Inside debauched Mediterranean party isle where punters drink £4 shots and then get SLAPPED in outrageous drinking craze
SECONDS after I down a shot, a hand whacks my cheekbone and my head whips from the force.
But this is not some random attack — I have actually ASKED for this bizarre ritual.
I am in Ios, Greece, where tourists queue up to pay five euros to be treated to a slap after a shot.
To get here is a pilgrimage involving a flight and a ferry to reach the isle. Within seconds of arriving, a local tells me: “Welcome to the island of madness.”
The party destination has become a hotspot for its cheap booze, tiny bars and bizarre challenges.
It is a fraction of the price of nearby destinations Santorini and Mykonos.
In the winding alleyways, horny teens find a quiet spot to rut, making the most of drunken holiday romances.
Irish lass Millie, 19, said: “It’s wild every night. A few nights ago we were by local haunt Escobar and there were people having sex right by the entrance.
“Why wouldn’t you just go home? It’s not far. The drinks are so strong, and it’s such a tiny place — how could it not be crazy? We booked a one-way flight.”
Her pal Ali, 19, added: “We’ve done 21 nights out straight. This is our first night off as we’re working. Everyone we know has had a holiday romance.
“I think everyone eventually tries the slap shot before going home.”
After being hit by the female bartender at Flames, I see stars and my face stings for half an hour afterwards. Madness certainly sums up anyone trying this out.
Plastic hammers
Every nationality seems willing to try the gimmick — including British.
One lad, who did not want to be named, told me after getting his slap shot: “You wouldn’t do this anywhere else. It hurts, but it’s jokes. I like being able to say I’ve done it.”
Dotted around, there are people with an “I heart Flames” sticker on their chest.
But the bar is cautious about its image after a viral video on TikTok two years ago led to a huge backlash. Almost all the others bars in Chora town that used to smack punters have stopped, including Disco 69, which had a slap window. Now only Flames offers it.
People bring their friends to try out the Slammer Shot. We’re world-famous
Greek bar owner Foteinos Valmas
Slammers, a bar across the square, puts safety first with helmets before smacking plastic hammers on heads of laughing punters.
Greek owner Foteinos Valmas said: “People bring their friends to try out the Slammer Shot.
“We’re world-famous. We started in the 1980s when a bunch of Danish tourists turned up wearing helmets and wanting things slammed on to their heads.”
After having a go, Aussie traveller Ebony said: “It’s hilarious. It’s something different to do on the island, and it doesn’t really hurt.”
When I try it out, the bartender bashes me about a bit, and the main result is I end up feeling more drunk than I would have otherwise from the vodka and lemonade shooter. There is no lingering pain like the slap shot.
Later we meet Eileen, 21, from Ireland, who also tried the Slammer Shot. She said: “It’s just so silly. I really enjoyed it.”
She has travelled with pal Clodagh, also 21, and they are partying with Brits Alice and Amelia, both 18.
Eileen added: “We nap in three shifts to make the most of partying on the beach and then at night.”
Their favourite bar on the Island is Delta Ball Pit, and the girls waste no time getting into the coloured balls. For decades Ios has been better known to visitors from Ireland as well as Aussies. But now it is becoming a hotspot for boozing British tourists.
And they are welcomed with open arms by locals, who keep their shops open into the small hours. Restaurant owner Sisi said: “We love people from Great Britain here. Everyone should come.”
Debauched antics start before punters even hit the island. On the ferry over from Santorini, a group of lads shove their bare backsides into a passed-out mate’s face.
I think I’m going to need a liver transplant after everything I’ve drunk since being here
Isabella, a British teenager on holiday
Once on Ios, the party contingent swarm down towards Mylopotas beach to enjoy Swedish Midsummer, the first party of the season.
The raving starts at 8am in the town, with the clubs opening during the day, before everyone heads to the beach to party at Far Out until 9pm. Once done, it is a short nap and out to the main strip from 2am until the sun has come up.
