Interview by Despina Dimotsi, English Edition – Issue 7
Dina Drakatou is a travel enthusiast and digital marketing specialist who has been living abroad for many years. For the past six years, she has been based in Malta, and before that, she spent seven years in Rome.
Half Greek and half Portuguese, she has explored 24 countries so far. Since 2018, she has been sharing these adventures on her bilingual blog, My Pretty Travels, which attracts 12,000 monthly readers seeking authentic travel stories and practical tips for their trips.
DD: Welcome, Dina, to our magazine, which also “travels” to many countries. We’re excited to hear not just about your experiences but also about travel blogging in general. What was your first trip abroad, and which trip excited you the most?
DINA D: Thank you so much for the interview and your interest! My first trip abroad was at a very young age, when I was five years old, to Portugal, of course, since my mother is from there. As an adult, my first trip alone was as a university student to Florence to visit a friend doing an Erasmus program there.
The trip that excited me the most, I’d say, was to Thailand. The people there are special—kind, warm-hearted, and polite—and the country is lovely!
DD: Did you study digital marketing in Greece or abroad?
DINA D: I studied digital marketing abroad at Sapienza University of Rome
DD: Why did you choose Italy, and specifically Rome, to live in for so many years? And how did you later decide to move to Malta, which is much smaller compared to Italy?
DINA D: Italy was always in my heart, perhaps because it was one of the first countries I traveled to and because it was so close to Greece—it felt easier and more familiar. Job opportunities in Italy are limited, but when I moved there, they were much better than those in Greece at the time, as Greece was in the middle of a financial crisis.
After several years in Rome, I was looking for my next step, and that came when I received a job offer from a company in Malta. Even though I had never been there before, I packed my courage and my suitcases and moved abroad again! I’ve never regretted it, as the work environment in Malta was (and still is, I think) much better than in Italy.
DD: Would you consider changing continents and leaving Europe? Could you imagine, for example, living in America and traveling across it?
DINA D: I love Europe, and I don’t think I’d leave permanently. I am planning a trip to America, though, and if I go and change my mind, well, that’s another story!
DD: Travel blogging can be considered a form of digital marketing to effectively convey all this information to readers. Do you agree?
DINA D: For me, it’s naturally a form of creative expression, and my goal is to provide the most authentic and reliable information to my readers.
I started My Pretty Travels Blog more as a joke, because when I was living in Rome, I had so many friends and acquaintances constantly asking me for advice that I thought, “I’ll just create a website and write everything down!”
It took off, with more than 10,000 monthly readers. I believe that while there is a lot of information online, much of it is either unhelpful or incorrect.
DD: What makes your website stand out compared to others? (Personally, I was impressed by the tone of your suggestions and your personal experience, which I followed on a recent trip and found all the information accurate and reliable!)
DINA D: When people travel, they tend to want to learn a few interesting things, see something new, have a good time, and eat well. They don’t want to learn the entire history or architecture of every monument, for example!
The difference with My Pretty Travels Blog is that it:
● Aims to inform in simple, understandable language that’s friendly to readers.
● Offers practical advice and is authentic. I won’t write about something I haven’t done or a place I haven’t visited.
● Inspires. I want to help people find inspiration for their next trips!
Sometimes, even I struggle to find good information when traveling. For instance, if I have only 24 hours in London, and an article suggests 15 things to do, is that even realistic?
DD: How would you compare Greece as a destination to other countries based on your experiences? What does it offer as a travel destination?
DINA D: Greece is one of my favorite destinations, and it makes me sad that I haven’t explored it as much as I have other countries. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to get around. We don’t have high-speed trains to take you from one city to another in an hour, and planes don’t reach many islands. So, to see the most beautiful places, you need a lot of time.
Greece offers everything: mountains, seas, great food, and hospitable people. When I tell people abroad that I’m from Greece, nine out of ten light up and tell me how much they enjoyed their summer holidays there, and that makes me proud.
DD: Finally, how would you describe Malta as a destination and as a place to live? What do you like, and what might seem negative?
DINA D: Malta is small—that’s both its strength and its drawback. For a trip, I’d recommend coming for 3–4 days, not a week, for example. I once met a Greek couple who came for a week in February when it was constantly raining, and they were disappointed because they’d seen everything in just a few days!
The best time to visit Malta, in my opinion, is in spring or autumn for a few days. In the summer, it gets very hot, and for beaches… Greece is better! I’ve written many articles in the “Malta” category on my blog, and I highly recommend them! As a place to live, Malta’s strengths are its good job market, the fact that everyone speaks English, its large international community of young professionals, and how “easy” daily life is. The downside is that it’s smaller than the Greek island of Paros, and sometimes it can feel suffocating. But that’s what travel is for!