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Has anyone been to Greece and its many islands recently? Any tips on where to stay or dine?
I'm planning on going there this summer and wanted to have a few tips , and is the language going to be a barrier?
Thanks.
You'd be surprised how many people in Europe have at least a basic grasp of English so I think you'll be okay. Might be a good idea to learn a few useful phrases such as Thank you, Please, How much, etc just to show willing.
Rhodes isn't bad once you get away from Rhodes City altho exploring the castle there is fun. The town of Lindos has great beaches. You can also take a ferry to Patmos which is still quite unspoiled.
Crete is supposed to be amazing, especially if you like ruins and ancient history. Santorini is supposedly stunning as is Corfu. It really depends on what you're looking for.
English is widely spoken in tourist areas of Greece.
Less is better for luggage. The climate is mild so you won't need so much clothing.
Getting on/off planes, buses, ferries, and subways will teach you the joys of traveling with only ONE piece of wheelie luggage plus modest backpack. It also saves money in the long run as you will have no place to stow the living room carpets, garden sculpture, and other ridiculously large souvenirs you may be tempted to buy.
Small=flexible.
Flexible=more options for change of plans.
Change of plans=more unexpected fun adventure.
If you are planning to travel the Greek islands you'd better take a very careful look at ferry connections. Once you sail off to a certain group of islands, it is extremely difficult to get to another island group without going all the way back to the original start point (usually Athens) to then go on in a different direction.
Greek ferries are private companies. Different ferry companies service different routes.
Going to Greece in summer is a not such a great idea. It's High Season, prices of everything skyrockets and the climate is hot. If you were to go after Sept. 15, expenses will be halved and the weather will still be nice and warm.
Hey thanks you guys. These are some great tips , actually more than I expected.
" If you are planning to travel the Greek islands you'd better take a very careful look at ferry connections. Once you sail off to a certain group of islands, it is extremely difficult to get to another island group without going all the way back to the original start point (usually Athens) to then go on in a different direction. "
That is really strange , but I'm sure you having been there know more than I do , but why do you think that is? If the Greek ferries are priavte co. why can't they take me to where I want to go instead of taking me back to where I started from? To me that doesn't make any sense.
And about the time of travel , I think you're right about going there after Sept. 15. Hey thanks so much.
Two weeks to "explore" the Greek Islands, ha! Flew into Athens, spent the night and decided to make our base camp in Hydra - no cars on the island, only donkeys/mules for getting supplies to restaurants, hotels, luggage from the port and Hydra had some great connections to other islands.
Well, you guessed it, we never left Hydra until we had to get back to Athens for our return flight.
We're pretty good about doing a whole lot of nothing but decompress. No language barriers whatsoever, English was spoken everywhere we went. Of course, we didn't really go anywhere! One of our best holidays ever. We each had one small rollie bag.
We love Greek food as well as trying new foods but there was plenty to satisfy a picky American palate.
Hey thanks you guys. These are some great tips , actually more than I expected.
" If you are planning to travel the Greek islands you'd better take a very careful look at ferry connections. Once you sail off to a certain group of islands, it is extremely difficult to get to another island group without going all the way back to the original start point (usually Athens) to then go on in a different direction. "
That is really strange , but I'm sure you having been there know more than I do , but why do you think that is? If the Greek ferries are priavte co. why can't they take me to where I want to go instead of taking me back to where I started from? To me that doesn't make any sense.
I'm guessing it's because of the good old reason: That's the way it's always been
You might find this website useful (Paleologos Travel Booking Engine) in at least figuring out how you can get from A to B and which routes are the best. You can see from the itinerary planner that you definitely can't get to all the islands from one location and some of them don't even have more than one destination.
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