Frequently Asked Questions about Travel in Greece

There is a hotel at the airport called the Sofitel but it seems to be out of most people's price range. There is also a Holiday Inn a few miles down the road. The Armonia on the beach at Vouliagmeni is about half an hour from the Airport. But if you are arriving late (or leaving early) you may as well just stay at a hotel in downtown Athens. The reason it takes a long time to get downtown from the airport is because of traffic. If you arrive or depart early when there is no traffic the trip is about half an hour. See www.athensguide.com/hotels.html for the Athens hotels I recommend. The Attalos and the Cecil are centrally located, clean and inexpensive. For information on getting to and from the airport see www.athensguide.com/airport.html

4.What do you recommend for getting to the islands? High-speed, ferry, or flight.

If you don't want to see Athens and you can make a connection to an island that does not have you waiting all day in the airport or sitting on the plane wondering if you will make the connection, then fly. But give yourself 2 hours between flights.

If you plan to spend the first night in Athens I would take the high speed. Here's why: If you fly to Mykonos in the daytime it is a half hour flight. But it will take you about an hour or more to get to the airport if there is traffic. Then you will have to be there an hour early. If there is no delay you fly to Mykonos and then you have to get from the airport to your hotel by taxi or bus. If you go by high-speed you take a taxi to Pireaus or just get on the metro. In twenty minutes you are on the boat and in about 2 hours you are standing in the port of Mykonos.

If you are going to a further island and you don't think you would like being on a ferry for 10 hours or more then fly. But for any island that is within 3 hours of Athens (Pireaus) by highspeed you are better off going by boat.
If you have a choice between an overnight ferry, flight or a highspeed then I would go with the overnight ferry. The highspeeds don't have cabins so it is like being on a plane for 6 hours and then you arrive and have to pay for a hotel. If you get a cabin on an overnight ferry you have a nice meal in the restaurant and go to sleep and wake up on the island. You save money because you did not need a hotel. This would apply to Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios and in the summer there are overnight ferries to Santorini too. See www.greecetravel.com/ferryboats

5. I have heard that on some of the islands little old ladies come to the dock and offer you rooms in their homes. Is this true and is it a good way to book?

This is somewhat true but on the most popular islands these little old ladies have been shoved aside by professional hustlers who are paid per head to bring travelers to the hotels. They are called domatia kamakis which means literally 'room harpoons '. If you are a back-packer and are not too picky about where you stay and want to have a lot of flexibility, in other words you don't want to be tied down to a schedule, then this is a way to go, just booking your hotel when you arrive. Keep in mind that in many cases when you have decided on a particular kamaki to go with, chances are that if you don't like the room you probably will take it anyway to avoid going back and starting all over again or wandering around looking for a room on your own, especially after a long boat trip. In places like Santorini where the port is nowhere near the hotels this is a major deal. Also in July and August things can get pretty competitive if the arriving tourists outnumber available rooms. Mostly the rooms are nice but I think if you know where you want to go and book in advance with a Greek travel agency you will have more of a choice and less pressure to decide. If you are worried about your budget just tell the agency how much you would like to spend and they will tell you if that is realistic or you should just take your chances with the domatia kamakis . Also some of the little old ladies who were offering rooms in their homes have built hotels in their backyards and are the ones hiring the kamakis. I believe you get more for your money by doing your homework on the web and working with a Greek travel agency that knows the territory. You don't have to rely on luck when you have access to knowledge. See also www.hotelsofgreece.com where you can actually book simple rooms and apartments in the last section for each island.

6. I have read where you say that it is better to book your hotels with a travel agency then directly with the hotels over the net. Why?

