If you've got here, it's probably that you've already decided travel to Greece and even have the tickets reserved. If so, we can only tell you that you have chosen one of the most incredible destinations in the world to spend your holidays and that we hope these tips will help you to travel to Greece.
In case you are still doubting and looking for information about the country and some tips to finish cheering you up, we advise you to continue reading, hoping that this post will help you to finish deciding to make one of the best trips of your life.
Best time to travel to Greece
The first and most important thing is to assess the best time to travel to Greece.
Although we could say, without fear of being wrong that any time is good to know this country, whenever you can, it is more advisable to opt for the seasons of spring and autumn, much more relaxed moments in terms of tourism and months in which prices fall substantially.
In case you cannot travel in these months, June and September are usually less crowded months, in which prices are still somewhat higher since it is high season, but that will allow you to enjoy the most tourist places in a more relaxed
Mykonos
Transport in Greece
The first of Tips for traveling to Greece It's about the way to go from the airport to the center of Athens.
You have several options to go from Athens airport to the city center:
- Metro: This is one of the most used options for go from the airport to the center of Athens. The price of the ticket is 8 euros and you can make transfers to other lines and even other means of transport such as the bus, for 90 minutes.
To take into account that you can take a bonus for two people for 14 euros or 3 people for 20 euros. The Athens metro schedule is from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and the journey time to go from the airport to the center of Athens is about 45 minutes.
- Bus: From Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"You must take the X95 bus, which will take you from the airport to the city center, stopping at Syntagma Square. The duration of the trip is 55 minutes, depending on traffic and the price is 6 euros per person and does not allow transfers.
In addition to this line, which goes from the airport to the center of Athens, you have 3 more bus lines, which go to other areas of the city:
X93: To the northwest area of the city, stopping at the Kifisos intercity bus station (60 minutes ride).
X97: With destination at the Eliniko metro station, in the southern part of the city (60 minutes journey).
X96: Connects the Athens airport with the Port of Piraeus. Perfect if you must take a ferry to the Greek islands (90 minutes journey).
- Taxi: The price for a journey from the airport to the center of Athens by taxi is about 40 euros during the day and about 55 euros. Although we have not had the experience, we have read that sometimes they want to charge tourists more.
- Private transfer: This is the fastest and most comfortable option, being also the one that we have chosen on this trip to Greece in 32 days and that we have to say, it has been perfect, especially considering the flight delay.
You can book the service of private transfer from the airport to the center of Athens directly here.
How to go from the airport to the center of Athens
Car rental in Athens (Greece)
We leave you a series of tips and recommendations after our experience renting a car in Greece.
- As in all our trips, car rental in Athens (Greece), we have done it with Rentalcars, a car rental comparator, with whom we always get the best price, in addition to being able to contract insurance with all risks directly with them , with which we return the money we have to pay for any setback, for a much tighter price than the one that the rental companies themselves apply.
- In this case, the rental of the car has been with Budget and we have to say that both the service and the attention and the speed of the car rental process have been among the best, if not the best, of all our trips .
Car rental in Athens (Greece)
- For this one trip to Greece in 32 days, we had assessed two rental options:
Car rental in Athens and throughout the route, including the Greek islands and returning it in Santorini, from where we will fly to Barcelona, or rent the car in Athens and return it in the same office and then, go renting in each of the islands we visited, which would be Mykonos , Naxos, Paros and Santorini.
In the first case, the price was 600 euros plus 150 euros of all-risk insurance and in the second case, the price of car rental in Greece, only for the first part of the trip through mainland Greece, was significantly reduced by about 250 Euros, to add the islands.
After doing all the calculations, including the price of the car on the ferries through the Greek islands against the car rental on each of the islands, we saw that the price difference was minimal, especially considering the time we would lose in each island picking up and returning the car, more later the price of transfers from the port to the hotel and then to the office.
That is why although it may seem quite the opposite, if you have to make a route like ours, it is worth doing the calculations and above all, assess if it is worth it waste that time in exchange for a few euros.
- As we mentioned before, it is interesting and advisable to have full insurance. If you hire it with the same company, the prices are usually quite high, but if you book through Rentalcars, the prices are usually much tighter.
