Saturday, 28 February 2015
My Reflection
As a wrap to planning this trip, I feel many mixed emotions. I feel happy that I will get to travel the world with one of my best friends and discover new things. But at the same time I feel very sad that this trip signifies an end of my University career at Western University. I will really miss being a student, and all of the connections I have made during my time here. But I know that this trip to Greece will help me making amazing memories that I will be able to share with my friends when I see them again at reunions.
The reason that I have chosen to stay away from Contiki tours is that I know that they are commissioned and over priced, along with the mere reason that I wanted this trip to be a learning experience for myself to truly discover Greece. I preferred this method over being simply handed a "welcome" package with a list a places I will be seeing through planned tours. Instead, I wanted to dive into the Internet and explore what other travellers have recommended and put together my own personal trip. I have to say the part that I am probably most excited for is when my roommate and I will rent a scooter in Athens for the day and ride it up the mountain and have lunch together. This is a very simple thing, but I feel it will help take our friendship to a deeper meaning and we will be able to spend quality time doing something not necessarily "typical" of tourists in Greece.
The reason that I have chosen to stay away from Contiki tours is that I know that they are commissioned and over priced, along with the mere reason that I wanted this trip to be a learning experience for myself to truly discover Greece. I preferred this method over being simply handed a "welcome" package with a list a places I will be seeing through planned tours. Instead, I wanted to dive into the Internet and explore what other travellers have recommended and put together my own personal trip. I have to say the part that I am probably most excited for is when my roommate and I will rent a scooter in Athens for the day and ride it up the mountain and have lunch together. This is a very simple thing, but I feel it will help take our friendship to a deeper meaning and we will be able to spend quality time doing something not necessarily "typical" of tourists in Greece.
Review: Overall Budget & Expenses
Cost per person (Canadian Dollars)
Airfare: 974$ (round trip)
Accommodation: $519 /2 (Athens) + $465 /2 (Mykonos) = 259.5 + 232.5 = 492$
Metro: $18.81(Airport to hotel) + 5.38 x 5 days (Metro day passes) = 45.71$
Ferry Rides:192.10$ /2 (round trip: to and from Mykonos) = 96.05$
Scooter Rental: + 137.48$ /2 (Scooter in Mykonos for the duration of June 15-21) = 68.74$
Bus: 2.55$ X 6 (to and from beach on 3 days) = 15.30$
Tours: 55.12$ (Acropolis) + 100$ (Mykonos Kayak) + 6.72$ (Acropolis Museum) = 161.84$
Food + Spending $: ~1500$
Travel + Health Insurance: 250$
Grand Total: $3353.64
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. dream. Discover. " - Mark Twain
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Mykonos - June 21 (Departure to Athens) + June 22 Final Night in Athens
June 21 - Wake up, have lunch and then return to Athens, Greece via the Blue Star Ferry which departs from the port at 2 pm and arrives at Athens at 8 pm. We must return back to Athens as the international flights back to Toronto depart from Athens, not Mykonos. In addition to this, my roommate and I would like to spend our last night sailing back to Athens and enjoy the scenery once again.
June 22 - Final night in Athens
The final Goodbye....
On our final day of being submerged in this authentic Greek heritage culture, my roommate and I will to see the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is a theatre built 161AD by Herodes Atticus as a tribute to his late wife. This landmark is located at the top of The Acropolis and on summer evenings it is run by the Greek National Opera. This is the perfect way to end our stay so that we are not too exhausted in the morning to catch our flight back to Canada.
Mykonos - June 18 - 20
June 18 - We will travel via bus to Super Paradise Beach, which is located 7 km south of Chora (the town centre which is where we will be staying). The bus operates until 4 am on an hourly basis, so this is how we will return to our apartment as the stop is located near where we are staying - according to the host of our apartment. This is a very popular sandy beach which my roommate and I are excited to wind back and relax as we let our bodies soak in the sun. Here we will enjoy authentic greek music and dancing come the night time, and delicious cocktails at the beach party.
June 19 - We will travel by bus to Paradise Beach which is located 6 km south of Chora, and is neighbours to Super Paradise Beach. Paradise beach is one of Mykonos most popular beaches and attracts younger crowds as it is known for its part scene and lively night festivities. This beach area which also has a pool, is described as a place only for "happy people" as it is filled with positive vibes.
June 20 - We will end our trip off with a day at Psarou Beach which is located 5km south of the Chora (town centre) which we will once again reach by scooter, or bus transportation. Some features of this Cosmopolitan beach include: parking, deck chairs, bars and restaurants. Online forums have mentioned that this beach can get very busy in the summer so it is important to show up early to get a deck chair, so we will have to make sure that we do that to soak in the sun all day!