Greek Travel agents have discounts since they pay a much lower price for the rooms so they can be competitive with the hotel prices. In many cases they will pay for the rooms for the whole season in advance and have even lower prices because they can sell them for whatever they want as an incentive for booking. In other words if I am a travel agent I can offer the Grande Bretagne for cheaper then you will find anywhere else because you are booking a cruise or a week on Mykonos where my profit is high enough to make up for even losing money on the hotel in Athens. So by booking directly with the hotels the traveler may miss opportunities to save money. But the main reason is because if you book your hotel through the hotel then it is your responsibility to get to the hotel on the date you are booked. If you call the hotel in Santorini from Mykonos and say you can't make it because you thought there was a boat and there isn't, the hotel will still charge you since they could have given the room to someone else. But by booking with the travel agent the ferry schedule becomes their responsibility. See www.greecetravel.com/travel-agents.htm For those who want to book individual hotels without the use of a travel agency try Matt's Hotel Search where you can find and book hotels by price, catagory, location or whatever. Also see www.hotelsofgreece.com

As for the hotels listed on my website many of the forms go to the travel agent who books that hotel. The forms that go directly to the hotels are the hotels that either have an in-house travel agency or are generally very helpful with information. The Athens hotels that I list individually are there because everyone needs a hotel in Athens, even backpackers and people who have an aversion to travel agents. But many people who book directly with the hotels realize they need a travel agency after-all. These people are seen wandering on Nikis street looking like they are lost and are approached by hustlers who bring them to a travel agency and end up booking something they would have gotten cheaper if they had just worked with an agency in the planning stages of their trip. For those who want to book individual hotels without the use of a travel agency try Matt's Hotel Search where you can find and book hotels by price, catagory, location or whatever. Also see www.hotelsofgreece.com

8. You say that travel agencies offer lower rates than the hotels but I have e-mailed a hotel and gotten lower rates than the agency. How do you explain that?

The travel agency gets net rates from the hotel before the season begins. If a hotel has an official rate of 100 euro for a double room the travel agent may get it for 70 to 80 euro which enables him to mark it up 20% and still be able to sell the room cheaper than the hotel offers it on their website. This is a partnership since without the travel agent the hotel could not fill his rooms. Some hotels will offer the rooms cheaper if they have a lot of empty rooms, in other words out of desperation. The problem with this is that it makes the travel agent look greedy when in actuality it is the hotel that is undercutting his partner (the agency). It is as if I sold hot-dog buns to all the shops in my town and then I went to the individual houses and sold them to the people for less than I sold it to the shops. When the individuals go into the shops and see the price on the hot-dog buns they will think "what a rip-off. If they are selling the hot-dog buns for so much more imagine what they will charge for the other things in the shop." Then they will stop shopping and the stores will go out of business.

So taking advantage of the greed of the hotel owner who undercuts his partner is fine if you have no ethics. But to put it in another perspective what if you were looking for a new camera and found one on Broadway for $500 but I told you to go to 10th street where you can get the same camera for $250. Only it is stolen. Your gain is somebody else's loss. But some people don't mind.

But even for those who don't have an ethical problem with this, how can you trust someone who cheats his own partner for an extra 10 euros? The hotel owner who undercuts his own cooperating travel agents is the last person I would want to have my credit card number.

For those not detered from going on their own try Matt's Hotel Search where you can find and book hotels by price, catagory, location or whatever. Also see www.hotelsofgreece.com

9. I booked a hotel in Athens and when I arrived they told me it was full and I had to wander around looking for another hotel. Is this common?

This is not that common but it does happen occasionally. Unfortunately some hotels overbook to be on the safe side. When this happens something has to give and usually it is the late-arriving individual traveler, especially if he has not already paid for the hotel with a credit card. This is an example of why it is better to use a Greek travel agent then to book directly with the hotel or at least call on the day of your arrival and let them know you are on your way. A hotel is more likely to inconvenience the individual traveler because chances are there won't be repercussions. They don't want to deny the room to the customer of the agency that sends them thousands of dollars a year in business because next year they may take their business elsewhere. Regardless, in most cases the hotel will find somewhere else for you but beyond making a phone call or two they may not do much more and they may just shrug their shoulders and say 'sorry'. Again if you have an agent in Athens and you get to the hotel and they are full (which is unlikely) you have the concierge call the agency and chances are they will feel so bad they will put you up in somewhere better. If you want to book a hotel without a travel agency then hotels like the Hotel Attalos have secure booking forms and once you have paid they are not going to bounce you because they got a better deal from someone else. See also www.hotelsofgreece.com or visit my Hotel Search page.

