Travel advice for Greece
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The Historical and Mythological Cyclades islands
The Cyclades islands include two of the most famous Greek Islands: Mykonos and Santorini. Visit these and some of the smaller, quieter, islands. With white washed houses, narrow cobbled streets, blue domed roofs and stunning beaches, they are what Greece is all about.
customize ⤍A secluded villa stay on Mainland Greece
Stay in a secluded private villa with magnificent views to the sea and explore this beautiful corner of Mainland Greece with your own rental car. Under the impressive Mt Taygetos in Southern Peloponnese, the region of Mani will give you a snapshot of authentic Greece.
customize ⤍Along the Coast of Crete: from Heraklion to Platanias
As Greece's largest island, Crete's culture and atmosphere is distinctly different from mainland Greece. Thousands of years of unique culture and rich history complement the island's untamed natural beauty. Explore Crete at your own pace with this unique self-drive trip!
customize ⤍Cultural and natural sites of Athens and the Peloponnese
Welcome to wonderful Athens for an unforgettable adventure. Enjoy getting lost in this maze of charming streets, where the modern sits beautifully with the ancient. Venture out into the Peloponnese on mainland Greece, and discover historical, cultural and natural wonders the region is blessed with.
customize ⤍An Odyssey Adventure in Ancient Greece
Learn the secrets of Ancient Greek mythology and history visiting the world-renowned site of the Acropolis, explore the unspoiled landscape of Peloponnese, become a true Spartan warrior in Thermopylae and much more - this self drive tour takes you on a real Greek adventure.
customize ⤍Explore Classical Greece: self-drive motorhome trip
This 15-days motorhome road trip will take you to Athens, the city of legends and some of the most fascinating classical sites, such as Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi and the man-made marvels of the Corinth Canal and Byzantine monasteries of Meteora. A perfect tour for history.
customize ⤍Athens: City of the Gods
Welcome to wonderful Athens. Wander this maze of charming streets, where the modern sits beautifully with the ancient; discover the Acropolis and the Parthenon, the crowning architectural achievements of the Classical Age; indulge your sense with delicious Mediterranean food at local tavernas.
customize ⤍Discover Naxos in style
Stay in a secluded private villa and explore Naxos at your own pace in your own rental car. Lasting just above 1 week, this itinerary leaves plenty of room for relaxation and exploration of the amazing island of Naxos, with its authentic mountainous villages and magnificent sea views.
customize ⤍Epirus and Athens: The Ancient Sites
Discover the ancient cities of the Epirus region and Athens. Shrouded in myths and legends of Greek gods and Roman and Byzantine warriors, the sites in the Epirus region of Greece, temples, castles, fortresses and rivers, all have tales to tell.
customize ⤍An exclusive stay in Milos
Get to know the most exotic island in the Aegean by staying in a private luxury villa by the sea. Volcanic rocks paint the beaches red, pink and orange, white rock formations, emerald green waters and caves eroded by the sea, are steeped in stories of pirates. Milos is truly unique.
customize ⤍Greek Island-Hopping Honeymoon
Hop between the islands of Milos, Naxos, and Amorgos on this romantic trip. Drive around stunning coastlines, explore mountain villages, visit ancient sites, and luxuriate on golden beaches as you are transfixed by the allure of the Aegean’s turquoise waters.
customize ⤍Relaxing discovery of classical Greece
Spend a wonderful few days exploring Athens and the ancient sites surrounding the capital on mainland Greece. Blessed with glorious weather, nature and beaches, see sites that rival anything which you may find on the Greek Islands.
customize ⤍Prices depend on where and when you go. Larger cities and the trendier tourist resorts and small islands (such as Sými, Íýdhra, Mýkonos, Paxí and Pátmos) are more expensive and costs everywhere increase sharply during July–August, Christmas, New Year and Easter.
On most islands a daily per-person budget of €50/£44/US$72 will get you basic accommodation and meals, plus a short ferry or bus ride, as one of a couple. Camping would cut costs marginally. On €100/£88/US$144 a day you could be living quite well, plus sharing the cost of renting a large motorbike or small car. See Accommodation prices.
A basic taverna meal with bulk wine or a beer costs around €12–20 per person. Add a better bottle of wine, pricier fish or fancier decor and it could be up to €20–30 a head; you'll rarely pay more than that. Even in the most developed of resorts, with inflated "international" menus, there is often a basic but decent taverna where the locals eat.
Though the chances are you'll never meet a member of the national police force, the Elliniki Astynomia, Greek cops expect respect, and many have little regard for foreigners. If you do need to go to the police, always try to do so through the Tourist Police (t171), who should speak English and are used to dealing with visitors. You are required to carry suitable ID on you at all times – either a passport or a driving licence.
The most common causes of a brush with the law are beach nudity, camping outside authorized sites, public inebriation or lewd behaviour. In 2009 a large British stag group dressed as nuns was arrested in Mália and held for several days, having managed to combine extreme drunkenness with a lack of respect for the church. Also avoid taking photos in forbidden areas such as airports.
