I travelled to the idyllic Greek Islands for my birthday and didn't expect the chaos I was faced with: 'Nobody tells you!'

A tourist has issued a warning after being caught off-guard when visiting the Greek Islands for the first time. 

Audrey, from Canada, went on a birthday trip with her sister last May to the picturesque destination but didn't expect the ferry rides between islands to be so chaotic.

The 26-year-old digital marketer shared footage of hundreds of people travelling with luggage on board the ferries in transit. 

'If you're planning a trip to the Greek Islands, be prepared for this,' Audrey warned. 

In a now-viral TikTok video, crowds of people can be seen herding onto and off the boats waiting to get to the next island destination.

Audrey said she recorded the compilation of clips across three ferry rides between Paros, Santorini and Naxos.

'I was anticipating crowds, but I had no idea it would be so busy… I was definitely surprised!' she said.

'I couldn't believe the capacity a ferry can hold and I couldn't believe how efficiently the ferry employees were able to manage the volume of people. It truly is such a quick on-boarding and off-boarding process, albeit chaotic!'

Despite the hectic voyage, Audrey can't wait to return to Greece for another European adventure.

The short video has since been viewed more than 800,000 times and received more than 50,000 likes with many sharing their own experiences.

'Once you get on, you have to take about an hour to recover from the chaos,' one commented.

'This is the part they don't tell you about,' another said.

'I'm really nervous about the suitcase situation,' a third added.

Though one more said: 'I went last year it was actually not that bad at all. Once you get in you leave your bags in a spot and head to your seat. Very simple/easy.'