Mykonos bus services will cost us 1.90 Euros which will cost us 2.55$ Canadian - this is very reasonable. The bus departs everyday from Fabrica Square, and the destinations include the beaches of: Platis Yalos, Ornos, Paradise, Paranga, Psarou, Super Paradise Beach and the Airport. The bus departs on the hour every hour, and every half an hour until 4 am during June and July.
June 19 - We will travel by bus to Paradise Beach which is located 6 km south of Chora, and is neighbours to Super Paradise Beach. Paradise beach is one of Mykonos most popular beaches and attracts younger crowds as it is known for its part scene and lively night festivities. This beach area which also has a pool, is described as a place only for "happy people" as it is filled with positive vibes.
June 20 - We will end our trip off with a day at Psarou Beach which is located 5km south of the Chora (town centre) which we will once again reach by scooter, or bus transportation. Some features of this Cosmopolitan beach include: parking, deck chairs, bars and restaurants. Online forums have mentioned that this beach can get very busy in the summer so it is important to show up early to get a deck chair, so we will have to make sure that we do that to soak in the sun all day!
Mykonos bus services will cost us 1.90 Euros which will cost us 2.55$ Canadian - this is very reasonable. The bus departs everyday from Fabrica Square, and the destinations include the beaches of: Platis Yalos, Ornos, Paradise, Paranga, Psarou, Super Paradise Beach and the Airport. The bus departs on the hour every hour, and every half an hour until 4 am during June and July.
Mykonos - June 16 - 17
June 16 - One way to get to absorb the wonderful landscape of Mykonos is through kayaking! My roommate and I plan to take a day trip kayaking tour with "Mykonos Kayak" which will include a kayak trip along Little Venice, a tour of the cove, a snorkelling experience and a delicious lunch with other tourists like ourselves. This experience will cost: 75 Euro's per person (100$ Canadian), and if you pay the entire price upfront online, then you receive a 10% discount - so we will be saving money! The trip is roughly around 6 hours and starts at 9:30 am ending at around 3:30 pm.
June 17 - Mykonos is known to be one of the rather expensive islands in Greece, so in anticipation of this I searched up some affordable recommended places on TripAdvisor to eat/visit. The search results include: Niko's Taverna, Madoupa's and Joanna's Niko's Place. We will definitely spend some time at these locations during our stay as we do not plan to bake our own home-made meals on this vacation!
Dine at Niko's Taverna - reviews online say that it is tasty, very quick for service and reasonable prices averaging around 20-22 Canadian Dollars per meal. Also it is known to be very packed so must make reservations.
June 17 - Mykonos is known to be one of the rather expensive islands in Greece, so in anticipation of this I searched up some affordable recommended places on TripAdvisor to eat/visit. The search results include: Niko's Taverna, Madoupa's and Joanna's Niko's Place. We will definitely spend some time at these locations during our stay as we do not plan to bake our own home-made meals on this vacation!
Dine at Niko's Taverna - reviews online say that it is tasty, very quick for service and reasonable prices averaging around 20-22 Canadian Dollars per meal. Also it is known to be very packed so must make reservations.
Mykonos - June 15 - The Arrival
Now, since we are young, free, and excited travellers we chose to leave Mykonos (the fun part!) to the end of our trip so that we could appreciate the rich history aspect of Greece in Athens, and instead just relax, party and enjoy the beaches in Mykonos.
June 15 - Arrive in Mykonos. Dimitri, our kind Host for our visit in Mykonos will be picking up us form the ferry port when we arrive at 1:15 pm. We will then check into the apartment that we found on www.airbnb.ca with Dimitri as our host. By 3 pm our scooter rental should arrive at this location as we will be renting a two-person scooter for the week (from www.mykonosrentals.gr) so that we can get around to eat and visit beaches!
June 15 - Arrive in Mykonos. Dimitri, our kind Host for our visit in Mykonos will be picking up us form the ferry port when we arrive at 1:15 pm. We will then check into the apartment that we found on www.airbnb.ca with Dimitri as our host. By 3 pm our scooter rental should arrive at this location as we will be renting a two-person scooter for the week (from www.mykonosrentals.gr) so that we can get around to eat and visit beaches!
To rent a scooter you must be 21, and I will be 22 years old so this will not be a problem. The cost for the week will be 97.20 Euros, which equates to 137.48 Canadian Dollars. This means it will be only 68.74 Canadian Dollars per person - a great deal for the week - looks like we will not be needing metros for our stay in Mykonos!
While staying in Mykonos, we will stay at studio 109, which has a great location right near Ornos Beach - so we will be spoiled by the spectacular view of the ocean. This place will cost us 465$ divided by 2 people to stay for the duration of June 15 - June 21. The host has offered to pick us up from the ferry port so this will be perfect for settling in and adjusting to our new location. We found this place on airbnb.com and compared it to alternative locations - but decided this would best suit our needs at an affordable rate. This is offer is inclusive: air conditioning, wifi, kitchen, and heating.
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