Yep, you guessed it. Last summer I joined the vast majority of British teenagers and jetted off on a party holiday to Cyprus escaping from the confines of middle-class parental discipline. I have to tell you, you’ll be bitterly disappointed in this post if that’s the kind of holiday you’re after.
Picking a party holiday destination can be really hard as there are so many things to take into account and going with friends leads to many different opinions to have to balance out, and we all know this can get very dodgy. So, I’ve come up with a few tips based on my week in Napa which will hopefully guide you in the right direction.
1.
GO TO AYIA NAPA
That’s the only advice I have.
No I’m joking, but genuinely I had the best week
EVER in Napa and I would strongly, highly, definitely recommend this for a
first, fifth or fiftieth party holiday destination. Napa has everything you
want as well as things you didn’t even know you wanted.
2.
MAKE SURE THE STRIP HAS ENOUGH OPTIONS
First things first, the strip in Napa is great.
There are so many bars to pre drink at (obviously after the pre pre drinks in
the hotel to get you appropriately 'tipsy' before heading out and getting
inappropriately 'jolly'). Most bars will have reps outside luring you in with
cheap deals which they cleverly work out dependent on your group number. We
were a group of 12 (I will come on to that later) so we were often offered a deal which cost 5€ for which you get a giant fish bowl,
2 drinks and a shot each, and this was generally the same across all the bars.
I would recommend a bar called ‘Ecstasy’ which was
right at the end of the strip at the higher end (it is on a slight windy slope-
very cool). They did shots for 1€
and had great music and it was a good place start before moving onto a busier
bar. Often we would start at Ecstasy then move onto ‘Aruba’ which was a much livelier
bar near the Bedrock Café. The drinks deals were great here, there were dance
podiums and drinking competitions and all sorts- it was wild.
Next we have the clubs- believe it or not I only
made it into about 4 or 5 clubs the whole time I was there, mostly because I was
just having so much fun in the bars and they were free and so easy to get
carried away in. But the clubs I did go into were MAD. Castle Club is one of
the biggest clubs in Europe and having (I believe) 4 floors there is music for
everyone and it has such a funky interior design. When we were there two of my
friends somehow managed to bump into Rudimental, were offered VIP entrance to
their booth and ended up back at their hotel for the after party! Napa is full
of opportunities!
Another
amazing club is Car Wash. Warning: skip this bit if you don’t like the cheese
rooms in your local clubs. But oh my sweet moses I had the best night of my
life so far in Car Wash. And it wasn’t just the typical ‘Don’tStop Believing’
from glee type cheese songs, it was an incredible array of classics ranging
from Queen to Whitney Houston to Boyzone to Michael Jackson to OneDirection-
yes I did just categorize 1D in classics. You name it, they played it, and it
was fab-u-lous. I’m sorry if you now view me differently for knowing I’m ‘that
girl’ but deary me I really am.
A
place that deserves a significant amount of recognition is River Reggae.
Possibly the coolest, funkiest place in Napa and away from the strip in a
secluded zone beholds the land of River Reggae. River, because there is a
river-type pool running through the whole place in which you are free to swim
all night- so cool! The best way to help you imagine it is like a hotel outside
pool area that essentially turns into an outside club, and being away from the
strip it feels exclusive and so exciting.
3.
PICK THE RIGHT HOTEL (there will be lots)
Admittedly, this is easier said than done so you
have to make sure you do thorough research. Luckily, a group of girls in the
year above us went to the hotel we were looking at the year before so we were
able to get a proper first-hand opinion on it. If I was to go again I would
pick a hotel closer to the strip as we were having for fork out money for taxis
every night because in our drunken states we couldn’t be bothered to walk the
10 minute walk to the strip. Yes, this was only 2€
each, each way but making sure we all had the right change every night turned
into such a hassle and frustrated us because all we wanted to do was party.
Also it wasn’t ideal because then we all started to owe each other money which
gets complicated when members of your group do remember and others don’t. So
all in all to avoid hassle and arguments, make sure your hotel is in walking
distance of the strip, I would honestly say no longer than a 5 minute walk.
Trust me, when your drunk and ready to party, more than 5 minutes feels like an
eternity.
That
being said, our hotel was ideal for the price we paid and we couldn’t have been
happier. We stayed in Panas Holiday Village and got three apartments that each
slept 4. The only issue we had with the rooms was that they weren’t next to
each other but we quickly got over this and managed to reunite all the time. The
hotel generally was quite quiet, I think because we were further away from the
strip, and that would be another reason why I would recommend a hotel closer to
the main strip because you will definitely meet more people. Luckily for us
again we happened to stumble across a group of 12 boys from Dudley (shout out
to Pitbull) who were all around our age and lots of fun- so we were sorted!
