greece

Finally set foot on another continent! This trip took me to the ancient, historically rich lands and sapphire blue waters of Greece. We spent ten days exploring Athens and island hopping the Cyclades chain at just shy of $3,500 each.

*New 2020 updates below, including New Year’s in Athens

Things to know before you go

• If you’re coming from the US, you WILL need a universal power adapter. Greece uses the European-style of outlet plugs. (see my Packing Essentials list below)

• No vaccinations necessary.

• No visitors Visa necessary (if trip under 90 days).

• Greece is on the euro.

• Download a wifi-supported free call and text app like What’s App, WeChat or Kakao Talk so you can call or text family back home for free when connected to wifi and avoid getting hit by your mobile carrier with expensive ass international fees. (Also be sure to turn your data and roaming on your smartphone off). Facebook messenger also works for free calls and messaging).

Packing Essentials

FLIGHTS

We used Google Flights and Momondo to reference price points. We also set up flight alerts on SkyScanner and Hopper but it didn’t really serve us much (to be fair, we also went during the high season, so deals weren’t ample).

We deliberated a lot on the best way to fly into Athens (should we fly into London first? New York? Toronto? Frankfurt? Go balls to the wall and take Emirates??) We ultimately decided that flying into Paris would be the best option both price-wise and the fact that that would be our only layover. Do not fuck with multiple layovers. Bite the bullet and just pay a little more to eliminate layovers. One or none is the goal.

Once You’re There

BASIC GREEK EXPRESSIONS

Kalimera - Good Morning

Kalinikta - Good Evening

Efcharisto - Thank You (which you’ll then learn that “Parakalo” means You’re Welcome)

Ela - can mean either “come” or as greetings on the phone for “hello” or “bye” like “ela ela ela” is “bye bye bye”. We heard this a lot.

Nostimo - Delicious. Just use this whenever someone asks you how the food is. It will get you far.

... and of course, there’s “Opa!”

GETTING AROUND/RIDES

Uber & Taxis

Despite a launch in Athens, Uber is currently banned from Athens, which has been the case since April 2018. We spent a LOT of money on taxis. Examples of the damage:

• Athens Airport to Air BnB in Attica: 40 euros

• Air BnB in Attica to Port of Piraeus: 25 euros

• Old Port of Mykonos to Nammos Beach Club (15 - 20 minute drive): 30 euros one way, 30 euros back.

• Over-crowded group van from Port of Santorini to Pyrgos: 15 euros (for 2 of us) A taxi might have been 20 euros.

• Pyrgos to Ammoudi Bay in Oia, Santorini: 40 euros

• Imerovigli to Port of Santorini: 30 euros

• Port of Rafina, Athens to Spata: 25 euros

• Spata to Athens Airport (10 minute drive): 15 euros

And keep in mind with the USD to euro conversion, totals were even steeper.

Metro System (Athens)

The metro system in Athens was standard and very easy to use, like in any major US city. It’s less than 5 euros for a round-trip ticket and just a bit more for an all-day pass on any given line. We took the metro to visit the Acropolis from our Air BnB in Attica and then took the same line heading in the opposite direction to the Olympic Village (which held the 2004 Athens Olympics).

PS - There’s really nothing to see at the Olympic Stadium. It’s nice to visit the site that the 2004 Olympics was held, but expect a pretty vacant landscape.

BUSES

The bus system in Santorini was fairly good with decent wait times, especially in more popular areas. (The bus came every 20 minutes in Perissa, the black sand beach). The day our catamaran cruise was cancelled we spent the majority of our day using the bus system to visit different parts of the island (Perissa, Fira and Imerovigli, then back to Pyrgos).

We didn’t take the bus in Mykonos, but from what we heard from the locals, it sounds comparable to Santorini, with wait times depending on where you are on the island.

WATER

• You CAN drink the tap water in Athens (we trusted the water closer to the city center when we stayed in Attica which enjoys better development and close proximity to the Acropolis). We did drink the chilled tap water served to us at restaurants in this area.