In our case, for a month of car rental, it has been approximately 140 euros.
Car rental in Athens (Greece)
- Although you read that driving in Greece is very aggressive and chaotic, according to our experience, it is not so fierce the lion as they paint it.
It is usual to see some overtaking in continuous double or even by the shoulder, but nothing that could represent a problem or a danger if you drive with caution.
- On the route we have made through continental Greece we have gone through many sections where you have to pay for the highway, most of them between 1.50 and 2.50 euros.
- All roads are very well equipped and every few kilometers you can find gas station services and service areas.
- The price of gasoline, when we have been in 2018, is approximately 1.61 euros, the super 95 in Continental Greece and 1.99 euros in the islands.
- Although, as we have said, it is usual to find gas stations, there are areas where it is more difficult to find, so it is worth taking the full tank to avoid surprises and not having to be looking for a gas station at the last minute.
- Another thing to keep in mind in the car rental in Athens (Greece), is that most of the parkings in the tourist locations of Greece are free, both in the continental zone, as in the Greek islands or beaches, even on islands such as Santorini or Mykonos.
- It is interesting to bring some application type Maps.me, in which the parking locations are indicated, to go directly. In addition in most places, parkings are properly signposted in the most central areas.
- As an example, we will tell you that for a tour like ours through Greece of 32 days, we have filled five complete fuel tanks 95, with a Peugeot 108, which has been approximately 250 euros of gasoline.
Car rental in Athens (Greece)
Travel insurance in Greece
Another of the Tips for traveling to Greece It refers to health and if there is something important in any trip, it is to make it safe. For that nothing better than having good travel insurance.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip.
The hiring process is very easy and intuitive and also, just for being a reader of Street Travelers, you have a 5% discount.
Money in Greece
One of the questions you ask us most, especially when we are traveling, is how to get money abroad. To avoid paying commissions and always having the current change, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
Although we had read that in Greece it was not used to accept card payment, our experience has been totally opposite, being able to pay practically in 90% of cases with the N26 and Bnext cards, which are the ones we have used.
Regardless of what we mentioned earlier, carrying cash is necessary, since in some archaeological or local sites, they do not accept a card, so it is always important to carry some money.
Cashier in Mykonos
Tips for staying in Greece
In addition to the post where to sleep in Greece, we want to leave you some advice regarding accommodation in this country, which is one of the most important aspects to take into account when travel to Greece.
Keep in mind that Greece is one of the most visited countries in Europe, especially Athens and the area of the best Greek Islands, so it is worth reserving in advance if you travel in high season or want some accommodation with special features.
We recommend you follow this list of tips for traveling to the essential Greek Islands.
In many of them breakfast is included in the price and we assure you that it is fantastic value for money.
You may find that there are some in which this service is not available, but you can request it for between 5 and 10 euros. Although you can always ask what it includes, according to our experience, they are usually very complete and with top quality product, so it is something to keep in mind and thus save time for your trip.
Breakfast at the hotel in Corinth
Although there are places where it is not worth taking the most expensive rooms, since these tend to have very similar characteristics to standart, sometimes it is worth taking a look to assess whether it is worth it or not paying a little more.
This is the case of, for example, the Phaedra Hotel, our accommodation in Athens, where paying a little more we had a balcony overlooking the Acropolis of Athens or the Hotel Doupiani House, accommodation in the Monasteries of Meteora, in which We opted for a superior room, with a view, which was a real wonder.
Doupiani House Hotel
Archaeological sites in Greece
We know that one of the big claims when planning travel to Greece, are its incredible archaeological sites. Taking this into account, in this section we want to make a brief summary, both of recommendations and practical data, which we believe are interesting to visit the different archaeological sites that we visited throughout our trip to Greece in 32 days.
- Keep in mind that most archaeological sites in Greece have schedules that vary from summer to winter. It should be checked to avoid surprises.
- In 99.9% of them you can pay tickets both in cash and by card.
- Prices are not especially cheap, with most of them between 6 and 12 euros per person. It's something to keep in mind if you want to check your travel budget.
- In Athens there is a combined ticket that allows you to visit the most important archaeological sites in Athens such as the Acropolis of Athens, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Dionysus Theater, Kerameikos, Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Hadrian's Library.