10. I am leaving for Greece in a week and am feeling very anxious about being a single girl traveling alone and simply traveling. Do you have any advice?

You will be fine in Greece. Not only will you be made to feel welcome (especially as a single girl traveling) but you will meet many people and probably make friends that you will stay in touch with. Greece is the safest country for women traveling on their own and for that reason there are many women traveling alone there.

As for anxiety...I always get it. I am a wreck for several days before I leave and often full of doubt. I have come close to cancelling trips several times and calling a psychiatrist instead. It has a lot to do with breaking your routine, which is what a vacation does. We are creatures of habit with a fear of the unknown and as you get older and more settled it gets worse. Once you have actually left your home and begun to travel the anxiety leaves and the excitement sets in and you wonder what all the angst was about.

11. What is the difference between getting a transfer or using a street taxi from the airport or the port?

Transfers: This is when you hire a taxi or driver to meet you at the airport(or to the airport, ferry, cruise ship etc). He is there even if your plane is delayed, knows where you are going and takes you there for a previously agreed upon price. Transfers from the Airport to the center of Athens costs around 55 euro and from your hotel to the port around 35 euro. I always use transfers because arriving in a foreign city is disorienting enough, it's nice to know you can get to your hotel without a hassle. It's like having a friend meet you at the airport.

The other option is getting a street taxi from outside the terminal for about 25-30 euro. The problem with these guys is that you may get one who is great. But you may get one who does not speak English, just came from the village and is driving his brother's old Datsun cab to make a few bucks and does not know where anything is, smokes like a chimney, has removed the handles to the windows in the back seats because he does not like the draft on his neck, and then overcharges you.

With a transfer you have a well informed English-speaking driver in an airconditioned Mercedes picking you up, helping you with your luggage, helping you check into the hotel and making sure there are no problems and telling you a bit about Athens on the trip in (plus he does not smoke).
Transfers are the most valuable when you arrive in Pireaus by ferry from the islands because the boat empties and there are three or four taxis waiting and several hundred passengers and usually at least one or two of these taxis are there for a pre-arranged transfer. So if you are not one of the lucky ones who the taxi is waiting for, chances are that you will be lugging your bags to the metro to get to your hotel or the airport.

When you book with a travel agency transfers are usually part of the package but you can save a few euro by booking it yourself with an individual English-speaking driver like George the Famous Taxi Driver. See www.greecetravel.com/taxi

The best way to do this is with assistance. To do this blindly on your own would be frustrating and confusing. Nikos Mangriotis can be very helpful. If you stay in a hotel for a week when you arrive and Nikos collects ads from the Greek papers you can definitely find something better and cheaper than if you try to find a place through the English language papers which is mostly high-end stuff. He can translate for you and make sure you are getting a good deal and scrutinize your lease. Any money you spend on him you will probably save in the end. His e-mail is mang@hol.gr

The areas I recommend living in are Plaka, Pangrati, Thission, Koloniki, Agia Paraskevis, Halandri, Kiffissia, Psihiko, Glyfada, Voula, or Vouliagmeni.

13. Where is Katakolon is and why is there no mention of this place anywhere and yet the cruises all go there?

I had never heard of it either until I realized that it is a small port on the western part of the Peloponessos and the reason all the cruise ships go there is because it is the closest port to Ancient Olympia.

14. My husband and I would like to go to Sifnos next year but cannot find any travel agents in the UK that go there. Do you know of any?