Every day we had the second pool basically to ourselves to bask in the sun
feeling severely sorry for ourselves, hanging badly. I would say the sea was not
essential, but a pool definitely was. There was wi-fi, air conditioning, a
kitchenette and a supermarket right on our doorstep which was PERFECT for
immediately needed supplies.
Another
myth people hear about party holidays is that you have to stay in a dirty,
poorly rated hotel to fit your budget- like the inbetweeners movie! This isn’t
true at all, we paid around £130 each for a week and had more than enough
luxury for that price. And no word of a lie my friends went to Maga the year before and found a hotel where they paid 2.50
In
summary I would say pick close to the strip, make sure there is a supermarket nearby
and make sure you have access to a pool to lounge around by! Requirements that
you may look for on a couples or family holiday just aren’t necessary as you
are out during the night and recovering during the day so food, a place to
sleep and somewhere to relax is all you need.
4.
MAKE USE OF THE REPS AND GO TO EVENTS- BUT WITH
CAUTION
I will start by saying that as much as reps are
there to help you, they are also there to kinda screw you over and make a
profit out of you. And don’t be fooled, no matter how genuine they come across-
they aren’t. Having said this, there are ways to get around this and I really
think part of the holiday experience is making sure you use the reps for
packages such as bar crawls and pool parties.
The main scam by reps is that if you buy their
package, which I do believe most of the time is fairly priced, you are entitled
to free entry at the clubs afterwards. From experience, being denied free entry
ended up being a common occurrence and night after night we were turned away
after expecting to walk through the doors because “Adam and Sam said these
entitle us to free entry” proved futile. Now, if you think about it, it is actually an
added bonus to get free entry to the clubs which are already very cheap in Napa
anyway, so when we would walk away in a strop it was more out of principle than
not having the money in the first place. So just be cautious of free entries, I think
about 3 worked in total, and the river reggae ones always worked.
Negativity aside- reps can turn out to be amazing!
Although treated like wild animals trespassing on property by the hotel staff,
we managed to find a couple of lovely guys who ended up absolutely spoiling us…
or being exploited by us, same difference. We ended up paying I believe 18€ for the Pambos Napa Rocks pool party as well as 3
bonus features: queue jump (we felt like queens as no lie about 200 people
stood waiting in the sweltering heat), a free t-shirt (my Napa tops are now my
nightwear pride and joy) AND a free ride to the venue in a pink jeep, yep, a
pink jeep. And the pool party was amazing, but don’t be fooled, you still have
to make yourself up as if it’s a night out, we were definitely a bit too
underdone. And, how could I forget, there was a free bar for an hour! Doesn’t
sound like much and it is like a pack of wolves fighting over a single chicken
leg but you do get a couple decent drinks out of it which nicely keep you going
from the pre drinks. Always be safe when mixing alcohol and swimming though
people. We are not as smart as we think we are.
Another
thing you HAVE to do is go on a bar crawl. We went on two; the Mayhem Bar Crawl
and the Party Hard Bar Crawl and they were both so so much fun. You travel
around in a massive group of 200ish people playing massive drinking games like
Champagne Boat Race and meeting so many new people. And the reps are always
there handing out free shots- who can say no? You also get a top to wear
included in the price which is a nice little memoir, like I said, I still live
in mine. This is where reps try to say you get free entry into the clubs after
the bar crawl but this wasn’t successful with us so bear in mind extra costs
when you decide to purchase the bar crawl package.
We
also went on a boat party during the day time which turned out to be
surprisingly fun. Initially we got on the boat and felt very scammed and
sweating away with rude bar staff set our thoughts off to a bad start, but it
actually picked up and sunbathing on the top deck with an averagely cooked meal
of chicken, potatoes and dip was suitable for a lunchtime nibble. The sights
were amazing and we were able to jump off the top deck into the sea multiple
times- LUSH. The worst, although for some it may have been the best, part of
the day was the 50+ year old stripper performance for girls only- thoughtful
but disturbingly received. All in all it was a fun way to spend the day, get a
little tipsy, go in the sea and still have the whole night ahead! I wouldn’t recommend
this if you get even mild travel sickness, I do and I felt a little dodgy which
wasn’t fun but it soon passed.
5.
WHO TO GO WITH
I am blessed with amazing friends, I just need to
start by saying that. We’ve clearly all been brought up to be rational, calm
and loving because we didn’t have a single argument the whole holiday and I honestly
had one of the best weeks of my life thanks to them- and there were 12 of us.