The price is 30 euros per person and has a limit of 5 days to be used.
If you want to visit all these places, even 2 or 3 of them, it is worth it, since in addition to saving money, you will save time by not having to go through the ticket offices again.
- We leave you a selection of articles, in which you can find tips, information and what to see in each of these archaeological sites:
Visit the Acropolis of Athens
Ancient corinth
Visit Mycenae
Visit the Epidaurus Theater
What to see in Olympia
Visit Delphi in Greece
Sunset at Cape Sounion
Sunset at Cape Sounion
As an extra and although they are not archaeological sites, we want to highlight the importance of knowing certain aspects and characteristics of Meteora, to fully enjoy this visit.
For this we recommend you read the post about Visiting the Meteora Monasteries and what to see in Meteora, with which you can expand the information about one of the essential places to see in Greece.
Meteora monasteries
Map of the archaeological sites of Greece that we recommend
Recommended excursions in Greece
Although all the places we have known in this Greece for free can be visited perfectly without having an organized tour, if you want to know more about the history of this incredible country, we leave you a series of guided tours in Spanish, which are perfect for Travel to Greece:
- Cruise to Hydra, Poros and Aegina
- Excursion to Delphi
- Excursion to Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus
- 2-day excursion to Delphi and Meteora
- Many more excursions and tours in Greece here
Delphi
Recommendations and tips for traveling to Athens
We leave you a series of recommendations from Athens, a city that we are sure, will enter your itinerary to travel to Greece.
Before we start with other details, we are sure that at some point you will have read or been told that Athens is an insecure city. Although we can only speak from our experience, we would like to point out that nothing is further from reality. We have felt totally safe at all times, although it is logical, it is always advisable to take the basic precautions that you would take in any other country and also, if you are going to visit an area that is not touristy, it is advisable to ask before in the accommodation, for example. At night, we have been walking through Monastiraki and Plaka without feeling insecure at all. In other areas, it may be convenient to inform you how security is. You will probably read or be told that Athens is a city that can be visited perfectly in 1 day. We are not going to deny that this is possible, although it is also true that you will pass in a very subtle way.
After our experience, we believe that the ideal thing would be to spend between 2 and 3 days in the city, taking the opportunity to see the tourist places of Athens, visit the Acropolis of Athens and also take advantage of the hours you have left after your flight arrives and Go from the airport to the center of Athens.
Athens
Keep in mind that most essential places to visit in Athens are very close to each other, so you can make the route between them perfectly on foot, although if you don't feel like it, you can opt for the Athens Tourist Bus, which you It will take you to all the tourist attractions of the city, in a much more comfortable way, in addition to explanations of the city and each of the places of interest.
Although you can visit Athens for free, we leave you a selection of the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish by Athens, in case you want to know the city and its history firsthand:
- Offer: Guided tour + Acropolis Museum
- Guided tour of Athens
- Private tour of Athens
- Athens tourist bus
- Free Athens Tour
- Many more excursions and tours in / from Athens here
Tips for traveling to Greece
In Athens, restaurants and most shops, especially in the most tourist areas, close at 12 or 1 in the morning and most are open between 8: 30-9 in the morning, making a schedule incredibly broad.
After our experience, we have to say that if you are looking to buy souvenirs, one of the best places to do it is Athens, since in addition to many places where you can do it, you have a lot of variety.
Psiri neighborhood
Several extra tips for traveling to Greece
Although we have already talked about the aspects that we believe are most important to consider when traveling to Greece, we want to leave you a selection of extra tips, which we hope will help you to fully enjoy your trip.
Something about which you have asked us a lot is about security in Greece, especially in Athens.
Although we can only talk about what our experience has been, we can say that Athens is a totally safe city, logically maintaining the precautions that you would maintain in any other city.
In the same way, we also want to highlight that we have only visited and moved through tourist locations, which is what we understand any traveler does in a first contact in the city.
Another thing to keep in mind when traveling to Greece is the overcrowding There may be some tourist places. This usually coincides with the key hours of the groups organized in some of the archaeological sites, so if you want to run away from the agglomerations, we advise you to make these visits first thing in the morning, thus being able to enjoy the practically alone places .