Travel agents in the UK and in the USA can be remarkably ignorant about Greece, especially the less known islands like Sifnos. They have very limited information and seem unwilling to explore on their own or maybe they just don't have the time. Work with Aegean Thesaurus Travel in Sifnos. They speak perfect English and can get you better rates and are also there if you have any problems. If you want a package tour then use an agent in the UK but I don't think you will enjoy it as much in Greece if you are surrounded with English people.(No offence). You can book your flights locally or on the net. But Greek travel agents specialize in Greece. They are your best bet for travel within Greece. They will have the most up-to-date information, can assist with ferries and will have cheaper rates for hotels. See www.greecetravel.com/travel-agents.htm

15. I know August is the busiest season but it is the only time I can go. Is this a bad idea?

If August is the only time you can go then it is better than not going at all. It is best to book early. Any island will probably be crowded so you may as well go to one of the more popular ones which will at least have the infrastructure to deal with the number of tourists and Greeks who visit the islands during that month. Any of the popular islands would be fine.... Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos.... See www.gree ktravel.com/greekislands

I have some info on buses. It's in my Athens Survival Guide. I think I have the schedules for the buses and trains for all over Greece. The page is www.athensguide.com/schedules and I have added another section which I got from the Athens News which has information on buses and just about everything else you can think of and that is at www.athensguide.com/practicalinfo .

The reason they can't give you the schedules is not because they don't want to or they are not nice people but because of the work involved in getting the schedules since the Greek ferry companies only release the schedules the week before and even then you have to double check to make sure they are correct. What that means is that the agencies have to call up the ferry company and ask if there will be a ferry for a particular date and this can take a lot of time since they have to remain on hold until the ferry company finally answers. A travel agency will go through all this trouble to book ferries for their clients who book hotels with them, not merely as a courtesy but because they want to be sure that the client can get to the hotel. You can find the weekly schedules from Pireaus, Rafina and Lavrion at www.athensguide.com/greek-island-ferry-schedules but before you book hotels on your own based on the information on that or any other website get a verification because I have seen schedules that I know are wrong including the one on my own site.

19. I have booked my hotels through the net but am having trouble finding out if I can get to the island and how to get tickets. Why won't the travel agents sell me ferry tickets?

The Greek Travel agencies do not make money off ferry tickets. They make their money off the hotels since they get a cheaper rate then you get and then they can add their comission and still offer the hotel for the same or less then what the hotel offers directly. If you contact the agency and have already booked your hotels and want to buy ferry tickets they won't help you. It's because not only do they make almost nothing on ferry tickets, but if you don't show up they are stuck with these useless ferry tickets that they had to pay for. If you pay them for the tickets with a credit card the comission they pay the bank for using the card is more than the profit on the ferry tickets. If you know which islands you want to visit then have the agency book the hotels because then they can make sure you can get to the island.

Most honeymooners choose Santorini . It is almost a tradition and agencies like Fantasy Travel have honeymoon packages on their websites.
Mykonos is popular too. My choice would be Sifnos . It is quiet and romantic and still Greek, yet you won't feel like you are completely out of place because there are some travelers there too. Some are even honeymooning. Great beaches, great food and several different villages to visit.

21. My wife and I are doing all of our own arrangements in advance, including hotel accommodations, ferries/hydrofoils, etc. Any good Web sites with summer schedules?

Unfortunately there is no reliable ferry information on the web since the ferry companies themselves are not reliable which is why I suggest that people decide which islands they want to go to and book their hotels through a Greek travel agency. In the old days getting from one island to another was easy but with the monopolies on ferries some of the routes which were not as lucrative were cut back or disappeared. The problem with booking hotels over the net and then working out the ferry schedules is first of all for some connections you won't know that there is definately a ferry until shortly before your trip. Second of all if you discover you were wrong about a ferry or it is cancelled and can't get to the island you have booked your hotel at, you still have to pay for that hotel, plus you will need another hotel for that night.