• On our last night back in Athens we were diligent about boiling all tap water during staying in Spata, minutes from the Athens airport, since it’s a bit more on the outskirts of the main city

• Drink from water bottles only on all the islands. We used water bottles to brush our teeth too, just to not take any chances. On the islands, water bottles (1L) were all around 1 Euro. At one store in Pyrgos, Santorini we were able to buy a 6-pack of 1 L water bottles for 2.50 euros.

BATHROOM

• More often than not, you need to throw toilet paper in the trash can next to the toilet and not flush it down. The pipes/plumbing are not built like the ones we have in the US. There usually was toilet paper at every bathroom we used, but bring a spare roll just in case.

• You do not need to pay to use the bathroom in Greece (in some other European countries you do). There was only one public bathroom at the bus center in Fira, Santorini that did charge 0.50 euros.

• Bathrooms will be indicated by “WC” which stands for “wash closet”. I learned that when I got there.

MONEY

• We found it was easiest just to exchange currency once we got to Greece. The exchange rate at the airport was horrid, but the more you exchange, the better the rate is. At the airport, exchanging $120 USD got me 85 euros. When my friend pulled at the ATM in the airport, 150 euros amounted to $195 USD. It’s always an option to exchange currency ahead of time with the banks here. They will go off the daily exchange rate at time of request. Bank of America charges a shipping fee (for the currency) of around $7, which gets waived if you pull $1,000+. No shipping fee at Chase.

• Find a credit card that doesn’t incur foreign transaction fees! I used my Hawaiian Airlines Barclays card on any/all purchases I could make that allowed credit card transactions. This Barclays card incurs no foreign transaction fees.

• For ATM pulling, I got a debit card through my Charles Schwab account. This waives all ATM fees and any foreign transaction fees. With this debit card, you receive a rebate credit for the ATM fee that you incur at the time of pull. I withdrew money at an ATM in Mykonos. 150 euros amounted to $179.86 USD (better than the $195 USD at the Athens airport).

WEATHER

It is warm at night during the summer but can get very windy. It was so intensely windy during one of the days in Santorini that our catamaran cruise was cancelled and rescheduled for the next day.

PHONE/DATA

Wifi buddies and/or SIM cards were not available at the Athens airport when we landed. We were told they are available closer to the city center near the Acropolis and metro area, but I didn’t see any kiosks for that once we were in that area. In Mykonos, the old port had a Vodafone shop that did sell SIM cards. It was about 25 euros for 2.5 GB of data.

I survived off Wifi, but it did help for my friend to turn on her mobile travel plan for a few of the days that we were in Greece so that we could receive calls and communicate with some of our hotels/Air BnB’s and tour companies while we were roaming and without access to wifi. The Verizon international travel plan is $10/day. You can pay per day of usage (you can just activate it on days that you need so you aren’t paying $10/day the whole entire trip. You will have 24 hours of international data from time of activation).

FERRIES

Island hopping is quite easy via ferry and you can book all your ferries all at once under the same booking code (even if you’re using different ferry companies from port to port). We used Ferry Hopper since it was the easiest to use for crucial navigation details (date, time, ferry duration preference, seat level preference, pricing).

It’s best to arrive at the port about 45 minutes before scheduled departure, especially if you’re using different ferry companies for different legs and do not yet have your hard-copy tickets. You will pick up your tickets using the confirmation code.

Ferry travel can eat up a massive amount of of time, so it’s something to consider when you’re creating your island hopping itinerary. Build in a cushion for arrival time from island to island and make plans with the consideration of possible delays.

Our ferry from Athens to Mykonos left the port on time as scheduled but arrived an hour late due to high winds and choppy water. Because ferries will stop at many islands in one given day, it’s like the doctor’s office. Once one time backs up, the rest are further delayed. This was the case a few days later with our ferry from Mykonos to Santorini. Our ferry didn’t even come in until an hour after scheduled time so by the time we checked into our hotel in Santorini, it was nearly two hours after expected arrival.

