‘This island has a problem’: I’m a female solo traveller… here’s why I will NEVER go to Mykonos again

“I believe Mykonos has a problem.”

That’s according to 63-year-old solo traveler, writer and vlogger Christina Ford (@insearchofmrdarcy And A-Broad in London.com), after her experiences on the Greek island made her swear never to return.

One of them was given a “fake” hotel bill and the staff pressured her to pay additional tips on top of the tips she had already paid.

Christina, who lives in London, tells the story in a TikTok post videoand told viewers: ‘This is insane. Mykonos, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.’

The woman traveling alone describes how she received her hotel bill upon checkout, which included the cost of the hotel, plus taxes, government taxes, the price of the food she had ordered at the pool, plus taxes and a tip.

She continues, “I put my credit card down, but they leave a little space and they’re waiting for me. Two people are standing over me. I say, ‘What’s this?’ They say, ‘Oh, to leave a tip.'”

Christina continues in the clip: “This tipping service, this culture is going crazy. Has anyone ever asked you to tip on your room rate and you already tipped? Mykonos, you’re crazy.”

The avid traveller tells MailOnline she stayed at the hotel for three nights, with a room rate of around 700 euros (£593.77/$777). Although she really liked the hotel, she says she was ‘utterly shocked’ by the request for a tip and didn’t pay it.

Christina says, “In all my years of traveling, I’d never seen anything like it. I also believe that if I were Greek and not Canadian – often mistaken for American – I wouldn’t have been asked.”

Christina, a former waitress, tells MailOnline that she ‘tips generously if the service is good’ but that she ‘gets really annoyed when a huge amount is added to your bill and you have to go through the hassle of having it removed or reduced’.

Her nightmare on Mykonos did not end there.

In another TikTok videoChristina warns solo travelers to avoid the Greek island after negative experiences she had in several bars.

Christina, pictured above on a recent vacation in Marrakech, is an avid solo traveler

In the video, she recalls trying to get a drink at a bar to watch the sunset. She explains that she was on her way to visit friends and only wanted one drink. Christina says the first bar she tried was about ‘a third full’ with ‘lots of empty seats’, but the staff told her there was a minimum order of 100 euros (£84/$109).

At a second bar, which was almost ‘completely empty’, she was told she needed a reservation and asked if she was travelling alone, before being turned away.

In the video, Christina describes the experience as “discrimination,” saying she couldn’t get a table until the fourth place she tried.

Separately, she tells MailOnline that the Greek island was her worst experience as a solo traveller, explaining: ‘Mykonos, in its obvious desperation to make money, I believe discriminates against solo travellers. They were unwilling to seat one person at a table for two, even if the place was empty.’

Christina’s videos have been controversial, with some ‘trolls’ even calling her a ‘Middle Aged Karen’. However, she tells MailOnline: ‘Those trolls telling me to “go back to Texas, Karen” were outnumbered by people who had had similar experiences and were only too happy to share them.

‘It also led to another debate among Greeks: those who defended their overpriced island of Mykonos (a minority) by saying that I and my ilk were the problem, not Mykonos, and those Greeks who loudly declared: “Mykonos is not Greece.”‘

Christina tells MailOnline that a restaurant in Mykonos even sent her a private message asking if it wasn’t their restaurant that had turned her away. It wasn’t, because they felt the way they had been treated was ‘appalling’.

Christina has now blacklisted Mykonos.

She tells MailOnline: ‘I would leave Mykonos completely free. To quote Oscar Wilde: once is curiosity, twice is perversion.

Christina tried to get a drink to enjoy the sunset view on the island, but was turned away at three bars (stock image)

‘What made the island popular in the first place has slowly been replaced by exaggerated prices and entitlements. I can afford to pay for great food and service, but no one wants to be ripped off or taken advantage of, regardless of their budget.

‘If you want to drink a 180 euro (£152/$200) bottle of Whispering Angel rosé while paying 110 euros (£93/$121) for the privilege of lying on a sunbed on an average beach, go for it. But the world is full of better places to see, where they are genuinely happy to oblige.’

And one of those places? Near Hydra, another Greek island – where Whispering Angel costs just 60 euros (£50) – and a place Christina recommends in her video.

She added to MailOnline: ‘Hydra was lovely. No cars, you walk everywhere and they greet you happily.’

Christina also loves Seville, Spain – “a fantastic destination for solo travellers” – and Italy – where people treat women “like you’re someone’s sister or daughter”.

The solo traveller also recalled a fantastic experience at Balthazar restaurant in London, telling MailOnline: ‘I placed my order and before my food came the waiter brought a glass of champagne. I said, “Excuse me, I didn’t order that,” and he said, “It’s our gift to you for being on your own,” and offered me something else if I didn’t drink. That’s the restaurant’s policy on how they treat solo diners. That experience has stayed with me.’

She adds: ‘Treat the person travelling alone as if you were sitting at a table with 10 people. Take the time to talk to them. And that free glass of champagne doesn’t hurt.’