When you work with an agency then this becomes their responsibility and should they make a mistake or the ferry gets cancelled or delayed then they deal with it and you are not the one who pays for the extra hotel.

Most people who island hop just get off the boat and see what is available at the dock, basically taking whatever they can get. If you are not too picky then this is fine and sometimes you can find a hidden treasure. But more likely you will end up paying what you would have paid for a hotel had you booked through a travel agent, for a lesser quality hotel.

Many people think they will save money by booking directly with the hotels but the Greek agencies have discounted rates for many of the hotels. Add this to the convenience of the travel agency taking care of your ferry info and tickets and you will realize it makes sense to have someone who knows what they are doing, and can answer your questions, handle your arrangements.

The Cyclades are easier to make connections but again a ferry can be cancelled due to high wind and Flying Dolphins are even more suseptable to bad weather. The limitations of the ferry schedules can create dead-ends on some islands where your only option is to go back to Pireaus and sail out again or go to an island you did not really plan on visiting, or just stay where you are.

My advice is to use the web to find the hotels you are interested in, get their rates and then get an Athens agency to book them for you or trust on the ability of the agency to find the best hotel for the amount of money you can spend per night. They are good at that.

You might try www.greecetravel.com/create-an-itinerary if you know which islands you want to visit and how much time you want to spend there and an agent will give you a price and a suggested itinerary.

For those not detered from going on their own try Matt's Hotel Search where you can find and book hotels by price, catagory, location or whatever. Also see www.hotelsofgreece.com

22. I have seen some boats called High-speeds, others are hydrofoils and others Express. Is there are difference?

The highspeeds, catamarans and the hydrofoils (Flying Dolphins) are actually very fast boats. What a ferry takes to get to an island they do in half the time. The boats that are called 'Express' in most cases are just ferries which they stuck the name 'express' on so people would think it was fast. The exception is the Aeolis Express which is a highspeed and perhaps the best ship in the Greek fleet. The Blue Star ferries are something in between a slow ferry and a highspeed. They have cabins too. The highspeeds just have seats.

23. What is the best way to get to Alonnisos, Skopelos and Skiathos in the Sporades Islands?

To get to the Sporades you will need to take a bus or taxi to Agios Konstantinos about an hour or so out of Athens and take the boat from there. It is the same ferry line that goes to Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos. You can also go to Volos and catch highspeeds and ferries from there. Many people fly to Skiathos but there is only one flight a day in the summer and two a week in the off-season. Skyros is even more difficult. You have to take a bus to Kimi in northern Evia and a boat from there.

24. What is better to bring, travelers checks or dollars and is it easy to change them?

You can exchange dollars and travelers checks at any bank or exchange service and there are even banks in the airport. The banks that will exchange money will have the rates posted outside. They all have basically the same rates and comissions. Some have no comissions but I imagine it is because they give you a lesser rate. Anyway it is not much and it really does not matter where you change your money or whether it is in dollars or travelers checks. I usually bring a credit card for emergencies and there are ATM machines all over Athens and on most (if not all) the islands. Most people use the ATM machines now. They feel that if you use a travelers check you get hit in both directions, buying and selling.

25. Are hotels in the region of Omonia square dangerous at night?

There is a project going on which is restoring the area around Omonia and now towards the train station. The hotels are pretty nice and the area has been cleaned up though there is still a lot of traffic and does have a somewhat seedy appearance though I would not call it dangerous. That being said, I prefer to be on the Plaka side since it is quieter and closer to the sites and the restaurants I like. If you have business in Athens then Omonia is fine but if you are coming to see the sites you will be happier closer to the Plaka. But Omonia is much better than it was when many of the guidebooks wrote about it and improving all the time and with the metro right there you can get just about anywhere easily. But the area near Omonia has the cheapest hotels in Athens. See www.athensguide.com/hotels-budget though if you are only in Athens for a night or two you should try to stay near the Plaka and maybe pay a few euros extra for the convenience. See www.athensguide.com/hotels for recommendations.

