hi! <BR>i have concerns on how safe Italy and Greece are in the summer? has anyone ever taken the ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Athens? <BR> <BR>thanks, <BR>Sarah

Petty-crime wise, Greece is safe, Italy much less. But ferries seem to be having safety problems lately.

Hi <BR> <BR>LAST TWOYEARS WE HAVE USED FERRY FROM VENICE TO PATRAS, MINOAN LINES, AND IT HAS BEEN FINE. I NOTICE IN ATHEN NEWS THEY HAVE TAKEN SOME FERRIES OFF FOR CHECKS BUT THE ONE WE WENT ON, ARETOUSA, WAS FINE. NOT SURE WHICH BOATS GO ON THE ATHENS ROUTE BUT NEXT YEAR ABOUT FOUR NEW BOATS ARE DUE FOR USE FROM ATHENS AND PATRAS. <BR> <BR>WE ARE QUITE HAPPY TO USE MINOAN AGAIN. WE WILL TRY FOR NEW BOAT OR SAME AS WE HAVE BEEN ON BEFORE. <BR> <BR>AS FOR IN GREECE, CRIME IS VERY RARE, I FEEL TOTALLY SAFE THERE. WE STAY ALL SUMMER AND IT REALLY IS DIFFICULT WHEN WE GET BACK TO ENGLAND HAVING TO WATCH YOUR HANDBAG, PURSE ETC., PAY EXTRA FOR EVERYTHING!!! - SO DONT WORRY.

i feel fairly safe in both italy and greece.

Hi Sarah- <BR>I just returned from 3 1/2 weeks in Italy and in that entire time I did not see or experience any situation that I would consider to be unsafe. Was in all the main tourist areas, did not see any Gypsy types at all. There seemed to be a police presence everywhere. Don't worry about Italy.

Spent two week in Italy. Befor going there, everyone warned us about gypsies. We never saw one, and had no problems. It could be that with the Jubilee Celebration, the cops have cleaned the gypsies out of Rome. So go there while the going is good.