How worried should I be about ayia napa? DD17 just booked to go with 11 friends

[IwishIwasacaterpillar]

Is there any advice I should be giving her?

She’s going in a big crowd, she’ll be fine.

Under no circumstances hire a quad bike or be a passenger on one.
Buy the best insurance possible.

oh god this thread just reminded me of that awful case a few years ago when a teenager reported a gang rape. The police told her she had to withdraw the complaint otherwise they would arrest her mum and friends, then when she withdrew it they said that her withdrawal showed she had lied about it so she was charged and convicted of lying about rape. In her court case she wasn’t allowed to show any evidence that she had been raped (even though she had lots of photos of bruises and had been examined by a doctor at the time who supported her) because “it’s not a rape trial”. she was eventually pardoned i think much later but it must have just been so horribly traumatic for the poor girl.

so yeh maybe talk to her about the police being corrupt.

Drink beer. You will throw up before getting alcohol poisoning. If drinking anything else have at least 1 glass of water with each drink for the same effect.

TRAVEL INSURANCE and insist on seeing the evidence.
Friends all stay together in the evenings and watch each other’s drinks in bars etc
Sun block and avoid balconies.
I hope your daughter has a good holiday.

I went to lots of party islands when I was between 16-23 (I’m early 30s now) and I went to ayia napa when I was 17 and found it the best one out of all of them. Not as rowdy as others. Do warn her about not leaving her friends or going off with strangers when she’s drunk though obviously

All the usual things as PP’s have suggested, but to add specific to Ayia Napa in my own experience- if she is going to have balloons when out most of the bars sell them BUT the police regularly drive up and down the strip and if they catch you they can arrest you. I’ve seen many people while we have been there caught out by this, not realising the police would be bothered because they were being sold in the bars but they are bothered, so watch out for that. Ideally don’t do them at all, so dangerous, but if she’s going to then out of sight.

Best looking/gift of the gab does the pick up. Once in the room, his mates come in. It happens a lot. There's no way of proving it wasn't consensual.

Make sure she has phone numbers written down incase her phone gets nicked?

Not much you can do really, if she makes mistakes hopefully she’ll learn from them.

For what it’s worth I went to Magaluf a few times when it was always in the news for being awful and I had a great time. Drank way too much and had a one night stand. No lasting damage.

There's some good advice here. I will add make sure you have a passport just in case. Make sure she knows to call if she needs anything or is concerned about anything and finally you have to trust her, she will more than likely have a great time.

How would you stop her?

Ayia napa is really very safe. It’s a fab holiday destination and one of the first places I went on holiday just a year or 2 older than your dd. I went on to work summers then live there for over 10 years and both my dc were born and lived in ayia napa. All the usual advice of course stands which has already been given above but in all honesty it’s a damn site safer than most British towns and cities.

As well as the previous advice re drinks, sticking together, no hiring quad bikes, also no hiring mopeds . They can be lethal.

My eldest would have probably gone to Greece at that age but for covid - so went to a UK seaside resort instead.
Fundamentally there are potential dangers anywhere, but as long as she is sensible should be fine.

When I went 25 years ago, one of the kebab shops had chilli sauce that was so hot it would probably melt the paving slabs. She needs to steer clear of kebab shops and if she succumbs, don’t get chilli sauce.

I’d like to add that I’m a lot more sophisticated these days.

just as many sexual risks, more alcohol, no chance of researching locations and events, and much more difficult to be in touch with anyone without mobile phones and trackers.

Different times, not better or worst, just different.

At 17 are there some in the group who will be 18 ?

Tell her to stick with her friends and make sure nobody is left on their own, especially drunk. There are predators who look for drunk girls at those kind of places.

Also to try not to fall out with her pals, to take berocca with her and not to get a fucking tattoo.

Thank you for taking the time to explain. I would think that going to anyone’s room whether shared or not is a no no. That would be my advice anyway.

Try to get the group to agree that each evening two people are "duty grown up" and don't drink that night. They need to look out for those that have drunk too much.

Fwiw the tattoo parlours are all pretty reputable and definitely clean so at least they’re won’t be a nasty infection to go along with the regret 😅

I know at 17/18 me and my friend group would not have been up for that 😆. There’s usually one or 2 less drunk who will take on the role though

Was this in Aiya Napa?

If you haven’t already then get the phone numbers of her friends just in case.
agree with you DD to check in with you with a message every day.

my DD18 went to Greece last year with friends. She’s normally sensible. They went on an island hopper boat trip and she had a headache so asked the person running the boat if they had any paracetamol. Apparently he gave her a tablet that he put in water that made her feel better. Probably aspirin and harmless but seriously, when asked she said she trusted him blindly because he was running the tour!

Insurance will not pay out if excess alcohol or drugs are involved, basically have fun but know your limits. My dd has been away multiple times now but they look out for each other crucially

I was just about to say the same thing. 1996 Malia is not 2026 Ayia Napa.

No chance my daughter will be going age 17. The risk of being raped is bloody high I would imagine.