British teen Isabella told The Sun: “I think I’m going to need a liver transplant after everything I’ve drunk since being here.” The lass from Harrogate is island hopping with pal Martha, and the pair of 19-year-olds reckon Ios is the best party destination that they have been to in Greece.
Isabella added: “We’ve been out every night that we’ve been here. It’s incredible. We’ve yet to try Slammer and the slap shot. I’m not sure if we will do them.
“The Irish lads here are kind of terrifying. They just want to stick their d*** in everything.
It’s like Mykonos but without the attitude or the prices
Lazarus, a Brit tourist from Bristol
“But I like that it’s not just Brits here. It’s fun meeting Australians.” British lads Jack, Tom, Phillip and Lazarus are also loving the island and do not want to see other tourists from the UK heading over.
Half-Greek Lazarus, from Bristol, said: “It’s like Mykonos but without the attitude or the prices.” He can’t resist stripping off on the beach to show off his body to the girls walking past in bikinis.
Later, I spot the boys in the Delta Bar doing their best to chat up any girl in sight.
Behind them, a stunning blonde wearing a sailor’s hat is gyrating on a bloke in the ball pit. Bar owner Benjamin Newson, 29, from Nottingham, would love more groups from the UK but only “if they’re over 22”.
‘Every night is mad’
He said: “The younger kids aren’t quite as well-behaved, but the older ones are incredible customers. Everyone we get is great fun and they don’t take things too far.
“We’re getting more and more Brits every year. We get told Ios is more fun than Magaluf and Ibiza.”
Next door is Shush Silent Disco, which offers games including a prize wheel, and racing a bartender to chug a Smirnoff Ice from a plastic pink flamingo.
Party-goers dance to music on headphones, meaning the actual bar is deadly silent. British 18-year-olds Charlie, Jack, Ollie and Sam picked the island because it was not one of the classic haunts for English tourists.
Charlie said: “We didn’t want to go to Malia or Zante because it’s just full of weird blokes. We didn’t want a cliché English resort.”
One thing all the bars have in common is the seven-shot challenge, which gets the winner a free top with the bar’s branding on.
Each one does it slightly differently. At Disco 69 customers have six seconds to down the “wet pu**y” shots and win it all for free. If they fail, it is 40 euros, but you still get the top.
In British-owned Lost Boys, which started the challenge, drinkers race each other and whoever finishes first gets the tee.
Manager Laila Khalek, from Boston, Lincs, said: “Every night here is crazy.
“The beach can be calm, but up in town, everyone is off their heads. There’s no weekend here. Every night is as mad as the next.”
The 21-year-old first came to Ios three years ago and found love with a local, which has kept her coming back every summer.
She said: “The locals don’t really mind — they know it’s only for a few months in summer. They’ve got used to it and there are restrictions in place around noise.
“They’re the most helpful people in the world, but sometimes they can get fed up with lots of drunk young people. Who wouldn’t?”
It’s super-chilled on the beach, and then you get up into town and everyone has lost their heads
Noah, 19, a returning tourist
Another shot game on offer is the F*** Up Challenge, which costs 30 euros, and punters are given seven shots of absinthe to down. Most people share it rather than taking it on their own.
With all the drinking going on, Laila says there is a large police presence to keep everyone safe.
She said: “They circle the area most of the night to make sure nothing bad happens.
“I feel really safe here, and I’ve never had any worries about being followed home or robbed like I have in England. Plus, there are basically no drugs here unless people bring them with them.”
Laila’s 19-year-old brother Noah, who is spending his second year on the island, told us: “You come once, and then you have to come back.
“It’s super-chilled on the beach, and then you get up into town and everyone has lost their heads. It’s just mental.”
But the parties have brought tragedy. Last year, Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, both 18 and from Dublin, died hours apart after heading to Ios with pals to celebrate finishing exams.
Andrew fell down the side of a mountain after walking home to his accommodation after a night out. It took two days for his body to be found.
Max was found the next morning collapsed in a street near the port while waiting for a ferry, and is thought to have had heart problems.
