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What about travel in Greece without hotel reservations?

What about travel in Greece without hotel reservations?

Old Feb 19th, 2006, 05:03 PM
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What about travel in Greece without hotel reservations?

I have read any number of posts saying there's no problem traveling to the islands in May and finding a hotel after you get there. Can anyone tell me if this is true on the mainland.

Since the Greek travelers with mainland driving experience are away or not responding to my previous post about driving Athens-Nafpio-Ioannina-Meteora-Athens, I have decided to add an additional day to that part of trip (cutting it from Rhodes) just to be safe. This would work best if we have a general plan and a floating day, but that means not making hotel reservations, just taking it from day to day. Also, as I look back at some previous posts about Nafplio, I see that last year people got way cheaper hotel rooms walk-up than the rates I'm finding online, and I certainly wouldn't mind taking advantage of that possibility.

Working loose is definitely not me anymore. It was fine on a summer in Europe in '71, but I'm way older and much more a control freak now. However, as my husband said, the worst that will likely happen is that we'll pay more for a hotel than we want to. I didn't start making reservations last year until spring flight and ferry schedules were out, 6 weeks before our departure, and normally 6 weeks before I've been finished with everything for weeks. If I got through that anxiety, I suppose I can manage this also.

Has anyone had experience finding rooms walk-up in Nafplio, Ioannina, Kalambaka/Kastraki? We'll be doing this May 3-10. And we will probably not get to Nafplio until 5PM - if our flight is on time - and it will also be late afternoon before we get to Ioannina.
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Old Feb 19th, 2006, 06:07 PM
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I have NO experience with that, but consider that May is peak season in Europe and while you may find a hotel walk-up, will it be the one you really want for your European vacation? Most of the good ones will be booked during the month of May. Perhaps I am wrong, but I wouldn't want the worry. I would rather pay more and know that I have not only A place but THE place I want. Maybe I am compulsive though.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 12:40 AM
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May is certainly not the peak season in Europe. Most Europeans take their summer holidays in July and August. The only problem in May is that there are several public holidays in most countries, so some weekends can be busy.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 03:03 AM
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You might want to get a reservation for Kalambaka at least. I'm going to be there early April, and Fantasy Travel told me my first choice hotel (Edelweiss) was "not available" a couple
of weeks ago (I'll be staying at the Famissi). Sorry I can't help with the driving questions, but it will be my first time in mainland Greece, and I'm
traveling Thessaloniki to Kastoria to Ioannina to Kalambaka by bus, then train to Athens. I haven't decided what to do about hotels in Kastoria and Ioannina yet.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 01:03 PM
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Admittedly I don't know much about the mainland, but I would think you would have few problems finding a hotel room anywhere in Greece during May. Greek Orthodox Easter is on Apr 23rd this year, and May 1st is a public holiday, but apart from that there are no other public holidays until Jun 12th.

Still, if you are more comfortable making reservations, that's the best thing for you to do.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 03:26 PM
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We arrive in Athens May 19 and much to our chagrin we found that there is some sort of a music festival going on that weekend and most hotel rooms in the city are all booked up.I hope you do not need a room on that weekend.
Normally we book at Attalos Hotel an inexpensive tourist class hotel in the Monastraki area. Because it is such a bargain you will not be able to walk up there in May and get a room. If you want Attalos book now ( except for that May 19 weekend)
Last year we arrived in Naphlio without reservations and were fortunate enought to get Hotel Illion Suites for 50 Euros. When I told Uli at Dolphin Hellas we got that rate she just said wow I can't compete with that. So you can get very nice rooms on a walk up basis in May.
I wouldn't try that on a Friday or Sat night though. Naphlion is very popular with Athenians and you may be out of luck on a weekend.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 03:42 PM
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Hi,
DH and I have driven around Greece in June without reservations and did not have a problem. That being said I think you should have a hotel for your first night so you do not need to think about where you are going to sleep. We called around lunch time to a hotel in the city where we intended to spend the night and always got rooms on the first call and this was with needing 3 rooms. On another visit we only needed 1 room, so we would just go to the town and easily found a nice hotel. We did this in Volos, Kalambaka, St.John's on the Pelion, Monemvasia, and Vouliagmeni. We had a travel book with us and just picked out a hotel that was recommended. We have done this in Italy and France and we have not had a problem. That being said we are prepared for the worst. We also have a hotel lined up for a large city and the day of arrival and departure. Doing this is not for everyone but it works for our style.
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Old Feb 20th, 2006, 07:37 PM
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Wow, Stanbr, thanks. Hope your message was in time. I had planned to stay at the Attalos for 2 or 3 days at the end of the trip but hadn't reserved yet because I haven't decided when to come back from Rhodes, although I did plan to reserve that one. After your message, I quickly sent in a reservation and now will just have to cross my fingers. Need Tues. and Wed. nights, so I thought that wouldn't be as much a problem as a weekend (couldn't get Sat. night there last year), and we'll be leaving the 18th for our return home. I'll just hope lots of the music festival people aren't coming in too far ahead of time.

I had thought about the wisdom of booking Nafplio ahead of time since we'll probably be tired and not want to walk the streets, and our plane could be late. We'll be arriving on a Thurs. but we'll also want to stay Fri. night, so that could be a problem. And I'm not sure I'd want to change hotels, so although I'd certainly love to get one of the walk-up bargains people have talked about, maybe I'd better not chance it.