So Caris, Reann, Becky, Anna, Eloise, Sarah, Molly, Siobhan, Immi, Lucy and Jo-
I love yas.
I do think this is one of the hardest parts of
planning a party holiday for so many reasons. Initially you all want to go to
different countries because you’ve all heard different things, then you pass
that obstacle and you all want to go to a different hotel because we all have
different holiday preferences and traditions, then by some miracle you end up
booking a hotel and you’re faced with the horror of deciding who goes in what
room and who sits where on the aeroplane. Eventually you all survive in each
others company long enough to actually make it to the other side and as if all
that wasn’t enough you then have to get through each and every day of your stay
deciding where to eat, what clubs to go to and what events to fork out your
money for-it is not easy. But there are ways to make this process so much less
stressful and actually please everyone- trust me, we did it with 12 girls.
We used Facebook polls to refine our possible
destinations and then when it got to our final selection we basically went with
the majority- I think you can have a good time anywhere you go if you are with
the right people so don’t worry if you end up going somewhere that wasn’t your
first choice. With the hotel we researched a few and basically went for the
cheapest which is why we were further away, and I think people just need to be
made aware of my essential requirements and realise the hotel element of the
holiday needs the least thought. When it comes to sorting out rooms I was
actually quite proud of my diplomatic strategy that I came up with. This is how
I did it…
I called up each one of my friends individually, or
texted them, but calling gives them more freedom and allows you to hear their
tone of voice (the truth) about what you are going to ask them. I sounded them
out on how I had taken up the role of organising rooms and asked them if there
was someone they would really love to be in a room with and someone, if anyone,
they would maybe rather not be in too close confines with. With all this
information and a promise of confidentiality I was able to come up with
combinations that suited all, ran them back over with each person and
eventually managed to find our perfect 3 rooms of 4 gals.
With any sized or gendered group I think the most
important things for you to constantly think about in your head is ‘am I being
fair? Or am I just thinking about myself?’ You have to remember it is a group
holiday and you will honestly have more fun if you let others guide you a few
times than if you end up somewhere after fighting to make everyone go with your
decision. You’ll also experience new things because you’ll be going for options
that you weren’t thinking of. You can’t be uptight if you are going on a group
holiday and you have to be easy going- if you aren’t, I would suggest sticking
to the family holiday because not only will you not have fun, but you may end
up upsetting your other friends by limiting their exploring.
In answer to the subtitle ‘who to go with’ I honestly
think whether it is 2 of you or 12 you can make it work. All you have to ensure
that the characters you are taking are going to have the above suggested
qualities, and maybe stick to people in the same groups within your life.
Mixing your family friend who you’ve known from the age of 2 with your 5 best
friends from school may just be a bit of a clash.
6.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS
As much as the nightlife is the focus of the
holiday, I would say try and get up and see some of the daytime. By all means
sleep all morning and let that alcohol evaporate from your body, but even
getting up and going to the pool will just make the memory of the holiday more
fulfilling, as well as momentarily feeling relaxing. The reason I make this
point is because our biggest group regret is that we were too lazy to get up
and go and visit Nissi Beach- a stunning beach. Don’t be like us, make the most of your money.
Also,
BORING, but a few safety tips…
·
It’s an obvious one but never do
anything alone, always travel in at least groups of two, we generally stuck to
our rooms so groups of four
·
Don’t take drinks off strangers and
NEVER drink a drink that you haven’t had your eyes on 100% of the time aka off
the floor or from the bar when you’ve turned around for even a few seconds
·
I was in a relationship for Napa
(shock, staying faithful can be done, another myth where people seem to think
girlfriends suffer from an inability to reject a guy- now proven untrue) but if you aren’t and you
fancy bring a friend back for an innocent sleepover, just make sure you know as
well as you can that he/she is an OK guy- check with your friends, and ALWAYS take a
friend back with you, friends are friends for a reason they want you to have
fun but also be safe
·
Always lock your valuables away in
your room and keep hold of your money/phone very securely on the strip-a bum
bag is a massive hit on party holidays- TOTAL lifesaver!
·
Understand that even though guys can
be pushy, it is ok to say no. In the words of Meghan Trainor, if that boy aint
givin up, lick your lips and swing your hips, girl all you gotta say is… NO.
Overall, go to Napa. Party holidays
have a certain reputation but I honestly think Napa defys it in terms of being
much ‘classier’ than expected, not full of ‘slimy’ boys and having a general
safe feel to the environment you're in.
I hope this helped! Have an amazin’
holiday if you do end up jetting off.
Love and hugs… George x
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