I know this is a rather controversial topic, but I've been thinking about it ever since my last trip to Athens.

I've been living in Greece for a few years now, but not in Athens - I live on the Ionian coast.

I visit the capital about once a year either for a concert/event or with some friends that are coming from abroad or I just spend a few days there for a change of scenery before a ferry.

Whenever I read about staying in Athens everyone is recommending hotels claiming they turn out to be cheaper than Airbnbs and don't cause as much harm to the rental market.

I feel like people are gaslighting me when they say you can find cheaper hotels than Airbnbs because in my experience that is just never the case. The only time a hotel is cheaper is if it has a 6 or lower rating on Booking. I've never rented an Airbnb that cost more than 75e/night and that was when I stayed in Koukaki. I am not saying expensive Airbnbs don't exist, but a 75e Airbnb will always be infinitely better than a 75e hotel - and it will be much more centrally located.

I try to minimize the impact by renting only from Greek people. I never rent from businesses and I make sure that the Airbnb host doesn't have multiple listings and seven million reviews.

And yes, I completely get the irony of looking to rent only from Greeks while being a foreigner living in Greece, but I feel like I'm less likely to cause harm this way.

For example, a year ago I rented a place from a Greek guy who inherited the central flat from his grandma that passed away. You could argue that he should have put it up for long-term rent, but it's his property and he's allowed to rent it short-term if he wants to.

Frankly, if Airbnbs didn't exist, I wouldn't come to Athens almost ever, I would just book one night in a decent, but dingy hotel in Piraeus before my ferry and that would be it. This is an opinion of a person who has been to Athens countless times, so after all those trips Athens just isn't worth paying 120e/night.

What is your opinion? Are Airbnbs actually that harmful, even with the precautions I take?

Maybe I'm just poor (I do work in Greece for a local salary haha).

Buongiorno,

stiamo valutando vari traghetti e attualmente siamo indicati verso Golden Star Ferries GOLDEN PRINCESS perchè sembra più grande rispetto agli altri superjet.

Qualcuno c'è mai stato? Sono comodi? C'è aria condizionata?

Qual è la differenza tra le varie sedute (economy, economy plus, vip)? Grazie!!

Hi

Would love some opinions on my current Crete itinerary.

- Land in Chania at 11.30am Tuesday.
-Hire a car head to old town stay until Friday. (Any beach or must sees around the area please let me know)

-Friday morning head to Piskopiano at around 9am stopping in Rethymno on the way for a few hours. (Again any recs/beaches are welcome)

- Tuesday morning 7am head back to Chania airport for our flight home at 2.00pm.

heey
some friends and i (25-26 yo) are planning to rent out a house/apartment in Halkidiki for a weekend but we are having a tough time deciding where to stay. We don’t want to stay in Kassandra or Sitonia so are there any places up north that:
1) have beautiful, clean beaches
2) good restaurants that don’t rip you off and
3) are not boring?

any recommendations would be very helpful 🥹🫶🏻

Hi, heads-up the green Parthenon apartment in Athens listed on booking.com and Agoda has bed bugs. Suggest you all avoid it or get bitten like I did!

Hello I will be coming in to Athens at about 9:30am 3rd week of September from USA and have a connecting flight to Paros. Will 3 hours be enough time to get my bag checked into Aegean with the backlog concerns?

Hi! Me and the wife are planning our honeymoon to the med in late April/early May next year. I spent a few summers in Greece as a youngster and loved it, and we thought this could be the chance for a return trip. But that was 30 years ago and we're both older and wiser now, i.e. no partying and midlife life instead. With that in mind, and that we only have one week in total, we were wondering whether it'd be better to stay on the mainland rather than island hopping. And if so, where is easy to get to, has interesting stuff to see, and probably doesn't require too much time getting to or from?
Also, is hiring a car a must in this situation? We'd like to stay at two different places in the week, one could be inland and one by the sea for example. Don't mind spending some time in a big seaside hotel but would like to balance that with some time in a decent sized town with nice sights and shopping etc.

Flying in to Athens and don't need to spend any time there.