Apart from the questionable safety factor, one thing my highly impatient self did find great about the ferry system is that these ferries really do not waste any time unloading and reloading cars, passengers and other cargo. As a ferry approaches the dock and spins into reverse, the ramps are already lowering half a mile out. As the ramps lower, everyone rushes to the garage area of the vessel to get in their car or grab their luggage. It’s seriously about a twenty minute turn-around time for any given ferry at any given port. If you’re used to air travel, you know that this turnaround time is completely unheard of!)

TOURS

ATHENS WALKING TOUR

We did a free walking tour in Athens through "This Is My Athens". Can’t say enough great things about this company! Based on your interests, preferences, date of availability, etc (which you’ll indicate on an intake form on the website) you’ll be set up with an Athens local who will help plan and customize your two hours together in advanced. Our tour guide, Panos, was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, taking us around Plaka, Monastiraki and the surrounding area at the bottom of the Acropolis. He tied so much history and mythology to the sights that we would have otherwise missed. He also provided many helpful suggestions and information prior to our trip.

You are able to schedule your walking tour up to a month in advance of your requested tour date.  

Tour of the Acropolis 

After our walking tour through “This is My Athens” we continued exploring the city center with our own self-guided tour of the Acropolis and the surrounding Parthenon and Athena Nike temple. It was about 20 euros each for entrance to the Acropolis and you will have to work for your view! It’s a hot hike up to the top (needless to say, we got our steps in!) but the view of Athens is unbeatable, especially on a clear day like ours. And not to be topped, the highlight is seeing the ancient infrastructures up close in person - truly nothing like it!

*New 2020 - Athens 1-Day Itinerary

Only one day to see the heart of Athens? Good news, there's a ton of sights you can knock out all in the concentrated area surrounding the famous Acropolis. Here’s 3 of the top spots below.

DELOS DAY TRIP 

This was a close call. Luckily my friend had her Verizon travel plan on during the day of the tour so we could make and receive international calls. The meeting spot listed in the tour confirmation email and the actual meeting spot as listed in the description were different. That was the first problem. Then, the tour company (we used Get Your Guide) also called us 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to try to get us to do a different tour that day, due to overbooking the boat. (There is usually only one or two tour boats going to Delos twice a day and people from many different tour companies all get on the same boat). Because it was our final day on Mykonos, we said we could not reschedule and did not want to do a different tour (walking or wine tasting) so when we requested a refund, they retracted and said there was room afterall. (If this happens to you, hold your ground!)

Once all the drama settled and we got to Delos, the tour was very enjoyable. It’s a 30-minute ferry to Delos, the heart of the Cyclades. Delos is the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, believed to be protected by the Gods and the other Cycladic islands, and once a very wealthy island hot with trade. While a ton of looting occured at one point of the islands history, there was still much to see and provided the best glimpse into life of the ancient Greeks that I had only imagined through books and stories prior.

Overall, if you’re visiting Mykonos, it makes total sense to visit Delos too. They are so close in proximity and no one lives on Delos except for roughly twelve historians; it offers a complete contrast to the experience you’ll have on Mykonos.

SANTORINI CATAMARAN CRUISE 

According to Lena our hotel owner in Pyrgos, we really overpaid for this tour. However, it did include a transfer to and from Ammoudi Bay (which, when we went by ourselves on a separate day, was 40 euros one way, which would’ve meant 80 euros round trip) That in itself made it worth it. You also get a decadent Greek BBQ buffet lunch and 5 hours of visiting the various beaches of Santorini. It was still pretty windy the day of our tour so we didn’t get to stop at the Red and White beaches of Santorini but I was chill because we did get to visit the Nea Kameni hot springs - the only thing I cared about! The hot springs are lukewarm in temperature and the sulfur does stain your bathing suit (and smell like egg) so be sure to bring a bikini that isn’t white or one that you don’t care too much about. And our five hours on the water did still allow for lots of time in swimming in the ocean.

