Goodbye gyros

With a studio apartment within walking distance of the black-sand Perissa beach, we were all set to indulge in the island life on Santorini.

After total relaxation in Mykonos, we decided to add a day of quad biking to our gyros and beach mix. With just 50cc of power at our disposal, we putted our way from one end of the island to the other, checking out the Red Beach, stopping for lunch in Kamari, exploring the main town of Fira and joining every other tourist on the island to watch the famous sunset from the town of Oia.

Our time in stunning Santorini marked not only the end of our time in the Greek Islands, it was also the end of our European adventure as we were now Turkey-bound.

Swapping gyros for kebabs... ah, it's a tough life!

The first stop on our island hop

After a whirlwind 12 hours in Athens (we bought a magnet, picked up our ferry tickets, did a lap around the Acropolis and ate some Greek cuisine), it was off to Mykonos for some serious sand time.

On arrival, we followed the hordes of backpackers to Paradise Beach – where we would eat, sleep and party for the next few days.

With everything right on our doorstep – restaurants, bars and beach chairs, we only ventured out of the complex once to go and explore the stunning white-washed town.

With Mykonos being the most expensive Greek island, we counteracted the costs by sleeping in the 'sleeping bag area' for our first two nights. What we didn't realise was, a) the 'sleeping bag area' was just a patch of dirt where people pitched tents, and b) the entire time we were there, we were subjected to gale-force winds – both these factors contributed to two very painful nights.

Sleeping issues aside (we eventually moved into a basic cabin where we experienced best sleep of our lives!), our time in Mykonos rocked. It was sunbeds by day and partying by night – one such night included a set by world-famous DJ Fedde le Grand (Put Your Hands Up For Detroit), who didn't come on until 3am, but was well worth the wait.

Then there was the gyros. Oh, the gyros... Succulent pork pieces, tzaziki sauce, onion, tomato and hot chips, all wrapped up in a greasy pita. At just €2.50 a pop, Craig had a minimum quota of three a day – the perfect snack/meal/hangover cure all in one!

Our only real problem in Mykonos was getting off the damn island. With our ferry cancelled at the last nimute, and no more ferries that day, we found ourselves sleeping on a metal bench at the port (we're starting to make a habit of this 'sleeping rough' thing).

We managed to escape the island the next morning on a high-speed ferry set for Santorini, where we were set to swap beaches and gyros for, er, beaches and gyros.

Getting from Croatia to Greece

It took three days, two ferries, one bus ride and a whole lotta moolah to get from Dubrovnik to Athens.

First there was an eight-hour ferry from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Bari, Italy, where we planned on sleeping at the port to save ourselves a night's accommodation. On arrival, we discovered two things: firstly, you can't sleep at the port as they lock the gates between 1am and 6am, and secondly, the town's hostel was fully booked. Not wanted to fork out €100 for a hotel room, we teamed up with a couple from Portugal who we met out the front of the full hostel and slept under a tree in a nearby park (yeah, we are totally hardcore, I know).

The next evening it was an 18-hour ferry to Patras in Greece – we scored ourselves a comfy sleeping possie on a couch. Once in Patras it was another three-hour bus ride to Athens.

Guess you're not so jealous now, huh?