A Very Bougie Birthday
Our group trip to Mykonos, Greece
View from the Maera Villa
Not a bad place to turn 39.
If you know me, you know I make scrolling Airbnb a hobby. I have lists saved all over the world, just in case. And a few years ago, I saved a Mykonian villa that boasted the above view, as well as a “secret disco” built into the adjacent cliffside. I mean, what?? And it got me thinking. Why plan a big trip to celebrate my 40th birthday, when I could do one to kick off the last year of my 30s?
I recklessly booked the villa for late August/early September, started a group chat, and began to plan. Lucky for me, I have amazing, badass friends, 8 of whom were down to go on this adventure with me. Despite many of these friends not having met before, everyone meshed well and we had the time of our lives. Unfortunately, this trip was so good that it convinced me to plan one every other year to far-off locales in ridiculous Airbnbs.
I could make this post 47,000 pages long by talking about this trip, but what I’d rather do is share my learnings and tips from this adventure.
Pre-Birthday Birthday Dinner in Athens
Clearly super comfortable with attention. But I do love free birthday dessert.
Dinner with a view. Talk about surreal- having dinner with 8 of my favorite people on earth, set to the backdrop of ancient ruins.
Considering a trip to Mykonos?
DO IT. Also, I have listed some recommendations below, because travel planning is my love language 💙
Streets of Little Venice, in old town Mykonos.
Getting to the island!
There are two ways to get to the island of Mykonos- you can fly in, as they do have a small airport, or take the ferry. We opted for the ferry, because to book a ticket into Mykonos from the east coast of the US was insanely expensive at the time. Like $10K per ticket. And for that price, I’d want to be on a PJ sipping expensive champagne. But the ferries in Greece are notoriously late or cancelled, so we wanted to leave plenty of time. We flew into Athens instead, and booked a hotel there for the night. This gave us a day to explore Athens and adjust to the time change, as well as sip cocktails by the rooftop pool. We booked ferry tickets here for the next morning- just make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the port, because it leaves ON TIME.
View from the ferry at one of the ports en route to Mykonos.
links to lodging, food, and experiences.
Lodging and Transport
Fresh Hotel in Athens- super affordable, yet nice and clean- perfect for a one stop.
We used this service for airport pickups rather than rely on cabs for a bigger group
Maera Villas in Mykonos- definitely a splurge, but perfect for a group trip. All en suite bathrooms, and gorgeous enough we didn’t feel the need to trek out too much. Also the staff is incredible, stocked groceries and alcohol for us and cleaned daily. They also were able to arrange cars for us, which is needed if you want to go into the town or down to the beaches.
Food and drink in Athens + Mykonos
Kuzina in Athens- As mentioned, top tier dining experience
Gypsy Jungle in Athens- Super fun, kitchy bar in Athens, we went for after dinner drinks- staff were so fun and we all left with tshirts worn by the staff that we insisted on buying (see below)
Karavaki in Mykonos- hotel restaurant but has a gorgeous view, and again, incredible food
Private chef in Mykonos- We did this one night at the house and it was amazing- the chef was lovely and it was such a vibe to have dinner made for us in our beautiful home for the week
Jackie O Town Bar in Mykonos- super fun bar named after the most famous Mykonite, with nightly drag shows and perfect for a night of dancing
NOTE: I was personally dying to go to the ABBA bar (Negrita)- you may have seen it on socials, with ABBA blasting in a cave-like bar with bartenders dancing on the bar. Much to our disappointment, it is TINY and PACKED with people. There was no way our 30- and 40-something selves were going to deal with being crammed in and sweaty and fighting just to get to the bar. If you’re younger with more tolerance for these things, give it a shot, but it was a miss for us.
The bar at Gypsy Jungle.
Activities
If you know me, you know no warm-weather vacation is complete without a boat day. I LOVE a boat day. We booked through Mykonos Sailing, and went on a half day catamaran charter, with stops for swimming in the crystal turquoise waters, guide information about the scenery, and a fabulous lunch cooked for us on board with drinks provided. It was everyone’s favorite day of the trip!
Shopping in Mykonos is amazing- in the tiny old town you can find everything from cute little local boutiques to Gucci. Little Venice is a great shopping area (plus plenty of places to grab a light lunch and an Aperol Spritz to refresh), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite shop there. Al Giga and his self-titled boutique are so much fun- beautiful pieces and champagne while you shop.
Staying Fresh in Paradise
99% of the time on this trip, my hair was a bit out of control. I was limited to a hotel-level hair dryer and could not get my hot tools to work with the converter without overheating. So if you do take my advice and travel to this little corner of the word, bring us along with you and rent your tools- you’ll thank us when your trip pics show gorgeous styled hair.
Don’t forget to tag us on socials!