Flashback to 2018: We were young and adventurous college students living off our impulses. The only problem with that ... we had no money! To make our impulses reality we were going to have to do it on a budget.
There are great ways that you can pull together some money together to get away and places to go to that help you stretch the money while you are there. If you use sites like Kayak to book your flights and are happy just to go anywhere you can find cheap flights, if you are realistic about your budget then you can find great accommodation on sites like AirBnB and Hostelworld rather than the top hotels, but this can come with some risks if you read on. If you do want to get more tips for budget travel then read Travel can be Cheap as Chips.
We were able to scrape up the funds to book a trip to the infamous party island of Mykonos in Greece, a party spot in the middle of the Med, a perfect spot for 18 year olds just trying to get away. With it's reputation for crazy nights out all aimed at young party goers from places like the UK and the US it is the perfect place for a budget getaway and plenty of carnage. But enough about why we went, it's story time!
After a long day of travel we were excited to get into our Airbnb so we could get ready to go out for the night, it is a party island after all. However, our plans abruptly changed when we arrived and realized we had been scammed. The AirBnB didn't exist!!! I don't know whether this has happened to others but it is honestly terrifying, you become stressed and everything just becomes a bit of a blur and panic can begin to set in.
With no hotels in sight we had to act fast before a mental breakdown took full control. The first thing we did was check Instagram, because that should usually be the first course of action when you are stranded anywhere, or have we got that wrong? What were the odds that a friend of a friend of a friend was also in Mykonos at the same exact time?
Well it turns out Instagram was the place to go and we found someone! Our only option was to tell her our current predicament and hope she answered our cry for help. Te person who answered our call was a “ friend” but we had never met in person and only had a very distant social media relationship. This kind of made us nervous but they were nice enough to send the address of the hotel they were staying at, absolute hero!
We flag down a taxi, gave them the address, and showed up at the one and only Cavo Tago. Being two 20-year olds with no money, we thought we were once again getting scammed (this was/ still is way too out of our league). Luckily for us it wasn’t a scam and we got to experience living like a celebrity for the night. Needless to say, this place was an absolute dream and is built right into the natural cliffside right outside of the main town of Mykonos. Words can’t even describe the luxury and chic beauty of the place. The room (or suite we should say) had its very own infinity pool looking over views of the Aegean sea. To end a long night of partying at the world-famous club Cavo Paradiso & crashing at this random Instagram friend's hotel was absolutely bliss and proves just how amazing travel can be if you just go for it you will have an incredible experience, planned or not.
We slept on their balcony and let me tell you this wasn’t any balcony, it was an entire terrace. A beautiful day bed with the softest cushions you ever felt, once again looking over the beautiful Mediterranean. Easily one of the best nights of sleep we’ve ever had. Safe to say it pays to know people and that we will never be able to afford to stay at Cavo Tago again.
It pays to trust people and these experiences will always happen if you just put yourself out there.
Two Way Ticket is an Instagram page that focuses on the travels of Cori and Alexa two women for New Jersey who have been best friends since Kindergarten and have loads of travel stories together. They are desperate to break out of the 9-5 and to meet people from all of the world! This is a great Instagram with stunnig photos from their travels and has a fun and bubbly feel to it. Follow them @twoway.ticket
Thank you Cori and Alexa for sharing and don't worry guys they will be back to share more stories like this!
