Greece in Winter
 

Just got back from Greece on a 3 week vacation. Spent about 10 days on the Mainland and Peloponnese and the remaining 10 days in Crete and Rhodes.<BR><BR>Would be happy to offer inputs ( if any) to fodorites. Warning: My messages may be a little short coz I'm just snowed under so please understand.<BR><BR>Cheers

So, go on

Ong <BR>Please let us know where did you stay in Pelopnnese, what hotels do you recommend and places to visit? <BR>Did you drive from/to Athens in a rental car? What company did you use?<BR><BR>How did you survive Greek drivers and traffic? Thanks

Did you fly to the Islands or ferry? Did you get tickets in advance or buy them once you arrived in Athens? If you went by air, what was the price? Thanks.

Hello Ong<BR><BR>Tell us what you did. How was the weather? Was it sunny or rainy? Tell all.

DO NOT HIRE A CAR FROM AVIS AT ATHENS AIRPORT: faulty breaks caused us to hit the back of a parked bus in the middle of the Peloponnese. We were 200 metres away and could not stop. Originally, Avis said that we did not have to pay anything for the car or damages after they had inspected the car. They then slapped almost $6,000 on our credit card 2 months later. We also suffered broken ribs and other minor injuries which were traumatic at the time. <BR>Another point, coming from the Peloponnese into Athens is hell. The problem is the level of trAFFIC RATHER THAN THE Greek drivers.

If driving was so terribel how would you suggest we visit this area? Any ideas, anyone?<BR><BR>What happened to ONG?

I have driven often in Greece (Crete, Rhodos, Corfu, Peleponnese) -- this includes a trip out of Athens from the airport and a trip into Athens (at rush hour) to find our centrally located hotel. I have posted my driving survival tips before but I will do so again<BR><BR>If you plan to drive in Greece here are my suggestions<BR>1. learn the Greek alphabet, most road signs in Greece are translated in english but the english sign is usually located right at the intersection you need to exit off of whereas the greek sign is posted 500m before. Being able to translate city and town names will have you more prepared for those quick exits.<BR>2. if you rent a car at the airport consider hiring a taxi that you can follow out of the city. We did it on our own (and got lost a few times in the process) but following someone would be much better.<BR>3. if you come to an intersection that is not signed (and most likely not on your map) the basic rule is to keep going straight.<BR>4. purchase a map that has both Greek and English translations. This way you are covered if you are in an area where the signage is all in Greek (like the Peleponnese)<BR>5. The Greeks are aggressive drivers but I did not find them bad drivers. They are alert and will do things north american drivers would not even consider doing. So this means you need to BE ALERT but stay relaxed.<BR>6. Driving into Athens is tense. Instead of finding your hotel right away I suggest you head towards a landmark that is signed (like the Acropolis, the Olympic Stadium or Lycabetus Hill) and then using a map to direct you to your hotel. Alternatively head for the airport, drop the car at the rental agency and take a taxi to the hotel -- you won't need the car in Athens. Also, try to avoid the "rush hour" times (Athens has four with the siesta) of 8am, 2pm, 6pm and 8:30. The time between about 3:30 and 5:30 is actually a good time because most Greeks are at home enjoying their siesta<BR>7. Lastly, if you do find yourself driving in Athens and you miss an exit DO NOT TAKE THE NEXT STREET. Stay on the street you are on until you can identify on your map where to turn around or figure out an alternate route. If you mistakenly take the "next street" you may find yourself in a warren of narrow oneway streets that may or may not be on your map. We did this and it took us 1/2 hour to get back onto our route.<BR><BR>Good luck

In reply to Olga,<BR>Good question, its no good just saying the driving is terrible and offering no suggestions. So here goes:<BR>1. Take a taxi out of Athens airport to your hotel if you are staying in Athens. The usual stuff applies - check meter is on etc. <BR>2. Ask your hotel for ideas before you leave, many will arrange for a taxi or limo to pick you up at the airport. This also applies to the Nafplio / Tolo area of the Peloponnese. There are taxi companies based in that area that specialise in airport pick ups. It is about a 2 - 3 hour drive from Athens to Nafplio. Again, the hotel where you plan to stay can usually help with arrangements ( or ask tourist info.)<BR>3. Spend 1 or 2 nights in Athens and then take a bus or train to the Peloponnese.<BR>4. If you want to see the south of the Peloponnese rather than the north, take a flight from Athens to Kalamata.<BR>5. Another possibility is to take a hydrofoil from Pireas (nr Athens) to Nafplio.<BR>Hope this helps.<BR>(I write this as someone very used to hiring cars in Greece - Athens area is the exception).<BR>Carol

Watch out if you're a pedestrian too. I was standing on a street corner in Athens waiting to cross and a man grabbed me from behind and pulled me toward him. At first I thought "Oh great this is it, I'm dead or worse" when seconds, later after a bus crossed over the sidewalk where I was standing, I realized that he actually saved my life. Thanked him profusely needless to say in my horribly limited Greek.

Hello Yolanda, we took a 4 day classical tour with stopovers in Delphi, Olympia and Kalambaka. The cost was I think 340 Euros per pax. It's purportedly first class but honestly I think the hotels are more 3 star type hotels but clean. Hotels were from the best western chain - i think we stayed at Hotel Europa at Delphi, Hotel Divani in Kalambaka. I can't remember the name of the hotel in Olympia but it was the Best Western chain as well. We didn't choose to drive but chartered a taxi in Crete and Rhodes since we had four persons and we didn't want the hassle of having to read road maps. There are however signs along the road with both Greek and English words although the English signs naturally always comes after the Greek. Taxi fare in those islands generally cost about 100 - 120 Euros (depending where you go)for about a 7 hour day.<BR><BR>Hello Dottie, the ferries are not operating during winter so you have to fly. We flew Athens-Rhodes-Crete-Athens and the airfare was about 200 Euros.<BR><BR>Hello Sue, the weather was generally very pleasant with mild winter temperatures of around 10 degrees. In addition to the 4 day clasical tour on the mainland/peloponnese, we spent another 5 days or so just trying to recover from jet lag, seeing the sights in AThens and catching up with some friends. Then spent another 3 days on Rhodes with the remaining in Crete split between Heraklion and Chania. From Heraklion, we visited Eastern and Southern parts of Crete like Ag. Nik and Festoes, Gortyn (spelling variations are plenty here etc.). In Chania, we basically just bummed around and visited the maritime museums and stuff. The nice thing I think about visiting Greece in winter (not that I have been there in summer to compare) is that there are very little touristy crowds. Of course, there are negative factors like the lack of shops etc.<BR><BR>General : Oh yes, and for those folks travelling to Greece before end February take note that some taxi drivers try to pull a fast one and tell you their metre (which is still is drachmas) is actually in Euros. E.g. my metre was showing 1485 drachmas (for a five minute ride) and he told me it was Euro 14.85 which is like a 3 fold increase.<BR><BR>Hope this helps. <BR><BR>Cheers<BR>

To someone who wrote "There are however signs along the road with both Greek and English words although the English signs naturally always comes after the Greek."<BR><BR>The signs are not in English. They are in LATIN