My Big Fat Dutch Greece Tango holiday

5th July 2011

Introduction

I have been on Tango Weekenders in this country but this is my first foray to having an annual holiday in the sun with guaranteed tango in the evenings. It was risky. My annual holiday, like everyone's, is a precious, limited time off that has to be well thought out, I don't get that much holiday, I had better get it right.

I opted for a Greek Tango holiday organised by a Dutch Tango Professional couple. I did not know who they were, never heard of them. If we book, am I going to be able to fit in with this crowd of dancers, who, God knows, are miles better than me? Will my wife and I be the ones that danced together because we were not up to the mark? We took the plunge.

We were the only English couple going, the majority attending were from Holland, it being a Dutch organisation. It was expensive-ish too. Paying money abroad for some sort of holiday, was this a financial risk too?

The venue

All our fears were unfounded. The financial side was a bit iffy but worked out well. We were made extremely welcome by the 40 attendees who all spoke English. The gender balance was 50/50. We were of the same level as they were. No one felt out of place. The expense was well worth it.

We were booked into a very good hotel, with very good food. The teachers (who were the organisers - Mariano and Cosima) had gone to great lengths to ensure that we had the best for our money. It was very obvious that the money paid was spent on the quality of the holiday, rather than they charging a lot of money and giving us substandard accommodation and food that other organisations may do i.e. taking the profit. In fact, I can't see how the teachers made any profit.

The ethos of the organisers I was told was that they do not have a resident place they book for, they do their research and go for the best at the time, so if you are thinking of going on holiday with these organisers, you wont necessarily go back to the same place again, but somewhere different in Europe. I like that.

This holiday was about having a small group of like minded and same level (intermediate) dancers dancing in the same location and eating/socialising in the same place. It worked. I would do this again and recommend them to others.

About the holiday

I stayed at the all inclusive Negroponte Resort hotel, Eretria, on the island of Evia, the second biggest island in Greece. It does not have an airport and only Greek people go there, for their holidays. There was no tourists, unspoilt and i loved it.

On arrival we got assigned a room 20 yards away from the waters edge. We were literally on the beach once you opened the french doors

We would met up in one of the hotel meeting rooms at 10.30am for a class and then again at 6pm. Milongas stated at 9pm in the foyer. Most attended.

During the day this small crowd would pretty much meet up for breakfast, have a class, go off and do sunbathing etc, meet up for lunch, bit more sunbathing etc, meet up for another class, have dinner, get ready for the evening milonga, dance until midnight or beyond, repeating pretty much every day.

The standard of teaching was good. Mariano and Cosima worried about pitching it right, but it felt right to me, and I thought the personal touches they did and thought put into it was what made their teaching special. Well worth attending the classes.

Final Comments

So, would i go again?

I would definitely attend a holiday with this couple, regardless of where they book us, as I have faith that they will give value for money for what I pay, and quality of teaching provision. I also believe in them when they get the mix right on who attends, i.e. no one holding us back, all the same level.

You want to go on holiday and do Tango with like minded intermediate level dancers? Consider this organisation. I stake my reputation (for what it is worth) on them that you will get a good holiday. By the way, I do not have an interest in their holiday provision, I just think they do it really well and alleviated my worries and fears I had about going on Tango holidays abroad.

More details

www.tangovakanties.com - with Mariano and Cosima Diaz Campos

~ Ken Royden, 5th July 2011