Leah Williams and Joshua Scully were lured to Mykonos, a Greek island popular with tourists, by watching videos posted on social media apps, such as TikTok and Instagram
A British couple who booked a holiday after watching videos on TikTok and Instagram left Mykonos early — because there was “nothing to do”.
Leah Williams and Joshua Scully 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. The couple, who have children, have now warned tourists “not to believe everything you see on social media” following their miserable experience.
They say clips and photographs on TikTok and Instagram — often posted by businesses on Mykonos — were actually taken in the summer, but they believed they portrayed a warm and bustling environment in the autumn. Leah, 27, said in fact beaches were empty amid the cloudy and windy weather, while all the shopfronts appeared to have their shutters down. She and her partner eventually ditched Mykonos for Cyprus, spending more than £700 on new flights and accommodation.
And the gloom nearly derailed Josh’s plans to propose to Leah during a sunset boat tour. This was cancelled so Joshua, 30, popped the question on a boat he hired in Paphos, Cyprus, instead.
READ MORE: Airbnb host loses perfect rating after guest’s ‘ridiculous’ review of cottageREAD MORE: United Airlines stewardess downs vodka on Boeing 777 flight for Heathrow Airport
But on the island of Mykonos, Leah and Josh found they could only have food and drinks during the hotel meal times. They felt there was “nothing to do” — hindered by the unfortunate weather — and so rarely left their first hotel room.
Leah, who lives in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, with Joshua, 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.”
Leah, who is an aesthetic practitioner, has now warned holidaymakers to not believe everything on social media, as the couple had done their research and were still disappointed.
“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 expect summer conditions in October.
One commenter said: “I had the same disappointment when I went skiing in June to the Alps.” Another said: “Why on earth would you go to Mykonos in October or Greece?”
Another said: “What did you expect by almost the end of October? I mean if you wanna party come from until September but you choose October because it is super cheap.”
A fourth said: “Did you not research before you went? Not being mean, genuine question. I always research for weeks before a book anywhere.”