This isn't fashion or beauty related at all but I've just got back from Crete (specifically Malia) and I wanted to share my holiday experience with you.
So firstly let me get this clear, I'm not the typical 'girls holiday' or 'girls/lads on tour' type, actually I was dreading this holiday, we booked it on a spur of the moment, it's never going to actually happen kind of thing last December.. but then July came and we were getting on a plane.
The journey was fine, other than getting up at 2am to get to Manchester airport for 5am to fly at 7am. But we all made it and arrived in Heraklion airport about 1pm, Greek time. I love flying and especially the getting off the plane, hot air in your face feeling, it didn't disappoint.
When we arrived in Heraklion we got in a taxi to take us to our hotel at the top of the Malia strip, Aegean Sky. My review of the hotel is that it was pretty good, especially for the price, including flights our whole trip cost us about £400, not bad for a week in Crete. We were greeted with 'welcome shots' and shown our room, it was comfortable, reasonably sized and cool. However the only downside, as we were self catered we expected there to be some means of cooking food, no such luck (unless you count a kettle.) Other than this minor annoyance everything was fine.
Our first day (and pretty much every other day after that) involved us going to the beach, Cretan beaches (even the lad ridden, alcohol soaked ones of Malia) are beautiful, slightly ruined by the hundreds of sunbeds, but still beautiful just the same.
The Malia strip consists of (as you'd expect) bars, clubs and restaurants with a few tourist shops and other shops dotted around. Walking up and down the strip is a dangerous game (not really) what with all the quad bikes and cars that almost see humans as a target rather than something to avoid, surprisingly we got through the week without major injury.
Going out in Malia is (again, as you'd expect) cheap, not as cheap as I thought, but comparatively very cheap to the UK. The 'PRs' are annoying, there's no getting away from that (or them!) and they will try literally anything to get you to try their deal (5euros for 2/3 drinks, 2/3 shots and 2/3 fishbowls depending on the bar and the amount of people.) Trust me, they're all the same, make sure when you're buying shots you get proper alcohol and not the juicy 'shots' which I'm pretty sure are 99% orange juice (positive side being that they taste much nicer than the tequila/sambuca/vodka, negative being that they won't have any affect on you whatsoever.) I'm not one to get completely paralytic on a night out, nor am I one to get off with/go home with any random stranger who looks my way, if you're up for that, there's plenty of opportunity, if you're not then it's not obligatory, in fact it's easier than I thought to make it clear that that's not happening, a nice surprise for me to be honest.
Eating in Malia is fine, okay, but not necessarily... nice. The food is average and very typically 'Brits abroad' kind of thing, you can get roasts/ sausage and mash/ fish and chips pretty much anywhere. If you're looking for good quality, genuine Greek food.... good luck, I really wanted to try some proper Greek food but I didn't see any Greek restaurants anywhere in Malia, perhaps if you look further afield you'd find some great places but our transport and budget for getting around was limited so we stuck to Malia's offerings. If you are looking for good (albeit not Greek) food, try Gringo's at the top of the strip, it's Mexican but proper home cooked Mexican (make sure you try their nachos, they're so good, especially the homemade guacamole.)
I can't give any opinion on 'booze cruises' as I really didn't fancy one, tacky expensive and dirty is the reports I've heard back (the girl we sat with on the plane home said they really weren't worth the money but it wasn't too bad.) We did go on a more family orientated boat trip that took us to Port Sisi/Sissi (I saw it spelled both ways) which is a lovely little port, full of nice restaurants/cafes and little tourist shops, more appropriate for a family holiday than the noise and madness of Malia.
So, overall I did enjoy my holiday, came home with a tan and a smile on my face but I wouldn't go again, it was an experience and it was a fun one but I don't see myself as the target audience for these kind of holidays and as I rarely spend time in an all girl group, I found the 'girls holiday' aspect of it slightly annoying (and shriek-y.) It's a fun night out, a really pleasant day and you easily make friends there but at the same time, you feel for the locals who put up with 3-4 months of British teenagers and young adults only up for sun, sex and alcohol all on the cheap and yes tourist income really helps them stay in jobs and food but the price is a little high for them, in my opinion. Honestly, it's what you make of it, I had a good time and it's really not my scene, I imagine if you love that kind of holiday it can be the best week of your life. All I can say is go with an open mind, there is still something for everyone, it feels a very safe place and going on holiday with friends (be it Malia or somewhere else) is an experience I found useful before going to university as a taster of complete independence.
Thanks for reading, sorry it's so long!
Clare
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