Due West

Greece has long been a favorite holiday destination for people from around the world to visit. In fact, over 15 million people go on holiday to Greece every single year. Greece has many different things to offer the vacationer, from wonderful villages, to fantastic shopping and pristine beaches; Greece has it all. Usually, the Greek islands are where most people frequent, but the mainland of Greece is also a great place to visit too. You could visit Athens, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes and Thessaloniki.

The Mediterranean climate is alive and well in Greece. The winters are short and mild. The summers run from April through November and boast hot, dry weather and days and days of sunshine. Occasionally there will be rain showers, but these are short-lived and infrequent. May and June and September and October are the very best months to see Greece as the weather is at its most comfortable and pleasant. From the middle of July to the middle of August, Greece is under the spell of the hottest summer weather.

The peak of the holiday season is from July until August, the vast majority of those taking a holiday arrive in Greece between April and October. Most of the country’s tourist infrastructure goes into hibernation outside of these months, especially on the islands. The bulk of scheduled international flights are handled in Athens and Thessaloniki. Several charter and planned low-budget flights arrive everyday from several of Europe’s cities to many of the islands and smaller cities on the mainland during tourist season.

Expect your hotel accommodations to be simple in Greece. You will be staying in a diminutive air-conditioned room with a balcony. The room will be clean and acceptable. In the larger cities, the hotels will be more luxurious, but you likely will not feel that you got what you paid for. You can also find luxury hotel accommodations on the islands that are populated with tourists, but again the value just is not there. Even the simple hotels have an online presence and you can likely arrange your reservations over the internet or email. You can also send a fax. You can also use a hotel booking service or travel agent.

Do not expect a lot of shopping while in Greek. But there are local vendors who carrying unusual and high quality products native to Greece. Look for lace, jewelry, pottery, rugs, leather goods, wines, metalwork, and knitwear. Handicrafts are made by local artisans. Many people eat out in Greece. There are a number of restaurants to try. Highly populated tourist spots will have excellent Greek eateries and restaurants. Most Greeks speak English so do not worry if you can not speak Greek. You will have no difficult getting around or ordering something to eat in Greece.