Although we know that planning to travel to Greece is not easy, we leave what is an ideal route for us, depending on the number of days you have.
1 week:
Athens (2 days)
Excursion to Meteora (1 day)
Mykonos (2 days)
Santorini (2 days)
10 days:
Athens (2 days)
Excursion to Delphi and Meteora (2 days)
Mykonos (2 days)
Santorini (2 days)
Paros or Naxos (1 day)
2 weeks:
Athens (2 days)
Excursion to Corinth and Epidaurus (2 days)
Excursion to Delphi and Meteora (2 days)
Santorini (3 days)
Paros (1-2 day)
Naxos (1-2 day)
Mykonos (2 days)
Return transfer (1 day)
Paros
If you want to do the excursion to Meteora by free by train and in one day, keep in mind that there is only one train in the morning from Athens that leaves at 08: 20h and arrives at Kalambaka at 13: 18h and back at 5:32 p.m. to get to Athens at 10:12 p.m.
Although it is feasible to make the visit at these times, very quickly, with a rental car in Meteora or taxi, we recommend you spend a couple of days, since in addition, you have to take into account that the Meteora Monasteries are one of the most amazing places in the world.
If you do not have many days to travel to Greece, it is advisable to make base in Athens and from there make 1 or 2 day excursions to the different places to see in Greece essential.
Here we leave you what are for us the best tours and excursions from Athens.
Although in Greece we are sure that you will not have any problem with the language, in most tourist places they speak English perfectly and even in many they speak you in Spanish, it does not hurt to learn some basic words in Greek, which we are sure, will make the eternal smile of the Greeks, even bigger.
Good morning - Kaliméra
Good afternoon - Kalispéra
Good evening - Kaliníjta
Please - Parakaló
Thank you - Efjaristó
Although it is this post we wanted to capture the Tips for traveling to Greece more general, on each of the days of the trip, we have been telling the detail every day. We advise you to read the practical guide of the trip to Greece in 32 days to have a wider view of the trip and to know everything in a more detailed way.
We cannot finish this series of Tips for traveling to Greece without thanking all the sources of information from which we have taken advice, recommendations and much experience, to be able to fully enjoy our trip to Greece for free.
Thank you very much to all the followers of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, who have given us countless advice that we have enjoyed very much, in addition to traveling to Greece, its incredible gastronomy.
As we will not tire of saying, thank you very much!
Recommended restaurants in Greece
We know that one of the most important aspects when traveling to Greece, is to know its incredible gastronomy. Given this, we want to leave you a series of recommendations and advice, both of the restaurants we have tried throughout the trip, as well as the remarkable things that have caught our attention.
- In Greece it is very common to put free water on the table. This does not always happen, so if you do not want, it is worth asking if it is free or not.
- Similarly, sometimes they put a small snack. This is sometimes free, but sometimes not, so if you do not want it, as with water, it is worth asking.
- Another of the peculiarities is that in many restaurants, they give the customer a small dessert, which is usually Greek yogurt, some homemade sponge cake or fresh fruit.
- Something to keep in mind is that sometimes, the tip is included in the account. It is important to look at it, to avoid giving it in duplicate.
- In our experience, we have to say that every euro we have stopped tipping is more than justified. The treatment by the Greeks with tourists is incredibly exquisite and has made us feel at all times as if we were part of the family.
We would dare to say that it has been on this trip to Greece, where we have felt a closer treatment, so without a doubt, Greece has award hosts.
- That said and although we understand that this is something very personal, as an orientation, we will tell you that we have left an average of between 5 and 10% of the total bill, in all restaurants.
Tzaziki
Restaurants in Athens
If you are in the center of Athens, near the Acropolis, we recommend you approach Liondi, one of the most recommended restaurants in Athens. We ordered melitzanosalata, tzaziki, plus Greek salad and moussaka, beer and water for 37 euros. Really great all the dishes!
Melitzanosalata in Liondi
Also when we ask for the bill they bring us a typical Greek cake, something that days later we will verify that it is the usual thing in Greece, and an extra beer to which they also invite us.
