GREECE TRAVEL INFORMATION WITH OUR GREECE EXPERT MARTHA ARSENIOU!
We now have a GREECE Travel Specialist here at Odyssey Express Travel!
Please allow us to introduce Martha Arseniou she has been born & raised in Greece. She has been living here in the US for many years now. She travels back to Greece on a regular basis. She has compiled information that I think is helpful to travelers to Greece and the Greek islands. Martha can help you avoid some of the problems people have while traveling in Greece and also to share her knowledge of the country.
Holidays in Greece
The 15th of August is the biggest holiday in Greece along with Easter. The days preceding and following these holidays are the worst times to be traveling. If you are on an island there will be lots happening but it is also the best time to be in Athens because the city will be empty. Make sure you have your hotels and ferries booked if you are traveling during this period.
Apokreas is the Greek version of Mardi Gras, with celebrations in Athens, Patras and many villages and towns in Greece. This is a great time to go if you like nightlife, parties, dancing and have nothing better to do in February. It is also a good time to get discounted rates on flights and hotels. Greek winters are mild and Athens can be wild! The last two weekends are the best.
Easter is a very special time to be in Greece with the celebrations and the services and the roast lamb and the smell of spring and the wildflowers in bloom.
The BEST SEASON for GREECE On the corner of Apollonos and Voulis is the Skynet Center which is not a cafe but provides all sorts of internet services and is the easiest to use and the friendliest. It is sort of disguiesed as a tea-shop. The very conveniently located Museum Internet Cafe at 46 Patision street, is an actual cafe. It is located right next to the National Archeological Museum. The Plaka Internet World at 29 Pandrossou Street is owned by Pavlos Georgiadis, a Greek who has lived much of his life in Germany. This is another good place to get your e-mail or hang out and do things that people do when they are addicted to computers.To find Pavlos just enter on the ground floor and keep climbing the stairs until you are wondering how much further can it be and then you will be there. Great view from the balcony. There are also internet cafes in Mykonos , Santorini, Lesvos and probably every other island by now. Getting your e-mail is not a problem in Greece. If you need to have a laptop for work then bring it but if you are just bringing it to get e-mail or to feel secure I have to warn you that it can be a big hassle. For e-mail you are better off going to internet cafes and even some of the hotels have computers for their guests. Making a phone call from anywhere in Greece has always been a pain. Most people buy the phone cards that are usable in some of the phones some of the time if you don't mind waiting in line. Or you can call from your hotel for five times the normal rate. Or you can ask in every store, restaurant, cafe or newsstand if you can make a call. Buses and Trolleys in Athens Take a Ride on the Metro! Changing Money in Greece Mykonos is the most elegant island in Greece Rhodes: Where Summer lasts all Year More Islands The Agistri Club on the small island of Agistri , a few miles from Athens is like a private party that has been going on for 20 years. It seems like everyone who stays there has been there before and keeps on coming back. Crete
July and August are fine if you are prepared. It's more crowded and rooms are harder to find but the island nightlife is jumping and the beaches are lively. If you are of college age or mind this is the time for you since this is when all the students who are lucky enough to not have to work are traveling. If you are older bring plenty of sunscreen and alka-seltzer. In August all of Athens is on vacation so book rooms and ferries in advance. Be aware August 15th is the biggest holiday of the summer and the boats going to the islands before and coming back after that day are crowded and you will need to book in advance. But if you can't get to an island the 15th is a great time to be in Athens because everyone is gone. If you are planning to be in Greece in August don't wait til the last minute to book a room because you may not find one.
May-June and September-October are favorite months. The weather is perfect and the kids are in school so it's quieter. There is still some nightlife but the beaches are almost free of people on the less mainstream islands. You may get a day of rain but it usually adds a little excitement. This is a time to go to the islands like Mykonos, Santorini, and Rhodes because most of the tourists are gone.
November to March can be cold and rainy but it can also be like Indian Summer. Athens comes alive during these months and there is nothing like a night out in the city. The ruins which are dry and dusty in the summer are covered with Grass. Easter is a very special time to be in Greece. This year it is on the 15th of April. In the islands it is like high-season so book in advance because if you just show up you may not find a room.
Internet Cafes and Access in Greece
Most of the computer shops are located in Exarchia near the Polytechnic but there are others scattered throughout the city. But if you have any trouble with your laptop ask Savas at SKYNET and he will tell you where you need to go or maybe be able to help you himself.
If you are bringing a laptop chances are it will convert to 220 current automatically. But you will still need to buy an adapter so the plug will fit in the socket. You can buy one at any electric store, many of which are located on Praxitelous street below Syntagma Square. But you should be aware that if one of your plug protrusions (or whatever those things are called) is a little bit bigger then the other, make sure that the adapter you buy also has one hole bigger then the other or you will only meet with frustration and sorrow.
Phones in Greece
There is an answer to your problems. IA cellular phone. You can get a phone, with your own number that you can give to all your friends in America and Greece. No contracts like in the USA. Incoming calls are free. People can find you at anytime and if you don't want them to find you (or want to be selective) there is free voice mail service.
Greece Travel-Phones will sell you a phone charged and ready to go and will give you your phone number before you leave home so you can put it on your answering machine and give to your family and friends (if you want them to have it). Not only that but you can send Greece Travel-Phones the numbers of your family and friends and they will be programed into your phone for quick and easy dialing(no trying to figure out access codes). They will also set up your answering service. They deliver your phone to your hotel, to the airport or anywhere you like, even on the islands, charged and ready to use.
