A British couple has left a Greek island because there was “nothing to do”. Leah Williams and Joshua Scully have warned tourists about their miserable experience in Mykonos, Greece, saying “not to believe everything you see on social media”. The couple, who have children, claim restaurants and bars at Platis Gialos on the Greek island took their bookings only to close for the season before they got there last month.
They reportedly saw clips and photographs on social media promoting the island’s warm and bustling environment in the autumn by using photos they think were taken in the summer. Instead of warmth and sunshine, the couple was left with empty beaches, cloudy and windy weather and closed shops. Leah and her partner eventually ditched Mykonos for Cyprus, spending more than £700 on new flights and accommodation, they revealed on TikTok.
During their stay in Mykonos, they could only have food and drinks during the hotel meal times. The pair was also left with a cancelled sunset boat tour due to the gloomy weather. On the boat, Josh planned to propose to Leah, but he needed to do it on a boat he hired in Paphos, Cyprus, instead.
Leah, 27, who lives in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, with Joshua, 30, said: “We’ve got children so it’s rare we get a chance to go away. We were given a few dates we could go in October.
“I knew it was off-season and everyone was saying it was shutting at the end of October so we decided to book it. There were lots of little bars and restaurants and we booked them, we had confirmation from all of the places.
“The week before travelling a lot of them sent us emails to cancel our bookings because they decided to shut for the season. I knew the weather wouldn’t be boiling hot, but there was nothing open around our hotel, there was nowhere we could get a drink from or get snacks, we could only eat at the times the hotel restaurant was open.
“If we wanted a drink outside of those times, we just couldn’t get one because there was nowhere. We walked for about half an hour and walked to all the shops around us and they were all shut.”
“Don’t believe everything you see on social media; I had looked at things on TikTok and Instagram and places in Mykonos were posting on their Instagram stories photos of sunny days and sunsets…We were booked for five nights and we ended up staying two. The day after we got there, we looked at flights to Cyprus because we knew the weather was better there,” the mum continued.
“There was nothing to do but sit in the room. The weather was a big part of it. I’d looked at a spa and things like that to give us something to do and nothing was open.
“It was raining all day. There was only one place that didn’t cancel on us but that was after we left. This one place posted a really nice sunset and we were there and it was dark and miserable.
“They are probably posting pictures from summer and make you think that’s what you’re going to get. We didn’t want to waste it just being sat in a room all week. The weather in Cyprus was really nice, everywhere was open.”
Social media users commented that the couple should have researched the destination and should not have expected summer conditions in October.