Any scoops on Greece, ,y well traveled friends?

[old goat]

Big fan of Crete: beaches, mountains, Samaria gorge, different feel from other islands. We stayed right off the water in touristy/old town part of Chania.

Also had a great time on Paros. Santorini is what it is, had a great time but don't need to go back.

We gave Athens the 48hr sightseeing blitz and "saw" it, but didn't really experience the modern city. I'd like to go back because I think there's a lot more there culturally, beyond the history, grit and grime. It is ugly af though.

We stayed in Chania and Iraklion. In Iraklion we ate in the shell of a bombed out building (when we were there maybe 15 years ago there was still unrepaired damage from WWII) and listened to an informal band sitting at a center table playing traditional music and drinking between songs. Fabulous musicians. Ran into some folks right off the cruise ship, lady asks me in a thick NY accent where downtown is. "Lady, you're there."

On the way home from the airport the taxi driver was Greek, I tell me we were just there, where, I start with Crete. "Criti? I am from Criti!!." "We liked Chania." "I am from Chania!!". "We really liked the traditional music." "You like Criti music?" And the guy, who is doing 80 on the freeway in the rain, starts looking under his seat for his CD's and scaring the piss out of us.

All the islands had the same set up--old Venetian port with a line of little hotels and a walkway where the whole town promenaded every evening and where the Americans, Brits, French stayed, and the beach nearby with little more modern looking one story hotels where the Germans and Scandinavians stayed. We never saw those folks anywhere but the beach.

[warthog]

I did a trip to Corfu for 2 weeks as a "recovery" from my study abroad semester in London. Did the trip with Club 18-30, which was basically spring break for English students. I would love to tell you it was lovely, but I don't remember much. Ended up with my own condo since I was traveling solo. Didn't know a soul. All my friends that were supposed to go dropped out, so I said fuck it and went by myself.

I do remember-
Crystal clear water
Never seeing a cloud in 2 weeks
98 degree weather every day for 2 weeks
3 for 1 beers
Australian girls
Half built homes
The hottest curry I have ever had
Topless beaches

Enjoy.

[Garbowski]

My advice is to pick a couple smallish islands that look interesting to you and rent a scooter/4 wheeler and just explore all the towns and beaches on the map. Beaches were generally pebbly so we mostly took a look/did some walking rather than full on beach days. Crete has good sandy ones though.

I'd stay away from the tourist trail as much as you can- Greece is the Florida of Europe. But the big sights are cool for a reason- even Mykonos' old downtown is really neat- allegedly it was designed to confuse pirates. But definitely a skip unless you had a ton of time or really are into watching spring break behavior 24/7.

I actually liked Santorini a lot- stay far away from whatever the main town is but the rest of the island has a lot to explore and we were practically alone once we were on the road. We got a place in Oia which is where everyone goes to watch the sunset but was quiet other than that one hour of the day. This was 10 years ago though- could be a madhouse now.

Naxos was mentioned a couple times and is also a good one you can manage to see most of in a day or two.

[old goat]

I mentioned Amorgos--other than a monastery in the side of a cliff you have to hike to there's not much there. We only spent a few days. We talked to a guy who'd been there 2 weeks, we asked him what there was to do, he said "nothing, which is why I stayed". I think the Greek isles have just the right amount of stuff to see and do--not so much that you forget to enjoy being there.

On Naxos we were hiking on ancient stone paths between walls surrounding farm plots.

Outside of Iraklion we visited the "restored" Minoan ruins at Knossos. The ruins were less impressive than the surrounding terraced hillsides which looked fantastically old--looking at them you got a real sense of how old civilization was there.

[whipski]

with only a week I suggest you limit yourself to maybe one more nearby Island. I think it's better to thoroughly relax and explore leisurely. you don't have time for mainland exploration. if you decide to see the Parthenon set the alarm and be at the gate a few minutes before it opens. you'll have the place to yourself for about an hour before the tour buses swamp the place. I liked the area around the temple of Vulcan for restaurants, shops and access .

[slcdawg]

Its been 20 years but Greece was one of my all time favorite trips. The people are so friendly you'll get suspicious and wonder what the catch is. We enjoyed Crete and Santorini but were there in the off-season and didn't have to deal with many tourists. 1 full day in Athens is probably enough and yes, you'll want good walking shoes. For food, I couldn't get enough gyros, way better than anything you can get here. Looking forward to the TR.

[OldLarry]

Thanks as always for the scoops- we’ll see how it goes!


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[Kinnikinnick]

Been Multiple times.

What you want to know?

Beach only or mountains too?

Busy beaches and shopping and nightlife or quiet and quaint?

Santorini, Mikonos busy and party.

Karpathos, Samos, many others quiet and slow pace.

Oracle of Delphi day trip from Athens.

Meteora overnight scenic towers and monasteries on top.

Corinth canal

Athens signts

Dont join day tours unless thats your thing.

Get there to historical sites as early as possible if during summer months before hot and before the tours all get there. Lunch at the taverna of your choice after.

Greek Salad, greek salad. Etc.

Find the restaurant that serves Mezes (like tapas) small plates and try a bunch of stuff. Sit outside. Order Plomari brand ouzo.





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[Just Looking]

I know lesvos is a bit of an issue with migrants currently, skalla errossos was a cool place somewhat under appreciated except for by the lesbian populatian , they felt it was the home world for lesbians, so the local nude beach was maybe a bit better off for sight lines. For the most part was somewhat a more normal local and not regular tourist location. I enjoyed the restaurants and locals, would love to go back. make sure to get the locally caught sardines, a special treat.

Santorini is awesome, when tour boats are not around. Io is awesome for sunsets, even if 50k folks show up for the hour , it is really that pretty. Rhodes, and athens are cool places to see the known attractions, they may be tourist traps, but they are also hundreds of years old, makes a difference.

[OldLarry]

not sure I am doing this right and sorry for the dump but anyway. ‘Twas awesome cepting 4 days of literal 50 mph winds on milos killing some beach time. Plenty to do and see on the island anyway -


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[OldLarry]

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[old goat]

]

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those people need an HOA to decide what color to paint the doors

[warthog]

I'm just impressed the 2nd floor is finished. Things are looking up in Greece since I was there last.

[old goat]

I'm just impressed the 2nd floor is finished. Things are looking up in Greece since I was there last.

We were in Iraklion maybe 10 years ago. Heavily shelled and bombed during WWII and a lot of the damage is unrepaired. The unroofed shells of buildings, etc.

[alpinevibes]

We were in Iraklion maybe 10 years ago. Heavily shelled and bombed during WWII and a lot of the damage is unrepaired. The unroofed shells of buildings, etc.

Same, though we spent more time in Chania, which seemed to be more rebuilt.

I'm just finishing this excellent biography on Paddy Fermor, who was on Crete for the British intelligence during WWII and kidnapped the sitting German general on the island. Great read: https://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Leigh.../dp/159017674X

[warthog]

We were in Iraklion maybe 10 years ago. Heavily shelled and bombed during WWII and a lot of the damage is unrepaired. The unroofed shells of buildings, etc.

The tour guide in Corfu told us if they didn't finish the building, they didn't pay taxes, so they needed a single story, but built a 2 story and never finished the 2nd story.

[altacoup]

^^^

This is why you see so many half “finished” houses in Greece. Then they complain that their government is ineffective when they all refuse to pay taxes. Maybe they should all move to the USA. GOP would gain a ton of voters

[ötzi]

Hot as shit there right now - Athens weather had a high of ~115 yesterday.