For more info see www.greecetravel.com/phones
Bus and Trolley Tickets can be bought at most kiosks. When you get on the bus stick the ticket in the machine. Don't get caught on a bus without a ticket or one that has not been validated. It's expensive and embarrassing. You can buy tickets for the electric train at the stations.
The new Metro is now 95% complete. There are a couple lines up and running. Well worth a visit is the Metro station at Syntagma (Constitution) Square. It might be the best museum in Athens if not the most beautiful metro station in the world. One wall is a cuttaway of an excavation where you can see the different periods of Greek History. There are also ancient artifacts on display plus giant photos of Athens from the beginning of the century. In fact almost every metro station has some kind of interesting exhibit going on. The coastal tram opened in time for the Olympics and starts at Syntagma and goes to the beach.
Taxis in Greece
Taxis have gotten a bad name in Athens because of the unfortunate behavior of a few but there is no reason to be afraid of them since the vast majority are very nice. The only difficulty is in finding one that is not full or is willing to take you where you need to go. You can get the hotel to call a radio taxi if you need to go somewhere. We use George the Famous Taxi Driver and his crew when going to the port or the airport but particularly when we arriving in Greece or at the port. Usually when you get off the ferry there are about 4 taxis for 500 people. If you have one reserved he won't take anyone but you.
Tourist Info in Greece
At the GREEK NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION (EOT) office you can get the weekly ferry and bus schedules, a free map of Greece, a free map of Athens, fares, brochures and so on. They are located on Amalias Street across from the National Gardens. You can get maps of Athens at most hotels and some will have the very helpful map of Greece that EOT so generously provides for free. Ferry schedules are in the Athens News which comes out on Friday. Don't bother asking for schedules for boats going between the islands.
Change around $100 to euros at the airport in America before I get on my flight in case there is a line at the exchange booths at the Athens airport. Once you get into the Athens itself there are banks and exchange services, especially around Syntagma (Constitution) Square and in the Plaka. There are banks on the islands and some hotels will change money too but check rates and comissions. There are also ATM machines everywhere now. Changing money is not a big deal. You can get travelers checks or use your credit card. Ferryboats to the Greek Islands
The best way to the Greek islands is by ferry boat.They are cheap and relaxing with restaurants, snack bars and beautiful scenery. The boats to the far Greek islands like Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos & Kos leave in the evening. With a cabin it's like going to sleep in a hotel and waking up in a new place. The new ferries are like airplanes on the sea. You sit in comfortable chairs, they show movies on the TV and there are snackbars with decent food. Frequency of boats vary from island to island. To get to the port of Pireaus from Athens take the metro from the stop closest to you (probably Monastiraki or Omonia) to the last stop: Pireaus. The boats are across the street. There is a map on the dock that tells you where to find the ferries for each island. If you don't have a ticket you can buy them at the boat too though if you want a cabin you should get it in advance. Also if you are traveling to the islands on the days preceding Easter and the 15th of August or any Friday in July and August you should buy your tickets in advance. The same goes with returning after those dates and on Sundays.
There's a shuttle bus in the harbor that can take you to the further boats. Ferry Schedules come out in the Kathemerini insert in the International Herald Tribune every day but infortunately by the time you wake up half of them are gone since the majority leave between 7 and 8am. Finding reliable ferry info for travel between the islands on the internet is like finding an 8 Karat diamond in a gum machine. The schedules are changed so often that webmasters have had nervous breakdowns trying to keep up. NEW! The Athens News now has the weekly ferry schedules from Pireaus, Rafina and Lavrion so get a copy at the newstand in the airport when you arrive or at most kiosks and newstands in Athens. 
Mykonos has been visited by just about every famous person on the planet. White cube houses and amazing beaches including the famous Paradise beach where clothes are optional and a beautiful body if not essential is certainly to be desired. The best nightlife in Greece and some of the best restaurants too. In the summer this island never sleeps and in the off-season life can actually be quite sane. If you have dismissed Mykonos as just a party-island forget it. The 20 minute boat trip to Delos will give you more history than you will find on all the other Cyclades combined (with the exception of Santorini)
Great beaches packed with beautiful Scandinavian women and nightlife that rivals Manhattan not to mention some of the most beautiful scenery in Greece. Amazing history too. The old city is a walled fortress and contains the famous castle of the Knights of Saint John. The time to visit Rhodes is anytime. Even in the winter. Southern Rhodes, where the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas meet is like Mecca for windsurfers. The whole south-western coast is an endless beach with few people on it, while the northern beaches are like Rio. If you are on a cruise and only have a day to see the island NICHOLAS & MICHAEL AXARLIS and their crew of drivers can give you the most bang for your bucks (or euros)
Paros
There must be a reason the island of Paros is mentioned in the same breath as Mykonos and Santorini, besides the fact that nearly every ferry stops here. For one thing it is the Windsurfing Capital of the Greek islands and is famous for its watersports. For another reason it is a beautiful island with lots to do and see. Poros
The island of Poros is only an hour from Athens by highspeed. What that means is that you can make it your base to see the sites of the city and still be home for dinner and a swim. It's also a three minute boat ride from the Peleponessos.
Aegina
Even closer than Poros, from the beach town of Agia Marina you can see the city of Athens and even a slow ferry gets you to Pireaus in an hour. The highspeeds do it in twenty minutes. Great place for day-trips, overnights or basing yourself for visits to Athens.
The beautiful island of Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands and almost a country itself. The Porto Elounda Deluxe Resort is considered one of the top resorts in the world. But if you are on a budget there are also smaller and less expensive hotels all over the island