26. You recommend the Hotel Attalos but in a guidebook I read it says it is in a seedy area. So why do you recommend it?

Any guidebook that says the Hotel Attalos on Athinas street is in a seedy area has not been updated in ten or fifteen years because that is how long it has been since that area was anything resembling seedy. There used to be a couple hotels on the street that had prostitutes that gave the area a bad look but they have been closed down for ages. The area of Athinas between the Central Market and the Monastiraki Flea market is working class with shops and several tourist hotels. It also borders Psiri which is the new restaurant-nightlife center of Athens.

27. I have heard that Santorini is a spectacular island and should not be missed. But I have also heard that there are a lot of tourists. Should I skip it?

It is true that Santorini is one of the most popular islands and there are a lot of tourists, particularly in Thira, Oia, Perissa and Kamari. Santorini is not just a beautiful Greek island, it has to be one of the most visually spectacular places in the world and that is why it is so popular. But you don't have to stay in these places. The village of Akrotiri is quiet and still pretty much a Greek island village like you would find on one of the less popular islands. So you can go to Santorini and still stay in an area that is still relatively traditional. That being said, few people have complaints about Santorini and even those seeking something quiet have been impressed with Santorini and were glad they went there. Same goes for Mykonos. If you are looking for somewhere quiet go to Sifnos.

28. I am bringing my hair-dryer. What current does Greece use and what equipment will I need?

Greece is on 220. We in the USA are on 110. Many modern appliances convert automatically but you will still need a little plug adapter that will make your plug fit in the holes for the Greek plugs. They sell them at Praxitelous street down from Syntagma or right next to the Hotel Cecil on Athinas street. There are a number of electical shops there and scattered around the city. You can also find a little conversion kit at shops like Radio-shack. But some appliances need a transformer. It should say on the side if it works on 220. If you are unsure take it to Radioshack.
Some hotels have hairdryers so ask when you book.

29. I will be coming to Athens and bringing my laptop with me. How can I use a local internet service provider?

Find out if your provider has a local number in Athens. If not then you would be better off going to an internet cafe and getting your mail by going to your providers website on the computer there. Contact my friend Tom Mazarakis at www.greecetravel.com/phones and he can tell you if your provider is represented in Greece and give you advice on staying connected and maybe by the time you read this there will be a service available that works through the cell phones. There are now internet cafes all over Athens and the islands and you can ask at your hotel for the one closest to you. You can also get packages from several internet providers like Otenet.gr and HOL.gr but unless you absolutely need your laptop for your work it is much less a hassle to just use internet cafes. If you do bring your laptop you can connect through the phone lines in many hotels but keep in mind that even local calls are more expensive in hotels. Some hotels now like the Hotel Attalos have free wireless for their guests as well as a free computer if you don't have a laptop. You can also buy internet cards that for 10 euros give you time on the net though these are dialup connections and can be slow. There is something called 3G which is a modem card which works on the GSM phone frequencies but you have to buy a yearly contract though this may change.