Has anyone stayed at the Byron? How small are the small rooms? I gather that there are two buildings and rooms in one are larger. On their website there is a photo of one double-bedded room that looks like there is only about 18" between the bed and the walls on both sides.

Has anyone stayed at the King Othon? And does anyone have an idea what their rates are? Couldn't find rates posted on their website.
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Old Feb 21st, 2006, 04:04 PM
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I hope you get your reservation at Attalos. If you have problems you might try contacting Uli at Dolphin Hellas. Sometimes a local travel agent has more success because they have established relationships.

I havn't stayed at the Byron but we did tour it. It was the main building and it was very nice and the rooms did not seem to be small.

In Naphlion we have also stayed at Pension Eleni. It is located about 50 meters along the first road leading into town from the parking lot at the Akronafplia hotel. The rooms were large and well appointed. The rooms on the front street are not nearly as nice as the ones in the back alley. On a walk up basis, we paid 35 euros in May last year. The lady (presumably) Eleni didn't speak a word of English but we made out OK.
www.pensioneleni.gr
In your other post you asked about the drive to Nafplion. It is indeed about 3 hours with the first two on the national road which is a freeway. You get off at Corinth and head south to Nafplion. The drive is easy from the Airport. I am not sure I'd like getting off a transatlantic flight and immediately hop into a car for three hours. I generaly spend the first two Nights in Athens recouperating from Jet lag before I go back to the airport to pick up the car.
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Old Feb 21st, 2006, 04:49 PM
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I did get my Attalos nights. And after I posted last night, I had a deja vu thing about the music festival. Last year when we came back from Crete, we arrived late and took a taxi into Athens. The driver was watching this program on a little TV in his taxi - which he turned off before we got on the highway, thank goodness. I don't remember all the details but he told me it was a European music competition and all Greeks had been home all weekend glued to their TVs. Maybe something like our talent competition programs, the names of which I can't recall because I don't watch. Anyway, he said it's very important to the Greeks, I gather at least as riviting as the Super Bowl.

I got price lists from Uli the other day but am not sure it will be worthwhile to use her this year because, for the most part, the hotels they have aren't mostly ones I particularly wanted. Afraid if I use them at all that I will wind up paying the fee and also the express mail fee since we're not planning to go into Athens at the start of the trip this year.

Can't say I'm eager to get into a car and take off for a 3 hr. drive, but I don't want to use any time in Athens at the beginning of this trip. As long as things go according to schedule, it shouldn't be too bad. This is our annual mileage trip where we treat ourselves to business class. I also treat myself to 2 mg. of Valium right before dinner is served and, if I don't fall asleep in my desert, I do shortly after. Unfortunately, we have to stop in Paris this time, but I'm hoping that I will still get a reasonable amount of sleep. But I'm reevaluating the itinerary and considering doing it the other way around - maybe stopping at Chalkis, which looks less than half as far - then heading to Meteora the next day and finishing up in Nafplion. Of course, the fact that I only figured out last night that Chalkis is Halkida on my map, Halkidha in Fodor's, doesn't make for a very auspicious start, does it? (Maybe I should try for Thebes since I knew Thiva was the same place right away. I seem to have a lot of "duh" trouble with those Hs and CHs and Xs.)
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Old Feb 21st, 2006, 06:04 PM
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OMIGOD, don't remind me! I was on Santorini last year when Greece won the Eurovision competition, something like American Idol except with national pride at stake, and the whole country went absolutely berzerk-bazoo!! The winning performance was blasted on every radio and television all day, every day, for 2 weeks! If I ever hear that song again I'm gonna go POSTAL!!!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 12:10 AM
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Polly, you were probably referring to the Eurovision Song Contest. It's a bit of a joke throughout Europe (Norway, nul point), but lots of people watch it. Greece won last year, giving them the right to host it this time round. That may be the music festival causing problems with hotel bookings in Athens this May. That was a one-off, so I still say 'you would have few problems finding a hotel room anywhere in Greece during May' - this year being the exception.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 12:33 AM
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Yes, its the Eurovision Song Contest on May 20th. You can read all about it at http://www.eurovision.tv/english/event.htm. Greece is really on a roll - first the Olympics, and now the Eurovision Song Contest! You are indeed privileged to be there during that epic event.

Just kidding. Have fun on your trip.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 02:37 PM
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My wife and I traveled in much the same area as you are talking about in May of 2001. We traveled by car and had no problems finding rooms without reservations in Delphi, Meteora, the Zagoria area, Monemvasia, the Mani Hydra, Dimetsana etc. We stayed in some pretty interesting hotels. In Meteora you should try to stay in Kastraki rather than Kalambaka. It's at the foot of the monastery area and from our room at the Kastraki Hotel (no reservations) we could see at least two monastaries. If you have any questions email me at [email protected]
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Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 02:44 PM
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We reserved our hotels for our trip (April 30 - May 13) in mid-January. We got our first choice everywhere but Delphi... our first FOUR choices were booked solid. Personally I would book in advance
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Old Feb 22nd, 2006, 04:45 PM
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Hotel Kastraki was the one I had in mind. A couple of others if no room at that inn. I'm thinking that if I turn the trip around and drive part of the way the day we arrive, we can get to Meteora earlier and have more chance of getting a reasonable room. Also will put me in Nafplion on week days, so maybe there won't be so much competition with Athenians for hotels.

Luckily, I'm getting out of town just in the nick of time! Leaving on Thurs., May 18, so I'm going to miss the Song Contest. My heart is breaking.
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