In the Monastiraki neighborhood, you can not miss All That Jatz, a highly recommended restaurant in the area, which has a very wide assortment of Greek cuisine dishes.
We ordered a mix of sauces as a starter with pita bread, grilled halloumi and some eggplants, more beer and water that they put directly on the table for free and two coffees for 28.60 euros.
Exquisite!
All That Jatz
Another of the restaurants that we recommend in Athens is Efcharis, one of the most recommended Greek restaurants in Monastiraki, where we ordered an eggplant salad, cheese croquettes, fried squid and skordalia, plus a glass of wine and two coffees for 35 euros , that we have to confess, they know us to glory!
Eating in Efcharis
If you are going to watch the sunset at Mount Lycabettus, one of the best options is to have dinner at Grill Licabetus. We ordered feta cheese with sesame and honey, a plate of grilled chicken plus a glass of wine and water for 25 euros, which we have to say, are more than correct.
Dinner at Grill Licabetus
Another of the most recommended restaurants in Athens is the Avocado restaurant, located in the center of Athens, where we order guacamole, pasta with pesto and falafel plus two coffees and water for 31 euros, with which we have to say, we eat amazing!
Eating at Avocado Restaurant
Restaurants in Greece
We leave you the selection of recommended restaurants in Greece, in the different places we have stopped, after traveling through the country for a month.
In Antigua Corinto, we recommend you not to miss the Marinos restaurant, one of the most recommended in the city, where we ask as a starter several dishes such as spicy cheese, tzaziki, fried cheese, fried eggplants and some squid plus glass of wine and water for 28 euros, which give us an incredible evening and an exquisite dinner.
Dinner at the Marinos Restaurant
In Nafplio we recommend the Kastro Karima restaurant, one of the most recommended places in Nafplio, where we ask for skordalia, papaganou, cheese croquettes and an octopus dish plus glass of wine, water and two coffees for 30.90 euros, one more price That adjusted to be in such a tourist place and be one of the most recommended places in the city.
Skordalia in Kastro Karima
In Dimitsana we recommend the Drymonas restaurant. We ordered grilled feta, tziziki and a Greek salad plus glass of wine and water for 20 euros. Everything really exquisite!
Grilled feta at Drymonas restaurant
If you make a visit to Arajova, do not forget to approach the To Arhontiko restaurant, with fantastic views of the surroundings. We ordered a plate of grilled vegetables, grilled feta, spicy cheese and an eggplant salad plus a glass of wine, water and two coffees for 27 euros. A more than adjusted price for which we enjoy a meal and a perfect desktop.
To Arhontiko Restaurant
In Delphi, one of the most recommended options for lunch or dinner is the Dion taverna, where we enjoy a Greek salad and a souvlaki, plus water, for 17 euros.
Dinner at Taverna Dion
In the Meteora Monasteries, in Kastraki, there is the Taverna Gardenia (Kastraki), which highlights the atmosphere, service and quality of food.
A safe bet if you want to enjoy the best Greek cuisine at a more than adjusted price. In our case, we ask for 5 starters plus water for 20 euros.
Taverna Gardenia
Another recommended restaurant in Kastraki is the Stefanos Tavern (Kastraki), a small taverna where you can enjoy traditional dishes of Greek cuisine. We ordered a moussaka, more meat dish, beer and water for 22 euros.
Stefanos Tavern
In Kalamabaka, if you want to enjoy a meal or dinner with views, the best option is the Meteoron Panorama (Kalambaka), a restaurant, located a couple of kilometers from the town center, which has incredible views of Meteora. In addition to having a quality meal, the attention is very professional and close. We ordered a Greek salad, spicy feta cheese and a pasta dish, plus water for 30 euros.
Meteoron Panorama
If you are going to watch the sunset at Cabo Sounion, one of the most recommended restaurants is the Taverna Elias Fish, which is next to the sea and is the second most recommended in the area.
We ordered a plate of grilled octopus, squid, spicy cheese and beer starter for 31 euros, which we have to say that although they are not the best we have eaten, they can be enjoyed in an incredible location, both by being next from the sea as per the views of the Temple of Apollo, so it is more than recommended if you want to make a stop in this area.
Dinner at the Elias Fish Taverna
