Vacation In Greece
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For years and decades, Greece has been a popular vacation destination for many people around the world. Our unique Greek Island Hopping Tour is being offered frequently among Travel Companies in Greece. The goal of this tour is to enjoy Greek island hopping and live the amazing experience on your own.
Greece is a beautiful country with innumerable tourism attractions. Above all, Greece is a wonderful location for a vacation, especially for families and singles.
The absolute best way to experience Greece is to visit it. Whether you’re going on a family vacation, honeymoon or just traveling solo, Greece offers the visitor amazing opportunities to enjoy its rich history, diverse landscape and hospitable people.
Greece has been an established tourist destination for decades now. But not all that comes is welcome or familiar. The daily tourists who come to Greece and rush from monument to monument give the impression that there isn’t much else to see. However, Greece is home to some excellent museums, amazing archaeological sites and beautiful beaches as well.
Vacation In Greece
Have you ever wanted to visit the Greek Isles? I’m pretty sure everyone has. But unless you’re a multi-millionaire, with an incredible job that allows you to travel at any time of the year, chances are you haven’t yet. Hopefully, one day soon we’ll all be able to visit Greece, and if not it’s still important to explore what Greek culture has to offer us through books, movies and documentaries. Since Greece is under your nose, let me share with you some of my favorite things about it.
BASIC FACTS ABOUT GREECE
Greece is part of Europe and is situated in the southern Mediterranean between Italy and Turkey and south of Albania and Bulgaria on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. In Greece it is actually known as Hellas with its official name being the Hellenic Republic “Helliniki Dimokratia”.
It consists of 132,000 sq kilometres of land including 227 inhabited islands. The population is just under 11 million people.
The religion is East Orthodoxy ( Christian) , they drive on the right hand side of the road and the calling code is +30.
PASSPORTS AND VISAS
Greece is a member of the European Union and as such all residents of the 26 countries that have signed the Schenghen Agreement do not require a visa.
Other countries such as Singapore, Australia and the USA also do not require one but several countries do. Check the official Government website to be sure.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT GREECE?
We believe there is never a bad time to visit Greece but most people will say the ideal time is May, June, and September, when the weather is great and it is shoulder season for tourists.
Peak season is July and August and Easter.
More information on this is available here.
HOW TO GET TO GREECE
Most visitors arrive in Greece via Athens but it is also possible to arrive via a number of other International Airports on islands such as Rhodes, Santorini, and Corfu and on the mainland at Thessaloniki, Kavala, Kalamata and Preveza.
It is also common for visitors to arrive by sea on both cruise ships and private yachts and charters as well as by train, road and even on foot!
WHAT ARE THE BEST PLACES IN GREECE TO SEE
Greece has many incredible destinations and is considered home to some of the most beautiful and interesting sites in the world. There are 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites with another 16 under consideration.
Most people want to see the Greek Islands and particularly the much-photographed islands of Santorini and Mykonos in the Cyclades Group of islands.There are actually several island groups – the Cyclades, the Dodacannese, the Saronic islands, the Sporades Islands, the Northern Aegean islands and Crete so island hopping in the Greek Islands is popular but does require some research.
Some islands are very romantic and are great for couples whilst others are great for families and many are perfect for solo travellers.
There are also some incredible things to see on the mainland including Athens – ancient sites like Delphi and Olympia as well as places of considerable natural beauty and wonder such as Meteora and Mt Athos. The Peloponnese peninsula is becoming more popular and is thought by many to be the ‘real Greece’.
It is easy to organise your own visit to Greece, using the various tips, links and articles on this website. Some people prefer to have it all organised for them and join tours and that’s fine too.
HOW MANY DAYS IN GREECE DO YOU NEED?
The fifty million dollar question. Many people will probably say the best length of time to spend in Greece is 3 months, or even FOREVER, but of course that is not viable for most visitors.
We have a number of suggested itineraries for Greece but as a general rule of thumb would say you need the following minimums;
- Greece – 4 days. And you will likely only see Athens and a day trip somewhere else.
- Greek Islands – 5 days, which will give you 2 islands.
- Athens and islands – 7 days
- Crete – 7 days.
Ideal minimum – 2 weeks. Perfect duration 4-6 weeks ( or forever).
ITINERARIES FOR GREECE
One of the biggest challenges most people face when planning a trip to Greece is landing on the best itinerary. One that maxismises their time, caters to their interests and stays within their budget.
Many first timers will do the Greek Golden Triangle of Athens-Santorini-Mykonos although some may also venture on to popular spots like Crete, Rhodes and Corfu. Then what? With over 220 populated islands and 131,000 km of area there are so many places to go and things to do you can get TOTALLY overwhelmed.
These are some of the itineraries that we suggest and you can also download our FREE 7 DAY itinerary too!
Greek Island Hopping itineraries
TRANSPORT IN GREECE
Transport around the country varies and can be at times woefully inadequate or exceptionally good. Whilst private drivers are not as common nor as affordable as in come countries, they do exist. The train and bus network is not as modern or efficient as those in say, France or Italy but the Ferry network is probably the most extensive and effective, in the world.
In Athens taxis drivers, like many cities, can be a bit hit and miss so it pays to have the details of a trusted one. For private transfers we use and recommend CATTaxi and if you use the Promo code “GTS” when you book through this link you will receive a further 10% off! That’s less than 2 Euro more than a taxi!
For other transport options to and from Athens airport, read our article HERE.
For Ferries we use Ferryhopper and we invariably hire a car at each destination even if it’s just for a day or two. Be sure to have access to some good maps and do not rely on Google!
In some places, especially Santorini, you will see Donkeys available to ride. We urge you to learn more about that and other transport alternatives on the island too.
To fly between destinations, which is often quicker and cheaper than ferries, we use Aegean/Olympic, although sometimes Skyexpress and even Ryanair will be a good choice. Schedules for ferries, trains and planes are often not available until a few months in advance.
Another popular choice of course is sailing and we have a complete sailing the Greek Island guide to get you started.
TOURS IN GREECE
There are many tours to and around Greece. Some focus solely on Greece whilst other may combine other countries such as Italy or Turkey. Some last only a few hours in a single destination whilst other can be your entire holiday. Some move at a frenetic pace whilst others embrace a slow approach to exploring Greece. Some appeal to young people on a tight budget whilst others appeal to wealthy retirees – and everything in between.
Our preferred Private Transfer guys also do some great trips from Athens and can meet you at your hotel or at Pireaus port. They can customize tours to suit your interests and can cater for groups in their brand new Mercedes vans.
We’ve also partnered with a couple of large tour companies that we believe represent good value and have solid reputations. Tour Radar offer great tours between 3 days and 3 weeks from a number of providers including Busabout, Contiki, Insight Vacations and Trafalgar. Intrepid Travel host small group tours and often visit lesser known spots. Get your Guide are great for doing local activities and day trips.
For a full list of our recommendations see our Tours in Greece post.