We booked via Viator and received a 10% first time user discount. You will most likely have to call the company to apply the discount because the welcome email containing the discounted link didn’t work in the cart at checkout.

Santorini is quite spread out, so it makes sense to fill your days with half or full day tours like this so that you aren’t spending half your day deciding what you want to do next, only to find out that what you want to do means you’ll have to find transportation to the other side of the island and back.

HOTELS & ACCOMMODATIONS

We used Booking.com and Air BnB. If there are two or more of you working in tandem, it’s good for taking advantage of first-time user referral codes. Toggle between sites like Booking.com, Hotels.com and Air Bnb for hotels. If you're going with a friend, have one of you create a Booking.com and/or Air BnB login (if new users) and send the referral link to other one for referral credit to accounts. Booking.com will issue a $25 credit for both referral and referee accounts (which will apply to your original payment method after you complete your stay).

We looked for strategically placed accommodations that fit within our budget. If you can be central or walking distance to either the port or area you want to explore, the better it is and the more money you’ll save on avoiding taxis.

There were also many accommodations that included free breakfast which helped save on meals.

In Santorini, we were willing to splurge on our last night and stay in a decadent suite. Our requirements were 1) it must have views of the caldera 2) it must have it’s own balcony 3) said balcony must have its own private hot tub. To get the kind of room that we wanted, anything in the $400 - $500/night range was a steal. (The average pricing for these kinds of accommodations in the high season June - August is easily $700/night). We booked the Caipirinha Suites  at just under $400 for the night. It was badass. It had an exterior private hot tub AND interior one as well. Search the web high and low so that you get what you want within your budget

If using Booking.com, availability for different properties will change everyday, let alone every hour since some properties on Booking.com will honor free cancellations up to a certain point, or not charge you until your stay, thus causing the huge fluctuations of availability online.

It’s also worthwhile to look up your hotel or accomodations on TripAdvisor to cross reference and make sure the place is decent overall.

COFFEE, WINE & SOUVLAKI

For my fellow caffeine addicts, Greek frappes are all the rage in Greece, everywhere you go. It’s basically an accessory the way Starbucks is here. There are three types - Nescafe Frappe, Freddo Cappuccino and Freddo Espresso - all blended with water and ice (and milk and sugar if you like) to create a frappe texture. The average was 2.50 euros (essentially a Starbucks).

*New 2020 Tip: Greek Coffee

You'll see certain chains all over (like Gregory's, Coffee Island, Coffee Lab) or the local bakery close to where you're staying also blends coffee. If you're not in the main tourist area, a takeaway freddo espresso can be as cheap as 1 euro. Takeaway prices are generally cheaper since you're not paying to occupy seats. 

To order your freddo espresso or frappe, use:

glyko - extra sweet

metrio - medium sweet 

sketo - no sugar

My husband taught me the Greeks could sit for hours with one coffee. This is something American DNA knows nothing about! I thought something was wrong when i was lapping him on coffees (Starbucks and our on-the-go society has trained us to chug our coffees down by comparison). 

Wine is cheap and about 4.00 to 5.00 euros per glass.

Souvlaki is the one authentic Greek dish that wasn’t tainted from outside cultural influence during the Ottoman Empire and other various changing of power throughout Greek history. At least that’s what our wonderful tour guide in Athens told us when I asked him. Souvlaki is the skewers of meat that is exclusively Greek. Souvlaki usually gets served with fries, pita and tomato/cucumber. Literally everything comes with fries. Throughout Greece, chicken is more expensive than pork. For the same order of souvlaki at Jimmy’s on Mykonos, you get 3 skewers of chicken to 4 skewers of pork. Other places just place a price point difference.

