, we splashed out on four star Volcano view hotel, which I would definitely recommend if you want some luxury and absolutely breathtaking views.

Ios - Far Out Village


Having lost most of our group by staying two extra days on Santorini, Ios wasn't the crazy party we had imagined. For those with the energy the pub crawl rivals those of Ibiza and Majorca, with body shots and giant jenga drinking games, and the hotel pool party is not far behind with blasting dance music and podiums to dance on. That is if you can make it out of your room after all the watersports available! We opted for the water safari where for €15 you kayak to a secluded beach for (yes another) barbecue, and ride back on a banana boat, which may not sound all that strenuous, but it is if you raced (and won) all the other kayaks to the beach like us!

Athens - Athens Style Hostel

We started and ended our trip at Athens Style, a friendly hostel in a great location - one bus ride from the airport, which is easy enough to get to if you don't stupidly write down the wrong bus number like I did, but if you were to find yourself lost in Athens don't worry, the Greek are very friendly and bus drivers willing to stop in the middle of cross roads to let you out in the right direction! When you do make it to the hotel (hopefully in one piece), you'll find that it is in the heart of the cities' bustling Syntagma Square, opposite the antiques market and down the hill from the acropolis (which can actually be visible from the hostels trendy rooftop bar). The hostel offers a "free" walking tour (by which "free", means the guid is not qualified and so can only ask for a donation not a fee) but offers you local knowledge of the ancient sites and allows you soak up the history of athens without any rigid schedules dampening your spirit or heavy fees weighing down your pocket. Whats more entrance to all archaeological sites in Athens is free for all EU students!

Temple of Poseidon Sounion

We visited Sounion (the temple of the ancient greek god of the sea) at the end of our trip, and if you can find time for the two and a half hour, €12 bus ride from Athens it is not to be missed. On the lunch time bus you arrive in Sounion at around 3pm, enough time for an ice tea on the beach below before heading up the hill to the magical temple just before sundown. Wandering in and out of its shadows and gazing through it's majestic pillars at the warm glow of sunset - as the greeks did before you - was, in my opinion, the perfect end to a perfect Greek trip.

Best Sunset:  Santorini Volcano View Hotel 10/10
Best Pizza: Mykonos Paradise Beach 7/10
Best Crêpe: Syntagma Square Athens 5/10

Gracias Corona! - A trip winners review of Ibiza

So one friday morning I'm rushing around my house, trying to find a matching pair of socks in an attempt to not be late for work, when that familiar sound of a twitter notification chimed through the room.
"Pack your bags @jess_******* your going to ibiza!" was written across my screen.
My first thought was that some computer had tweeted me a virus, like when your tweeted how much someone can't believe what they've seen you do on "this video" and to click on the link to see for yourself, but after numerous "IS THIS A JOKE?!?!" emails to coronas lovely social media associate I was assured that it was neither a virus nor a joke, that I had unknowingly won a trip to Ibiza with CoronaUK! Turns out that a few days before I had retweeted a picture of a sunset that corona had put on (I like a good sunset!), unsuspectedly entering the competition, and a few days later I would be on a flight to the Baleariac island. No expenses were spared on this trip, but here are some tips on how to lap up some luxury while on budget thats slightly smaller than that of my friends at Corona!

Firstly the Corona Sunset festival, at around €35 a ticket it is most definitely worth it! With a laid back hippy vibe - a sort of mini hippy market brimming with henna ladies, handmade jewellery stalls and reasonably priced sweet smelling food from around the world - and the beautiful view of the sun setting behind Ibiza castle, it makes for a magical night in Ibiza, no matter what DJ's are playing that particular year. Without the pleasure of a hospitality wristband that I had (which included the ever present free bar that was almost the highlight of the whole trip), the drinks are ridiculously expensive and with the midday sun beaming down it is a good idea to go later to the festival. Obviously you don't want to miss the sunset or any good DJ's, but you can definitely soak up the sun sipping on sangria by the pool, skipping the sweaty dehydration part of the day, before you venture down to the marina for a night of magic, music and corona filled cocktails underneath the stars.

And after a night like that, you might be in need of some gorgeous place to help nurse a sore head, with the freshest of air to help a weak stomach. If so Calla Bassa beach is an answer to your prayers. If your on a budget, you are free to take a towel, set up camp on the beach and soak up the view of the hills au naturel. But if you have a bit of spare cash it is definitely worth paying for a bed (you could even split the price of a double bed, which comes with a mattress, between a group of you), which are surrounded by wind chimes and buddhas to relax you, and waitress to tend to your every need.

But the best advise I can give is most definitely to enter ANY free competition on any form of social media. Because to win a trip of a life time you have to enter the competition, like in the Italian story of the man who cries at the foot of a statue every night wishing to "please please" let him win the lottery, the statue one day replies "please please buy a ticket".

Sunset Rating: 6/10
Best Pizza: Deli opposite pacha which was still open at 6am 7/10
Best Crêpe: N/A