30. I wonder if you can recommend to me places (like clubs or even tavernas) to hear some good Rembetika in Athens.

When you get to Athens get a copy of the weekly Athenorama (pronounced ath-ee-no-ra-ma) available at any kiosk or magazine stand. It is in Greek but take it to the concierge of your hotel and he will tell you where to go and how to get there. You can also check my listing of nightclubs and bars at www.athensguide.com/nightlife.html but the Athenorama will be more up to date. In the summer most of the clubs with the big-name musicians are closed but in the neighborhood of Psiri you can still find live music played by unknowns and some of them are pretty good. In the Plaka there are a couple rooftop and garden restaurants with live music around Mnisicleous street but it is a mixture of rembetika-laika and tourist music. Though they say it is hard to find a restaurant with both good food and good music, my friend George at Fantasy Travel says Stamatopoulos Taverna is good and always tries to get me to come with him there. (I don't because I know he will make me dance and then I will be embarrassed). Personally I like the Platia Iroon which is in the square of the same name in Psiri because they have live authentic rembetika, played without amplification by the owner Nikos and his very talented friends. Also in the afternoon by the small church of Kapni Karea there is a tiny cafe called Kapni Karea where a couple guys play and it can get pretty festive there. In the meat market there is the Stoa Athanaton which has shows in the afternoon with some well-known musicians. Try to find where Babis Tsertos is playing. He plays very authentic laika and rembetika but usually in the summer guys like him play out-door concerts and are not in the clubs. Check the Athens News for concerts too.

31. I am looking for a warm island in Greece to spend a winter at. Any suggestions?

Unfortunately Greece has a winter too and while there will be some warm days on the islands there will also be many days which are cold and wet. Rhodes and Crete are the most furthest south and they can be a little bit warmer but it won't be summer there. For travel in Greece during the winter see www.greektravel.com/winter and also see www.athensguide.com/weather.html for the seasons and temperatures and what to bring in the way of clothing.

32. Do you have an idea of temperature and does it rain during the winter?

Sometimes it rains and sometimes it is cold but if you are lucky the weather will be beautiful. The temperature averages around 55 I believe but you can have days in the seventies. It never gets below freezing and hardly ever even approaches the mark except on the top of mountains where it snows. It does rain more in the winter than in the summer when it does not rain at all or rarely. For travel in Greece during the winter see www.greektravel.com/winter and also see www.athensguide.com/weather.html for the seasons and temperatures and what to bring in the way of clothing.

I usually try to go to one new island everytime I come, or if not new, one I have not been to in many years. But the islands I go to every year are Sifnos, Lesvos, and Kea. One island I my wife has a house on, one my sister-in-law has a house on and the third I have lots of friends so it is like home for me. I also go to the Peloponessos every year and when I visit Greece in the winter I try to go to one nearby island like Aegina, but mostly I stay in Athens because it is so much fun then.

34. What are the best islands to party and meet people from all around the world?

The best islands to meet young people to party with are: Ios, Mykonos and Santorini but there are places in Crete, Rhodes, Hydra, Paros and Naxos that can be just as fun and crazy. But the party scene on the islands is seasonal. You can't come in October and expect to have a wild time. The time to come if you want to party is July and especially August when the Greeks and Italians join in. But Athens is a lot of fun in the off-season and there are still bars open on many of the islands.

There is no ferry from anywhere in Greece to Istanbul nor from the Greek mainland to Turkey. The easiest way to get to Istanbul is to fly. To take a ferry to one of the border islands and then cross over to Turkey and then take a bus would take several days. But there are daily boats in the summer from Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios and Lesvos to Turkey. The schedule is reduced in the off-season. You can also take a bus or train to Turkey but it is a long trip.

In most places the answer is yes but if you are the type who uses bottled water at home or has a filter on your tap for drinking water then you will be happy to know that they sell bottled water everywhere. Some islands have a water-table that has been mixed with sea-water and it does not taste very good and you will want to use bottled water there too. It is fine for bathing though. But Athens water is of as good or better quality then the water that comes from your tap at home and on the islands and villages with springs you will be drinking water of the quality that you buy by the bottle at home.

37. We have been asked to send a signed photo-copy of our passport and credit card in order to make a booking with a travel agency in Greece. Is this normal?

Most agencies have some method of protecting themselves from credit card fraud. By faxing a signed copy of your card they have proof that it was you who made the charges and not someone who got a hold of your cc number. Some agencies may not do this but once they have been burned by someone using a stolen credit card then they will too because the credit card companies refuse to pay them and they get stuck holding the bag, paying for hotels, cruises etc.

