Is Santorini a gem for you AND your kids?

We’re in a bar. A bar called Magic Bus. Laid back, hippy vibe on the beach owned by tanned, tattooed, vest-wearing middle age ex-pats. Oscar, our four year old boy, is banging a bongo with his plastic stick from his orange juice while Jude, our six year old girl, is mid-show with her friend Amelia swirling and dancing on the raised area of the bar to the sound of bongos and Phil Collins on their playlist. 

Two local women squeeze past Jude to get to the bar at the show’s most crucial point knocking our girl off her stride and ‘totally ruining’ (her words) the show. It was irretrievable. Jude lost it in a diva-esque hissy fit. Meanwhile Lauren, Amelia’s four year old sister, wanted a piece of the action on the bongos. Oscar wasn’t exactly open to this. We concluded that this was the case as he used the plastic stick / drumstick to joust the bongo impostor. 

In a flash we paid the bill, herd the feral gang up and quickly moved on. 

To be fair it was the last day of our holiday in Santorini, Greece. The kids had been staying up late-late most nights as a treat, culminating in the wedding of two close friends two nights prior. It had all caught up with them after the most incredible holiday on arguably the most stunning of Greek islands. 

We were hesitant about Santorini as a destination. Initially down to cost, but also the perception of the island as primarily targeted at couples and honeymooners. Our phase of holidaying was still ‘if the kids are happy, we’re happy’. However, there was no way we were going to miss this wedding and built the trip around the event to see two close friends tie the knot in the pinnacle of wedding destinations. 

Safe to say we were pleasantly surprised. We stayed in a family-friendly beach area located in the south-east of the island called Perissa. Here we booked to stay at Hotel Aretousa - a family-run hotel who bent over backwards to make our stay enjoyable. Yes, we were the only families staying here. And yes, we weren’t exactly low-maintenance. But George, his wife, daughter and son - who each had a role to play in the running of the hotel - made us feel very welcome and like nothing was too much trouble. 

Like the time we arrived late on arrival and George waited patiently to pick us up. Like the time Oscar launched a strawberry yogurt off the first floor balcony exploding on the floor. The time we needed picking up from the wedding at midnight. And the time the kids bombed the pool at the end where the model couples were sunbathing. But there was an understanding and this understanding was rewarded with a lot of love from the kids...and hugs. Big hugs.

A four minute walk to the beach, the sea was perfect temperature and intensity for the kids to swim. The sand a strange small stone meant it didn’t stick to you like the normal stuff. Although you did find it in strange places later in the day when taking items of clothing off or showering. Much like the black rubber particles you find on AstroTurf football pitches. 

There were a stack of places to eat along the front. I was a big fan of the food. From a pork gyros on the first night - essentially a high-end kebab with chips wrapped in amongst the meat - to big plentiful salads, homemade moussaka, tasty fish and seafood right through to bakeries selling an array of sweet and savoury delights.

The lack of kids entertainment on the beachfront outside the sea was made up for by a water park being a short walk away. We spent two full days here. The kids absolutely loved it. We also did a day trip to Thira, the stunning main town on the island crammed with bright white buildings chiselled into the cliff face with iconic blue roofs the finishing touch on the picture-perfect back drop. 

Finally, the wedding. Santorini Gem is located on the outskirts of a small town called Pyrgos. We were met on arrival by a simple four poster canopy on the edge of a cliff overlooking the turquoise sea and famous volcano. It really was magical. The highlight being the famous sunset all to ourselves, slurping fizz with the couple’s sunset playlist the soundtrack to this amazing moment. 

So, is Santorini for kids? No, not if you're used to child-focused entertainment everywhere you look on your summer holiday. Will your kids enjoy it? Well, pick Perissa and Hotel Aretousa and I'd say yes, there's a very good chance they will. Oh, and you'll enjoy it too.

Hong Kong Phooey - a day exploring this gem with kids

Anyone looking to push their travel experimentation beyond Center Parcs with two kids in toe would be hard-pressed to find a better destination than Hong Kong.

Our decision was based on it being a) a convenient stop-over from Australia to England (where we had just visited family) and b) a place we’d both wanted to visit that would give our six and four year old a taste of somewhere a little more diverse.

The good news is there’s a whole heap to explore, the people are dead friendly, the food is yummy and I’m pretty sure your kids would have a blast too.

After flying the day before from Brisbane, Australia, day one saw us up at the crack of sparrows. We were actually too early for our first stop (Peak Tram) so killed 30 minutes in Hong Kong Park. When I say ‘killed 30 minutes’ we found the best kids playground I’ve ever seen - multi-layered and chiselled into the side of a cliff overlooking the Hong Kong sky-rise. We then stumbled into a colossal aviary, negotiating ourselves down a wooden walkway surrounded by a range of different bird life.

Literally everybody who’s Hong Kong’d recommended Peak Tram on our visit. Arguably the most iconic tourist attraction in Hong Kong, Peak Tram is on old tram/cable car that takes you perilously vertical up a cliff-side to one of the highest peaks on Hong Kong Island. Once at the top - subject to minimal haze - you get stunning panoramic views over the bay. Definitely worth a visit but we’d recommend getting their early (pre-10am) as the queues later in the day were absurd.

Next up we hit the good ol’ open top tourist bus. Completely new to this seemingly spralled-out place, we thought it’d be a great way to be delivered neatly onto the doorstep of some key spots we wanted to visit, as well as a feeble attempt to get our bearings.

First stop was Mid-Level Escalators with the sole intention to get a good noodle joint. Lonely Planet had recommended a legendary place called Mak’s Noodles on Wellington Street in Central. Yes, the noodles were superb but more importantly the staff were brilliant with the kids and the place was relaxed enough to let them slurp and burp their way through a bowl of noodles.

We then turned a corner and fell upon an incredible looking coffee house off Wellington Street on Cochrane Street. Turns out the Cupping Room is the number one place to get a posh coffee. I’m sure Layla sniffed it out. The Barista in fact recently picked up the third spot in the World Barista Championships. Layla was happy!

Back to the open top bus, we decided to cruise around the city, pretty much doing a 180 degree to the Star Ferry terminal which would take us to the next closest island, Kowloon. We disembarked and jumped on the top-deck giving us the opportunity to look back on Hong Kong Island and take in the enormity of the city. Kowloon would wait to be explored another day as we literately disembarked walked around the port and boarded the next boat back to Hong Kong Island.

By this point the kids were beat so we got onto the top-deck of the bus, our littlest crashed, our oldest went into a trance as we were transported around the remaining half of the bus loop taking in the sights. You could choose to listen to a tour guide by plugging in your ear phones. I chose not to.

We got off at the Man Mo Temple and took a peak inside. The kids were mesmerised by the incense and fascinated by the rituals performed by locals dropping in on their post-work commute.

Finally we strolled back to our accommodation located in Sai Ying Pun west towards Kennedy Town. Our Air BnB was literally the size of a wardrobe, but to be fair the home made great use of the space and our family of four had a nice comfortable stay.

Totally hammered from our first day in Hong Kong, we still had three more of the buggers to go. Jet-lagged, dazed and feet throbbing we collapsed in our wardrobe-cum-apartment contemplating whether to re-energise and head out for dinn...zzzzz.