Greece - Korina Miller [608]
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HITCHING
Hitching is never entirely safe in any country in the world, and we don’t recommend it. Travellers who decide to hitch should understand that they are taking a small but potentially serious risk. People who do choose to hitch will be safer if they travel in pairs and should let someone know where they are planning to go. In particular, it is unwise for females to hitch alone; women are better off hitching with a male companion.
Some parts of Greece are much better for hitching than others. Getting out of major cities tends to be hard work and Athens is notoriously difficult. Hitching is much easier in remote areas and on islands with poor public transport. On country roads it is not unknown for someone to stop and ask if you want a lift, even if you haven’t stuck a thumb out.
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LOCAL TRANSPORT
Bus
Most Greek towns are small enough to get around on foot. All the major towns have local buses, but the only places you’re likely to need them are Athens, Patra, Kalamata and Thessaloniki. The procedure for buying tickets for local buses is covered in the Getting Around section for each city.
Metro
Athens is the only city in Greece large enough to warrant the building of an underground system. For more details, Click here. Note that only Greek student cards are valid for a student ticket on the metro.
Taxi
Taxis are widely available in Greece except on very small or remote islands. They are reasonably priced by European standards, especially if three or four people share costs.
Yellow city cabs are metered, with rates doubling between midnight and 5am. Additional costs are charged for trips from an airport or a bus, port or train station, as well as for each piece of luggage over 10kg. Grey rural taxis do not have meters, so you should always settle on a price before you get in.
Many younger taxi drivers now have satnav systems in their cars, so finding a destination is a breeze as long as you have the exact address.
Some taxi drivers in Athens have been known to take unwary travellers for a financial ride. If you have a complaint about a taxi driver, take the cab number and report your complaint to the tourist police. For more information Click here. Taxi drivers in other towns in Greece are, on the whole, friendly, helpful and honest.
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FANCY A DIP?
One of the more unusual tours in Greece takes you island hopping on your own steam. Swim Trek (www.swimtrek.com) offers a swimming adventure holiday through the closely knit islands of the Cyclades. Participants swim approximately 5km each day with dolphins, turtles and monk seals along isolated coastline. The six-day tour costs €840, including half board, a swimming guide and technique analysis. BYO swimsuit.
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TOURS
Tours are worth considering if your time is very limited or if you fancy somebody else doing all of the organising. In Athens, you’ll find countless day tours Click here, with some agencies offering two- or three-day trips to nearby sights. For something on a larger scale, try Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com). With offices in Australia, the UK and the USA, Intrepid offers a 15-day tour of the Greek Islands (£1105/US$2120 plus €200) and an eight-day tour from Athens to Santorini (£645/US$1230 plus €200), including everything except meals and flights. Encounter Greece (www.encountergreece.com) offers a plethora of tours; a 10-day tour across the country costs €1595 while three days on the mainland is €375. Flights to Greece are not included.
More adventurous tours include guided activities involving hiking, climbing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing or canyoning. Alpin Club (www.alpinclub.gr) in Athens operates out of Karitena in the Peloponnese, while outfits like Trekking Hellas (www.trekking.gr) or Robinson Expeditions (www.robinson.gr) run tours from the centre and north of Greece. For more information on activity-based tours, Click here.
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