Greece - Korina Miller [598]
Passports
Visitors from outside the EU usually require a visa. This must be checked with consular authorities before you arrive. For visa requirements, Click here.
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AIR
Most visitors to Greece arrive by air, which tends to be the fastest and cheapest option, if not the most environmentally friendly.
Airports & Airlines
Greece has three main international airports that take chartered and scheduled flights.
Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport; code ATH; 210 353 0000; www.aia.gr)
Iraklio (Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport, Crete; code HER; 2810 228401)
Rhodes (Diagoras Airport, Dodecanese; code RHO; 22410 83222)
Thessaloniki (Macedonia International Airport, Northern Greece; code SKG; 2310 473 700)
Many of Greece’s other international airports, including Rhodes, Corfu, Crete and Mykonos, have begun taking scheduled international flights with easyJet. Kos and Araxos also take direct flights from Germany. Other international airports across the country include Santorini, Karpathos, Samos, Skiathos, Hrysoupoli, Aktion, Kefallonia and Zakynthos. These airports are most often used for charter flights from the UK, Germany and Scandinavia.
AIRLINES FLYING TO/FROM GREECE
Olympic Air (OA; 801 114 4444; www.olympicairlines.com) is the country’s national airline with the majority of flights to and from Athens. Olympic flies direct between Athens and destinations throughout Europe, as well as to Cairo, İstanbul, Tel Aviv, New York and Toronto. Aegean Airlines (A3; 801 112 0000; www.aegeanair.com) has flights to and from destinations in Spain, Germany and Italy as well as to Paris, London, Cairo and İstanbul. The safety record of both airlines is exemplary. The contact details for local Olympic and Aegean offices are listed throughout the book.
Other airlines with offices in Athens:
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THINGS CHANGE…
The information in this chapter is particularly vulnerable to change. Check directly with the airline or a travel agent to make sure you understand how a fare (and ticket you may buy) works and be aware of the security requirements for international travel. Shop carefully. The details given in this chapter should be regarded as pointers and are not a substitute for your own careful, up-to-date research.
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Aeroflot (code SU; 210 322 0986; www.aeroflot.org)
Air Berlin (AB; 210 353 5264; www.airberlin.com)
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CLIMATE CHANGE & TRAVEL
Climate change is a serious threat to the ecosystems that humans rely upon, and air travel is the fastest-growing contributor to the problem. Lonely Planet regards travel, overall, as a global benefit, but believes we all have a responsibility to limit our personal impact on global warming.
Flying & Climate Change
Pretty much every form of motor travel generates CO2 (the main cause of human-induced climate change) but planes are far and away the worst offenders, not just because of the sheer distances they allow us to travel, but because they release greenhouse gases high into the atmosphere. The statistics are frightening: two people taking a return flight between Europe and the US will contribute as much to climate change as an average household’s gas and electricity consumption over a whole year.
Carbon Offset Schemes
Climatecare.org and other websites use ‘carbon calculators’ that allow jetsetters to offset the greenhouse gases they are responsible for with contributions to energy-saving projects and other climate-friendly initiatives in the developing world – including projects in India, Honduras, Kazakhstan and Uganda.
Lonely Planet, together with Rough Guides and other concerned partners in the travel industry, supports the carbon offset scheme run by climatecare.org. Lonely Planet offsets all of its staff and author travel.
For more information check out our website: lonelyplanet.com.
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