Hey! How are you, good I hope! Woohoo I am doing it, I am actually writing about something that I have planned instead of just whatever has been going on in my head the week that I write my blog. I wanted to do a travel review because as much as it is nice to get things off my chest & write about subjects close to my heart, It’s also good to write about something I have enjoyed & where I have had good experiences and can recommend that to yourselves. **Scroll down for piccys**

I wanted to review Ayia Napa as I have been there a few times now & I feel I have an interesting perspective as it’s not been the typical girls or boys trip, but in fact with my partner. Ayia Napa is part of one of the ‘summer party places’ in the tradition that we have in England. There are a few & they even have their own chant or other name they are known for e.g. ‘Ayia Ayia, Ayia Fucking Napa’ or ‘Shagaluf not Magaluf’ or ‘Oo Ah Malia, Say Oo Ah Malia’. As much as these places make for great party places they are also beautiful Islands to visit which bear in mind should be respected. Ayia Napa is a town on the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus, Cyprus is split into two halves Turkish & Greek, Napa is in the Greek part. So, there you go, a little intro about the place. The reason my partner and I chose Ayia Napa is we’re at that age where we want to stay somewhere hot and beautiful, but at the same time visit somewhere with a decent nightlife. We have also stayed in Zante once, but Ayia Napa twice. The reason we went back compared to Zante would be the food, the food in Napa was always lovely & perfect, along with an array of stunning hotels. Whereas in Zante both of those were a bit hit & miss, however I would say the nightlife in Zante was fantastic.

I’ll start with the negatives, so we can end this on a positive note; The brits, obviously if it wasn’t for the beaches and the heat, it would feel like you were staying somewhere nice in England as there are thousands of brits who visit Napa each year, usually big groups of lads or ladettes, so if noise, villainess (when people are drunk) & all-around banter isn’t your thing I wouldn’t recommend it. The heat – we went a little earlier this year in July, my god it was hot! I believe they were having a heatwave and some days it did get up to the 40-degree mark, which of course can be a bit too much. My biggest tip would be drink as much water till your stomach aches! The night life is a pro and a con, in Napa there are a strip of bars, which lead up to a square of more bars & clubs. If you are looking for more of a chilled holiday and not too fussed about the drinking I would stick to the strip of bars as a lot more people start off there who are sober & slightly more sensible. So apart from that there’s not that many cons to it.

Our first year in Napa we stayed at Hotel Nestor & this year the Mellisi Beach Hotel, both were slightly outside of where the nightlife was as we didn’t want to be too close, however I would personally go back to Hotel Nestor, both were great, with great rooms, food & newly refurbished, however the Mellisi hotel had more of a family feel. The beaches; they are lovely in Napa, just the idyllic turquoise water, sparkling as the sun shines down…literally what dreams are made of, until you pay 20 Euros for 2 loungers… but hey they have to make their money. There’s lots of great activities in Ayia Napa & the busses are brilliant in helping you access this, 2 euros for what could be a 15-minute journey depending how far you wanted to go.

There’s Nissi beach, we visited this are first year but not our second, it is a stunning beach, however just very busy & once you have been once there is not really a need to go again. The water park, now if you want something thrilling & adrenaline, heart racing for you to do in Napa this is it… going on these slides is like being on a rollercoaster they’re just extraordinary & it is an enjoyable day out for you & your mates. There are the boat trips, however I feel these can be misleading (this is where I would recommend Zante for boat trips) in Napa they advertise all this stuff you’ll do on the brochure e.g. swimming with dolphins, making a few stops to swim in the crystal-clear water, however we just got taken on a 3-hour boat round, swam for 10 minutes & then we hopped back on to the mainland. Never mind the year before on the Yellow Fucking Submarine of death, which I would not recommend if you are like me & suffer with motion sickness. One of the best activities we did this year was Jets Skis, it’s expensive for how long you get, but it is so fun getting to ride one… even if my partner did only let me have the last two minutes! Lastly the nights out are awesome, because there is just so many options for what you want to do, you can go & have a quiet drink at the restaurant, along with some lovely Greek food, or start off in one of the bars & head to the clubs. My recommended bar would have to be Square bar which you enter just before the actual square, they have a live band every night & it’s 10 euros each in which you get a plastic cup & can get it filled as many times as you want within 1 hour (so drink). Lastly instead of a greasy kebab at the end of the night, I know my partner will appreciate me recommending the Corn on the Cob man who heats up a large Corn on the Cob & then literally paints on butter, oh my it’s like a dream.

So, if you think after reading that Ayia Napa could be the place for you, then start saving, pack plenty of sunscreen & a hat & you drink plenty of water! See you soon.

X