MORE ABOUT FOOD

I can’t remember the names of most of the restaurants we ate at because we’d just walk around and select something that appealed to us, but two very well-known casual dining spots on Mykonos and Santorini are:

Jimmy’s on Mykonos - cheap gyros and souvlaki plates

Lucky’s in Fira, Santorini - cheap gyros and Greek salad

Food was best in the little neighborhoods in Athens, since we weren’t in heavily tourist-y areas. Our dinner in Attica at the beginning of our trip and our dinner in Spata at the end were by far our best and cheapest meals for what we got. A whole plate of 4 souvlaki skewers with pita, fries and Greek salad was 12.00 euros and fed two of us in Attica. On Mykonos, that would be the cost of one person’s meal for not as much food. I think the food on Mykonos and Santorini is generally not distinguishable from Greek food I’ve had in the US, the one exception being the cheese and yogurt being consistently fresher, thicker and overall tastier.

For us English-only speakers who rely on the rest of the world to know our language - do not fret. Greece has our back when it comes to the menus, even on the outskirts of town like Spata, Athens. There are Greek and English versions of the menu and in more touristy areas even Italian or French versions as well.

We didn’t eat a ton of seafood (in fear of getting food poisoning) but we did have grilled octopus in Mykonos, shrimp on the catamaran cruise in Santorini and grilled calamari in Paros. When eating seafood, it’s probably best to eat at restaurants that seem to have a better supply turnover. For example, in Santorini, seafood seems more trustworthy in Fira, rather than the outskirts of town like Perissa.

The one thing I was surprised to learn is that the Greeks eat bougatsa as a breakfast pastry, rather than a dessert item. I’m used to ordering decadent bougatsa a la mode at the lovely Petros here in LA. In Greece, it’s treated like an on-the-go breakfast turnover.

*New 2020 Tip: Other Cultural Notes for Foodies

For items like kokoretsi, spanokotiropita, bougatsa, if you want them, go early. Restaurants and bakeries will only make a set amount each day and once they run out, that's it for the day. Unlike in America where we waste a ton of food just to make sure we have every menu item in stock, the Greeks do not adhere to the same system.

ISLAND HOPPING

MYKONOS

We came to the conclusion that if we were to give advice to others, we’d suggest doing Mykonos as a day trip or 1 day, 1 night trip only, just to walk around the Old Port, Little Venice and visit the famous windmills. Only if you’re dead set on partying is it totally worthwhile to spend a night there. Just be advised that the clubbing typically won’t start until 11 pm at the earliest, and more realistically 2 am. So if you know you’re gonna turn down before then, it’s best just to make Mykonos a day trip and save yourself some money while more importantly buying yourself more time on the smaller, less touristy islands (Naxos, Paros, Ios, Milos, etc)
Mykonos was the most expensive island. The drinks, the food, the souvenirs were all generally at a higher price point (read: overpriced). The most expensive of all was our taxi rides and the beaches. Beaches on Mykonos basically require you to rent chairs and an umbrella. We went to Nammos (there’s other famous party beaches like Paradise beach) which has different tiers of beach rental pricing. The elite beach club on Nammos was about $150 to rent two beach chairs and an umbrella (which doesn’t include drinks or food). A few sections over (aka fifty feet away) you could rent two beach chairs and an umbrella, all for $25. Same ocean, same beachfront, just different umbrellas and areas in the sand (making the price point difference pretty obnoxious).

SANTORINI

We were on Santorini for a total of three days (two nights in Pyrgos, one night in Imerovigli). With all the island hopping, it was nice to be on one island for three days, the longest we spent in any one given place.

Santorini is beautiful was definitely the most scenic island with its stunning, iconic cliffs and picturesque views of the caldera. We caught the sunset in Oia (pronounced ee-uh by the locals) on our first night which turned out to be a complete mosh pit of people. Coming from Hawai’i where we also have a gorgeous sunset, I was amazed to see such a massive amount of people crowding around to see a sunset as if they’d never seen one before.