Drug offences are treated as major crimes, particularly since there's a mushrooming local addiction problem. The maximum penalty for "causing the use of drugs by someone under 18", for example, is life imprisonment and an astronomical fine. Foreigners caught in possession of even small amounts of marijuana get long jail sentences if there's evidence that they've been supplying the drug to others.
Visitors from non-EU countries are currently not, in practice, being given extensions to tourist visas. You must leave not just Greece but the entire Schengen Group and stay out until the maximum 90-days-in-180 rule, as set forth above, is satisfied. If you overstay your time and then leave under your own power – ie are not deported – you'll be hit with a huge fine upon departure, and possibly be banned from re-entering for a period of time; no excuses will be entertained except (just maybe) a doctor's certificate stating you were immobilized in hospital. It cannot be overemphasized just how exigent Greek immigration officials have become on this issue.
Britain 1A Holland Park, London W11 3TP t020/7221 6467, wmfa.gr/london
Canada 80 Maclaren St, Ottawa, ON K2P 0K6 t613/238-6271, wmfa.gr/ottawa
Ireland 1 Upper Pembroke St, Dublin 2 t01/676 7254, wmfa.gr/dublin
New Zealand 5–7 Willeston St, Wellington t04/473 7775, wmfa.gr/wellington
South Africa 1003 Church Street, 0028 Hatfield, Pretoria t012/434-7351, wmfa.gr/pretoria
USA 2217 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 t202/939-1300, wmfa.gr/washington
Make any claim as soon as possible. If you have medical treatment, keep all receipts for medicines and treatment. If you have anything stolen or lost, you must obtain an official statement from the police or the airline which lost your bags – with numerous claims being fraudulent, most insurers won't even consider one unless you have a police report.
As for work, non-EU nationals of Greek descent and EU/EEA native speakers of English (ie Brits and Irish) have a much better chance than anyone else. Teaching English at a private language school (frontistírio) is still a relatively well-paid option but almost impossible to get into these days without a bona fide TEFL certificate.
Many people find tourism-related work, especially on the islands most dominated by foreign visitors, April and May being the best time to look around. This is often as a rep for a package company, although they recruit the majority of staff from the home country; all you need is EU nationality and the appropriate language, though knowledge of Greek is a big plus. Jobs in bars or restaurants are a lot easier for women to come by than men. Another option if you have the requisite skills is to work for a windsurfing school or scuba operation.
Parcels should (and often can) only be handled in the main provincial or county capitals. For non-EU/EEA destinations, always present your box open for inspection, and come prepared with tape and scissors.
Ordinary post boxes are bright yellow, express boxes dark red, but it's best to use those adjacent to an actual post office, since days may pass between collections at boxes elsewhere.
Hiking/topographical maps are gradually improving in quality and availability. Road Editions, in addition to their touring maps, produce 1:50,000 topographical maps for mainland mountain ranges, including Áthos, Pílio, Parnassós, Ólymbos, Taiyettos, Ágrafa and Íti, usually with rudimentary route directions in English. Anavasi publishes a series covering the mountains of central Greece (including Ólymbos) and Epirus, some on the Peloponnese, the White Mountains and Psiloritis on Crete and Mt Dhýrfis on Évvia. The map-and-guide booklets published by Marengo Publications in England also prove very useful for areas including Crete, Corfu, Kálymnos, Lésvos, Messinía, Párga, the Pelion, Sámos, Sými and Thássos.
A number of authorized brokers for exchanging foreign cash have emerged in Athens and other major tourist centres. When changing small amounts, choose those bureaux that charge a flat percentage commission (usually 1 percent) rather than a high minimum. There is a small number of 24-hour automatic foreign-note-changing machines, but a high minimum commission tends to be deducted. There is no need to purchase euros beforehand unless you're arriving at some ungodly hour to one of the remoter frontier posts. Travellers' cheques (best in euros rather than dollars) can be cashed at most banks, though rarely elsewhere. Cashing the cheques will incur a minimum charge of €1.20–2.40 depending on the bank; for larger amounts, a set percentage will apply.
Major credit cards are not usually accepted by cheaper tavernas or hotels but they can be essential for renting cars. Major travel agents may also accept them, though a three-percent surcharge is often levied on the purchase of ferry tickets.
As far as possible, times are quoted in the text for tourist sites but these change with exasperating frequency, especially since the economic crisis. Both winter and summer hours are quoted throughout the guide but to avoid disappointment, either phone ahead or time your visit during the core hours of 9am–2pm. Monasteries are generally open from approximately 9am to 1pm and 5 to 8pm (3.30–6.30pm in winter) for limited visits.
