We were out last night with a friend who was travelling in Greece for three weeks in July (parents and two teenage girls). While they LOVED the sites and all their accommodation, they had several complaints about rude service, poor food (geared to "tourists" and not athentic), rip-opff cab drivers, unhappy locals, etc.

He attributed it to the effect of the Euro on the local economy and the cities being overrun with tourists in the summer. Their experiences in the small towns seemed generally better.

Any comments on this? We were stunned, because everyone else we know that has gone to Greece has raved about all the things that they said they didn't like!!

Thanks,
Alison

Alison - I really have to answer this. I went to Greece at the end of May for 10 days. My mother had passed away on May 11th after a very long illness, and as we had planned the trip for 8 months, we decided to go, as I really needed a break. I have never met kinder, nicer, more friendly people in my life. (I did not tell the people I came in contact with about my sorrow.) No matter where we went, the service was wonderful. The food was simple, but uniformly delicious. I never met any unhappy locals and was never ripped off by any merchants. I really can't understand your friend's comments, as it's the antithesis of my experience in Greece. I haven't yet written a tour report, because honestly, I haven't been in the best of moods to do it.

But you reminded me of something that I did want to post. We went to a restaurant on Santorini in the little town of Pirgos, called Pirgos Taverna. Definitely not in a tourist area. We were taken there by new friends, who asked me where I wanted to go to dinner...and I replied, "I want to go where you eat. Not at a tourist place." So we went to their local taverna, and I had one of the best meals I can ever remember. The owner, Artemis, took us into the kitchen to pick out our fish, and brought us his house wine and many appetizers. It was a delectable, fun, genuine evening of good friends, good food and relaxation. There was even a local wedding celebration going on that night...and the bride and her new mother-in-law were not getting along.
It's a night I will always remember. And I wholeheartedly recommend Pirgos Taverna as a place one shouldn't miss when going to Santorini.

Alisonh, I have yet to see a single place in the world mentioned here where someone doesn't complain about rudeness, overpriced ripoffs, and tourism complaints.

It was NOT my experience in nearly a month in Greece. I'm curious the reasoning for their assessment of the problem. Do they go to Greece often and found this to be a new characteristic? What was the basis for deciding this was the effects of the Euro and increased tourism?

Kamahinaohoku...thanks for the info, I will be going to Santorini next month and will most assuredly try out that taverna and let you know what I think.

I can't recall any posts that had negative remarks from travelers to Greece regarding the people being rude or rip offs. Infact, the remarks I have read have been quite to the contrary. I will let you know what my experiences with them are. I am expecting nothing but the best of experiences next month.

Areala - Have a FABULOUS time in Greece! And please tell Artemis that you found his restaurant on the internet...he will be thrilled. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Alison,

I've been visiting Greece for over 20 years now, sometimes twice a year, and I wouldn't keep going back there if I felt the slightest bit like your friends did.

I do tend to avoid tourist traps though and have never stayed in a major city. In recent years, I've mostly gone there in July and it does get more crowded during the high season, but not enough to make the people I've met rude or inhospitable.

I always wonder what tourist knows what "authentic" food is when they're visiting...For me, tourist food was ducking into a Burger King in Rome and paying $10 Euro for a Whopper with cheese meal when my tummy just wanted something from home.

I was surprised in Greece to find the food remarkably like the Greek food in the USA, unlike Italian food, which has changed a lot since its arrival here...I wonder if I got scammed into eating tourist food in Greece! Oh no! Does it matter that I liked it and I was a tourist???

I didn't have long in Greece, a few days in Athens and a couple on an island in 2003, but aside from the Turks who came in at #1, the Greeks were the next best at friendliness, helpfulness, fun, good food and decent honest people out of the 5 countries I visited.

Maybe your friends need to drink a little more Ouzo and kick back. Greeks are not known for hop-to service because they're on "island time", as they should be. They have about 2,000 of them.

Jules

Jules - actually, I was surprised by the portion sizes. A Greek Salad served with dinner could have fed 3 people! And when I ate as much as I could, the waiter was very concerned because he felt I didn't like it, because there was so much left. I really don't care if a restaurant is a tourist spot or not. I just enjoy good food.

Thanks for the responses. I had never heard such a negative review and was pretty shocked. He has not been to Greece before, but his wife has. She said she noticed a big difference.

The comment he made about the food was that no matter where they went, fries were served with almost every meal and that the food seemed to be "americanized".

