When my sister first decided to book us a last minute holiday I was very excited. Work was getting very boring and I was glad to be getting away. However when I found out it was in Falaraki I was a bit spectacle. One because of all the bad press it had and two because going out clubbing wasn’t really my thing.
When we arrived to be honest we weren’t very impressed. The roads were very dusty and a lot of the buildings were half built and there were mad men on scoters every where. On our journey to the ‘Hotel’ we did notice that some buildings had a lot of care taken over them and they were fully built. Later when we went to look around we found that these buildings where mainly Churches or Schools. Compared to the other buildings there and some of the buildings over here these places looked amazing.
Everything over there is very basic you literally get a shower toilet and bed. We were staying in self-cateringaccommodation, and to cook we had two small hobs! You also get
two plates, two knives etc, so if you go there expect to eat out for every meal as I have no idea what you could cook on two tiny hobs! Or why you would want to cook any way.
All the people over there are really friendly (sometimes they are a bit sleazy). The food and drink is very cheap. For me and my sister and evening meal would cost about 10 euros which is about £6.50. The drinks are even cheaper; everywhere you went the Cocktails and Long Drinks (e.g. Vodka and Coke) where only 5 euros (about £3) and where always buy one get one free, so that made up a bargain of two drinks for about £3! In a lot of the bars and clubs you also got a free shot when you brought your drinks, in general this was Peach Schnapps so if you so hope you like the stuff. For a pint of local beer it was about 2 euros 50 (about £1.60) and for a pint of soft drink was about the same. Obviously with all the alcohol you will need to hydrate yourself, as it is suggested you don’t drink the tap water you will have to buy bottled. Fortunately this is very cheap you can my a 500ml bottle for about 50 cents (about 33p) but make sure the bottled is sealed as you don’t want to be paying for tap water that will just make you ill.
You can get brand names over there things like Coca-Cola (even Cherry Cola!) and Walkers Crisps but these tend to be quite expensive as they are imported from the UK. A packet of walkers crisps was about 1 euro 50 (about £1) so I suggest if you really need some crisps just buy they Greek ones they are just as nice!
I went at the beginning of June and even then it was very hot. In fact sometimes it was too hot that I felt like I didn’t want to do anything but go in the pool. There are lots of other things to do during the day. There are lots of water sports to do such as water skiing or the ringos; you can also go snorkeling or just on a boat trip. If you just go down to the beach you will find loads of people down there offering these things and the more you turn them down the cheaper it will get, once you get to a reasonable price take it! There are also lots of shops a lot of them are open all day but some close for lunch. A lot of them are open til about 21:00 if you would like to do a bit of late night shopping.
If you just want to relax and watch a bit of television a lot of the bars do show Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emerdale in the evenings. They also show films during the day whilst I was out there Harry Potter 3 and Shrek 2 where being shown every where. These were new releases in the cinema back here at the time. As these are shown in pubs or bars you don’t have to pay to see them. You have to remember that these are ‘dodgy’ films so the quality may not be that good but you can’t complain when it’s free.
Talking of free stuff if you work it out properly you can get lots of stuff for free; this ranges from a fish bowl (a huge bowl with a cocktail in that you share with lots of people) to free entry to the clubs. As there are so many pubs, clubs and bars they are all desperate to get your custom. I found that a lot of the bars in the evenings offer you free tickets to the clubs if you go in and have a drink; generally people go onto the clubs afterwards so you may as well take up this offer.
Most of the evening action takes place on Bar Street and Club Street. They are right next to each other so once the bars close you can easily move onto the clubs. This is the place where Falaraki got most of its bad reputation from so when I first went here I was a bit unsure. However it was nothing like it is reported in the news papers, everyone is friendly and yes there is a lot of drink but it is up to you how much you drink. I can understand why some people do get into trouble but I felt very safe. As long as you stay with your friends (if you don’t go with a big group you will soon make lots of friends) you will be safe. It is no worse over there than it is over here.
I would recommend this holiday as an experience you must have, although I would not go there again I did enjoy myself. If you are into clubbing and drinking this is definitely somewhere you should try. If you are into sight seeing or relaxing this is definitely not your place. If you get the chance to go then do it, it didn’t cost me much. In fact it only cost me £120 for the week inclusive of insurance. Have fun and stay safe!
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Sep 10th, 2004
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