Land lines and public phones are run by OTE who provide phone cards (tilekártes), available in denominations starting at €4, from kiosks and newsagents. If you plan on making lots of international calls, you'll want a calling card, all of which involve calling a free access number from either certain phone boxes or a fixed line (not a mobile) and then entering a twelve-digit code. OTE has its own scheme, but competitors generally prove cheaper. Avoid making calls direct from hotel rooms, as a large surcharge will be applied, though you will not be charged to access a free calling card number.
In Greece, you will find official EOT offices in many but by no means all of the larger towns and islands where, in addition to the usual leaflets, you can find weekly schedules for the inter-island ferries – rarely entirely accurate, but useful as a guideline. EOT staff may be able to advise on bus and train departures as well as current opening hours for local sites and museums and occasionally can assist with accommodation.
Where there is no EOT office, you can get information from municipally run tourist offices – these can be more highly motivated and helpful than EOT branches. In the absence of any of these, you can visit the Tourist Police, essentially a division (often just a single room) of the local police. They can sometimes provide you with lists of rooms to let, which they regulate, but they're really the place to go if you have a serious complaint about a taxi, or an accommodation or eating establishment.
UK 4 Conduit St, London W1R 0DJ t020/7495 4300, einfo@gnto.co.uk.
USA 305 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017 t212/421-5777, einfo@greektourism.com.
Some advance planning will make a stress-free holiday in Greece more likely. The Greek National Tourist Office is helpful; they also publish a useful questionnaire that you might send to hotels or self-catering accommodation. Before purchasing travel insurance, ensure that pre-existing medical conditions are not excluded. A medical certificate of your fitness to travel is also extremely useful; some airlines or insurance companies may insist on it.
Luxury hotels are more likely to offer some kind of babysitting or crèche service. All the same basic baby products that you can find at home are available in Greece, though some may be more expensive, so it can pay to load up on nappies, powders and creams before leaving home.
Most domestic ferry-boat companies and airlines offer child discounts, ranging from fifty to one hundred percent depending on their age; hotels and rooms won't charge extra for infants, and levy a modest supplement for "third" beds which the child occupies by him/herself.
Seniors are entitled to a discount on bus passes in the major cities; Olympic Airways also offer discounts on full fares on domestic flights. Proof of age is necessary.
New Year’s Day.
January 6:
Epiphany.
February/March:
Clean Monday (katharí dheftéra), 7 weeks before Easter.
March 25:
Independence Day.
April/May:
Good Friday and Easter Monday (see Easter for dates).
May 1:
May Day.
May/June:
Whit Monday, 7 weeks after Easter.
August 15:
Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
October 28:
Ohi Day.
December 25/26:
Christmas Day/Boxing Day.
Australia t0061
New Zealand t0064
Canada t001
South Africa t0027
UK t0044
Ireland t00353
USA t001
Toll-free/Freefone t0800
Fire brigade, urban t199
Forest fire reporting t191
Operator (Domestic) t132
Operator (International) t139
Police/Emergency t100
Speaking clock t141
Tourist police t171 (Athens); t210 171 (elsewhere)
British and other EU nationals are entitled to free medical care in Greece upon presentation of a European Health Insurance Card. The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have no formal healthcare agreements with Greece (other than allowing for free emergency trauma treatment), so insurance is highly recommended.
If you regularly use any form of prescription drug, you should bring along a copy of the prescription, together with the generic name of the drug; this will help you replace it, and avoids problems with customs officials. In this regard, you should be aware that codeine is banned in Greece. If you import any you might find yourself in serious trouble, so check labels carefully; it’s a major ingredient of Panadeine, Veganin, Solpadeine, Codis and Nurofen Plus, to name just a few.
Contraceptive pills are sold over the counter at larger pharmacies, though not necessarily the brands you may be used to; a good pharmacist should come up with a close match. Condoms are inexpensive and ubiquitous – just ask for profylaktiká (less formally, plastiká or kapótes) at any pharmacy, sundries store or corner períptero (kiosk). Sanitary towels and tampons are widely sold in supermarkets.
Finally, in addition to munching its way through a fair amount of Greece’s surviving pine forests, the pine processionary caterpillar – which takes its name from the long, nose-to-tail convoys – sports highly irritating hairs, with a venom worse than a scorpion’s. If you touch one, or even a tree-trunk they’ve been on recently, you’ll know all about it for a week, and the welts may require antihistamine to heal.
If you snap a wild-fig shoot while walking, avoid contact with the highly irritant sap. The immediate antidote to the active alkaloid is a mild acid – lemon juice or vinegar; left unneutralized, fig “milk” raises welts which take a month to heal.
The main local English-language newspaper, available in most resorts, is the Athens News (weekly every Friday, online at athensnews.gr; €2.50), in colour with good features and Balkan news, plus entertainment and arts listings.
The BBC World Service no longer broadcasts to Europe on short wave, though Voice of America can be picked up in places. Both of these and dozens of others are of course available as internet broadcasts, however, or via satellite TV channels.
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Greece
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