38. How much do travel agents charge in comission?

The ones on my site don't charge the customer a comission. They get discount rates from the hotels and that enables them to sell to their clients for less than the hotels charges. Same with cruises and tours. So you could say theu get their comissions from the hotels and cruise and tour companies.

The easiest way is by taxi of course. Many people have a pre-arranged taxi waiting for them and they visit the Acropolis and the main sites in Athens and see a lot in the limited time they have between arrival and departure. See www.greecetravel.com/taxi for more information. You can also get to the Acropolis by metro. From the cruise terminal you can walk along the port (keeping the water on your left and the city on your right) until you come to the Metro station. It is an old building, very distinctive just beyond the square with all the buses. Take the metro to Thission, it is about 5 stops and will take around 12 minutes. When you exit the station you will see the Acropolis in front of you. Just walk towards it. Come back the way you came or from Monastiraki which is on the same line. See www.athensguide.com/newmetro.html

40. Do I need an international drivers license to rent a car or a motorbike? I have never been asked for anything besides my North Carolina license for renting a car and I rent them all the time, everywhere in Greece. I think that info about the international driver's license was printed in some guidebook and then all the others just copied it over and over again. If you had to have an international ID to rent a car all the car rental companies would go out of business.

41. The Greek Embassy website says that travelers to Greece are required to have travel insurance. Is this true? I have never heard of such a thing and nobody has ever asked someone coming into the country if they have travel insurance. I can also tell you that 2 years ago I had a medical emergency (I cut my foot and had to get stitches) and not only did they not ask for my insurance or money, they did not even care what my name was. They have socialized medicine and if you get hurt or sick they treat you and that is that.

Whether or not you have travel insurance is up to you if you are from the USA. EU citizens require a European Health Insurance card to be sure of receiving medical assistance free of charge. Travel Insurance IS required as this card does not cover anything other than emergency medical treatment. E.G. it does not cover repatriation to the UK should that be required. Travel Insurance also covers things like lost baggage or loss or theft of personal items as well as more serious things such as Medical emergencies and in some cases lost passports. (Thanks Kevin)

There is a place to leave luggage in Pireaus. It is a cafe in the port, right on the dock near where the Cyclades ferries are. You will see a bus station in front of the ferry ticket offices. Behind the offices is a big cafe and they have a luggage storage section. They also have an internet cafe. They are open 24 hours too. There is a place to leave luggage at the airport too but that is pretty inconvenient unless you are flying everywhere. Many hotels like the Attalos allow you to leave your bags when you go off to the islands. See also www.athensguide.com/ferries.html

This is untrue in a general sense but of course there are exceptions. I think many Greeks don't hide their emotions very well. In most countries the people who have contact with tourists are well trained to keep a smile and be polite no matter what. I don't think you can do that with the Greeks nor can you control who the tourist comes into contact with because the entire country is visited, not just a few scattered resorts on one or two islands. But at the same time that you have a few people acting like jerks you also have those who go above and beyond the call of duty or hospitality. So its not a matter of saying the Greeks are rude. The Greeks are a little bit of everything. Greece is not Disneyland, or a resort. It's a whole country and you can't make a whole country behave the way you think they should. That is why when you go to places like Jamaica you have barbed-wire fences around the resorts and beaches where the tourists go. In Greece you go everywhere and meet everyone.

44. My father was born in Greece. Do I have to serve in the military if I come to visit?

Most likely not. As a foreign citizen with Greek ancestry you can come to Greece for 3 months and not worry about the military. But if you plan to stay longer you should find out what your military status is because it depends on a number of variables and in some cases you can pay a fee and buy your way out because practically speaking they don't really want you in their military since you will be fairly useless if you don't speak Greek and more trouble than you are worth. Dorian Kokas provides the service of finding out the military status of Greek-Americans, Canadians or whatever.. See www.athensguide.com/dorian

Frequently Asked Questions about Greece

FAQs for Visitors to Greece