The comment he said about the Euro was that before the "common market", prices were more reasonable (lower) and the locals could afford to live better.

I would never allow one persons opinion to change my mind about visiting Greece, but it seemed so far out in left field that I thought I'd ask for other opinions!

And yes, I agree, some people could complain if they found themselves in the Garden of Eden!!! )

We won't be planning any joint trips anytime soon!!!

Alison

As a casual observer on this thread I'm guessing the problem lies with the guy's attitude more than all of Greece going ta hell in a handbasket.

"fries were served with almost every meal and that the food seemed to be "americanized"."

My first trip to Greece was 1970. And fries were served with every meat/fish dish. And next to fries there was a small pile of rice. So according to that friend, Greece was "americanized" already 35 years ago. Tell him that fries are NOT a sign of being "americanized", fries are originally Belgian. And the difference to "americanized" fries is the fact that those Greek fries are handcut in the kitchen from real potatoes, not a factory made product some McD uses.

for many, a trip to greece just means cheap sun through a package deal. i do not mean that greece cannot be a great place to visit, it's just that it's easier to encounter ripoffs, unpleasant situations, and less than civilised fellow tourists than in many other european destinations. in other words, if you don't plan carefully and research, you can easily end up very disappointed with greece.

Elina is right that fries are served everywhere and with everything in Greece, and always have been in my memory. The only difference is that it used to be they were made out of fresh potatoes, and now too often the fries come out of the freezer. Progress!

As for your friend's experience, some people can have a bad time anywhere and anyone can have a bad time sometime.

As for the Euro, I agree that some merchants took the switch in currencies as an opportunity to raise prices, but I don't see what this has to do with alleged rude servie, poor food, and rip-offs. By the way, Greek cities being overrun with tourists in the summer is nothing new.

Needless to say, I strongly disagree with your friend's opinions. If you have the opportunity, watch the recent 5 Takes Europe on Athens. The friendliness of the Greeks that is obvious in this show is typical of what I see.

eleni - I saw the 5 Take Europe on Athens for the first time last night, and I couldn't agree with you more.

ttt

I hate to stir this up, but I don't think I've ever been served fries in Greece...I never order them and they never appear. Admittedly my experiences are limited to back-street restaurants in Athens and Crete.

We were in Greece last June/July. Found it to be very welcoming and were well treated. We didn't actually get much different Greek food, than we've had here in the US, but the salad and yogurt were the highlights. I laugh every time I think of the fries...it was such a delightful "surprise" with every meal. One time, at a buffet, I asked for rice and said no to the fries they were automatically putting on my plate. To say the least, the server was stunned that I didn't want them. The most humorous use of fries was inside a gyro, along with the meat and condiments. This was on Mykonos at Jimmy's (the best gyros). Anyway, that anyone should take offense at something so unimportant is absurd. The fries ARE authentic! As a side note...fries are included with every meal in western Turkey, too! The natives love them! Greece is wonderful

The cab situation in Greece can be a bit weird if you are not pre-warned. They can pick up other passengers while you are in the car and charge you all the full fee rather than splitting it.
I got a cab in Athens and he picked up a random little old lady who was standing in the middle of the road flagging down cars. We drove right off our route, he took a package off the old lady and delivered it to a house. Then he drove old lady to another address. He didn't ask her to pay anything and we ended paying the full meter including her trip! We could see the funny side though and it has become one of the big memories of the trip! I can't help thinking it would be nice if isolated little old ladies could do that everywhere. But I suppose we were ripped off really...

Hi

Yes the cab drivers always ripped me off in Athens - it was only a few euro so it didn't bother me. However in general I found the Greeks very scrupulous. As for french fries as part of your meal, I found this in Paris and Spain too. When I was in Athens I found the locals didn't seem happy. In fact I would describe them as surly. I soon learn't that it was just their disposition and treated locals and tourists the same. I loved Greece and can't wait to return!

I think it depends on one's personal tolerance for disagreement. A good friend and I disagree quite markedly about what makes for a enjoyable place to travel, for example, but we both know this disagreement, in and of itself, won't change our friendship, what we respectively do with our vacation time, or how we react to the places we visit. Since we both know this, we feel quite free to discuss our preferences.

Presumably your friend is not prone to expressing strong opinions on other things - maybe this is what took you off guard. Regardless, it shouldn't affect how you react to Greece. Bon voyage!