It’s cool to explore both Oia and Fira, but I’d say Fira/Imerovigli is central to more restaurants, shopping and a better bus station, so between the two I’d elect to book a hotel in Fira over Oia. Oia is more quaint with more of a couple-on-honeymoon vibe. 

PAROS

We wished we stayed longer in Paros (we spent less than 24 hours on this beautiful island - huge mistake). Paros was our last island and everyone on Santorini kept telling us that the beaches are much nicer on Paros than on Santorini. And by “nicer” I think they meant “more accessible” because you could walk directly into the ocean without having to drive down a cliff.

On the other islands you’d have to drive or go through a lot of effort just to get to beaches where the water was surprisingly colder than I imagined. Most of the beaches on Santorini and pretty much all of them on Mykonos are set up where it basically forces you to rent an umbrella and beach chairs. The beach chairs and umbrella rentals were waived on Paros because we purchased light (and decently priced) snacks from the beach bar, which then got served to us on our beach chairs.

Paros overall was what I imagined Greece to be like. There was more of an authentic, local charm being that it is a smaller island. Food was cheaper, the ferry arrived flawlessly on time and they have a nice and open port. If you are staying in Parikia which has the port, you’ll want to stay at a hotel that is walking distance to the port town and explore the shops, cafes, restaurants and Byzantine church.

GIFTS

Okay so we accidentally didn’t get any gifts. Oops. But here were some of the options!

• Olive oil soap or donkey milk soap

• Olives

• Olive oil

• Spices for making tzaziki

• Jewelry and anything to do with the Greek evil eye “mati” symbolizing protection. I’d say this would probably be the most worthwhile gift.

• Greek style sandals (we saw some cute ones with the Hermes wings as a fun, unique option!)

• Greek honey

• Leftover euro coins that you didn’t use? (I collect currency so it’s a great gift)

• Greek sex cards (see image below)

$ SAVINGS TIPS 

• Look for hotels/accommodations that offer free port transfers and free breakfast. Even if not indicated, inquire. The closer a hotel is to the port, the more likely they will provide free transfers (that do need to be pre-arranged).

• Use Uber in Athens (IF they ever lift their ban when you go).

• On the islands, use public transportation when you can or split taxis with others who are going the same way as you.

• Use "This Is My Athens" for a free local walking tour in Athens.

• Toggle between Booking.com, Hotels.com and Air BnB for hotels. If you're going with a friend, have one of you create a Booking.com and/or Air BnB login (if new users) and send the referral link to other one for referral credit to accounts. Booking.com will issue a $25 credit for both referral and referee accounts (which will apply after your stay).

OTHER FYI'S

• The Aegean was colder than I expected but the one nice thing about it is that there are no sharks!! Coming from an ocean that is teeming with reef and therefore fish and therefore sharks, when we were swimming during the catamaran cruise, it was crazy to be in the water without the subtle complex that there could very well be a shark cruising beneath the surface. Given that sharks haven’t really been referenced in Greek mythology, maybe it’s been this way since antiquity. Just salty, blue waters.

• Stray cats are bountiful in Greece, in both Athens and on the islands. There is literally a hashtag #catsofgreece. There are stray dogs too, just not as many.

• You don’t have to tip, although you can when the occasion calls for it (no one is going to turn down money except for our extremely lovely tour guide, Panos, through the "This Is My Athens" walking tour). Certain restaurants with great service, bars or tours could use your tip money!

• For diet conscious Americans, the Greeks don’t really do menu substitutions. What’s on the menu is what you get. You’ll have to put aside your gluten-free agendas and if you see something on your plate that you can’t eat, just don’t eat it.

• The Greeks are very generous. Often you may get free dessert or free drink. We got free wine, free panna cotta, free shots, more free wine, almost everywhere we went.

• Donkey rides are not encouraged for ethical reasons, but if you do choose to ride them, they are 6.00 euros. We rode donkeys up the hill in Santorini at Ammoudi Bay. There are also donkeys in Fira.  

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