Athens travel tips and Greece tourism guideThe City of Athens in Greece witnessed massive refurbishment in the lead-up to the 2004 Olympic Games but it still has some of the cluttered concrete buildings captured in the 1986 photograph below overlooking Athens. The tin roof dwellings have disappeared but still Athens can surprise newcomers with its dilapidated appearance and perennial smog. Nevertheless, don't hesitate to book your airlines and hotel travel deals because Greece holidays provide a memorable Mediterranean adventure full of interesting tourist attractions. |
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CLICK ON THE PICTURE above for more world travel photos with information about cheap holidays and links for airline tickets, hotel reservations and car rentals. What's on the next page? Athens Travel Tips If you're looking for cheap airlines to Athens, hotels, travel accessories, books, car rentals or tickets to Greece, visit our Travel Shop. Thumbnail Picture Index Last Minute Travel Tips Maps of Greece |
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Athens travel information guide Note: tough financial austerity measures introduced by the Greek Government to tackle its debt crisis since early 2010 have sparked intermittent mass protests in the country. Police at times have clashed violently with protesters in central Athens and industrial action may occasionally affect transport and other public services. Travellers should monitor the media closely to determine whether the social unrest will affect their holiday plans. The Greek economy is effectively insolvent and by 2012 is likely to have endured four consecutive years in recession. The government's fiscal policy response to tackle the country's debt crisis includes a 20% drop in public sector jobs, wage cuts up to 30% and a rise in VAT to 23%. Tax evasion and corruption are partly blamed for the debt, with the World Bank estimating the black market comprises almost a third of the Greek economy. The European Commission predicts the Greek economy will contract by 2.8% in 2012 and unemployment in the country is pushing 20%. The Greek Prime Minister was replaced in November 2011 and fresh elections are expected in early 2012, with the likelihood of increased street protests including potential riots during the polling period. The Hellenic Republic of Greece covers 131,944 square kilometres and has a population around 10.5 million. Tourists from most western countries don't need a visa for up to three months of holiday travel in Greece, although two months is the maximum for some nationalities who arrive without a visa. Take note that if your passport shows you've visited North Cyprus since November 1983, they won't let you in. Some rural parts of Greece still have typhus and even rabies, but the biggest health risk during your holiday travel in Greece is sunburn. The best time to book your airline for holiday travel in Greece is from Easter to mid-June, when the weather is warm but not too hot and the tourist crowds are yet to swell, as they mostly do between June and September.
Essentially, Greece has mild wet winters and hot dry summers, although winter can get bitterly cold in the mountains and even in Athens sometimes. Hotels offer cheap rates discounted up to 30% during winter, which is also a lovely time for cheap holiday travel in Greece because both locals and tourists are scarce and the rain is only occasional. Cheap travel is possible in Athens and Greece for less than 40 euros a day, but you'll risk having a miserable time. If you want pleasant and comfortable holiday travel in Greece with your own hotel room, restaurant meals and travel through historic sites, expect to budget at least 60 euros a day. Greece travel spots are numerous, including dozens of Mediterranean islands (in fact 1,400 with 169 inhabited) and mountainous trekking regions boasting a few Alpine areas with some of the cheapest skiing in Europe. Greece travel tip: Take note that for several decades recreational scuba diving was banned in most Greek waters to protect the seabed for archaeologists. However, the restrictions have been eased in recent years and diving has become a huge tourist drawcard for adventure travel as the Greek seas can now be explored in most areas. If you like to wet your toes, Greek beaches can be either white sand and comfortable or coloured pebbles and uncomfortable. The 48 square kilometre island of Skiathos, about 320 kilometres north of Athens, probably has the best beaches in Greece (many Skiathos shops and hotels close during winter and about 100,000 tourists descend on the island in summer). To book cheap airlines, hotels, car rentals, etc. in Athens and Greece, visit our Travel Shop. |
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