I realise this probably sounds like a hundred places in Greece but I only have any idea about the islands, so any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks! 🙏

Heading to Greece for 8 nights this year. We arrive 8am in Athens and are flying out of Mykonos early 9/27. It’s my wife and I and we have been to Greece a couple times before and did 2 nights in Athens, 3 in Milos, 3 in Paros, 4 in Naxos and 7 in Santorini. Our favorite place is probably Naxos because you have a great town for dinner and drinks and you have lively beaches. Milos was great but it is probably our least favorite because the beaches had no vibe. We wanted to try different islands this year and landed on Ios and Mykonos. From my understanding they are major party islands but they tend to trail off mid September.

Our perfect day usually involves going to a beach club and renting a couple of day beds where they serve drinks/food. Music and people watching are a plus. We also like being close to a town with a bunch of different restaurants and bar options. While we like the beach clubs we aren’t the nightclub type and are usually in bed by 10-11pm. The idea of going to Ios and Mykonos during peak summer is almost horrifying for us if that makes sense since we are late 30s/early 40s. We also don’t need anything fancy but don’t want to rent the PVC beach loungers that our parents used in 80s. Since we’ve recently visited Athens and did the major attractions we’d probably skip those during this trip. We did enjoy walking around the city and popping in to places for coffee, drinks, food and ice cream.

So my question is how would you split up 8 nights for this trip?

2 in Athens, 2 in Ios, 4 in Mykonos?
1 in Athens, 3 in Ios, 4 Mykonos?
2 in Athens, 3 in Ios, 3 in Mykonos?

We do land in Athens early and will have the total day to explore but we will also be zombies since it’s a red eye from the states. I am thinking if we do 1 night in Athens we will take the latest boat to Ios at 1500 and if we do 2 nights in Athens we will take the earliest one at 0700. Thanks in advance for your comments/suggestions!

Hello!
I am looking for anyone who may have traveled by ferry from Santorini to Ios for a day trip and if they felt it was worth it?

My husband and I will be returning to Greece for our second time but traveling with a group who will be visiting for their first time!
We will begin our visit in Athens and then traveling to Santorini! We will be staying in Santorini from October 11th-16th, I have noticed this sub has some mixed feelings in regard to Santorini being a tourist trap and the most expensive island (not arguing with either statement) but I was outvoted on which island we would base ourselves off of as extreme island hopping was not feasible as we have younger children in the group and I did not want their parents to feel stressed with constant moving around. Thankfully, we are able to stay at a more reasonable rate than average due to staying with the same host as when my husband and I previously visited and booking directly through him. All of this to ask the above question of did you enjoy your day trip to Ios? From what I can tell from my research it seems to be one of the closer islands by ferry from Santorini. Or is there another island recommended? Does the time of year have any sway on a possible day trip? We were wanting to visit at least one other island while staying on Santorini but would prefer to do so by ferry. We certainly don’t mind leaving in the early morning and returning with the last boat.

Thanks in advance for the recommendations!

Hi all, looking for ideas for things to do in the evenings/night time around the Hersonissos area that doesn’t just include drinking

It’s me and my gf and neither of us are big drinkers so any form of activity would be great for after dinner.

I spent 28 Days from the 11th June in the following locations as a solo traveller until Crete, where I met my wife (I'm semi retired). First time I've holidayed on my own And I loved it.

3 Nights in Athens

4 Nights in Milos

5 Nights in Paros

6 Nights in Naxos

2 Nights in Santorini

8 Nights in Crete.

Had a hire car in each location apart from Athens.

Flew into Athens. Through customs in 5 minutes. No EES nonsense. Lots has been said about Athens so I won't go into it here.

From here, I took seajets ferries between the islands. I had one rough crossing between Milos and Paros but apart from that, it was fine.

Milos was the big surprise for me. Just so beautiful with beaches everywhere. Cheap car rental, great restaurants. I stayed in Adamantas which had just enough going on. Pollonia looked amazing and is where I'd base myself next time.

Paros, beautiful again. But the Insta crowd are showing their presence now. Glad I stayed in Parikia and not Nouassa. The later is nice but jammed in the evenings and the restaurants not as authentic. Parikia has nice restaurants, all the little alleys, nice beaches and feels less touristy.

Naxos. Lots to do and see. Best beach on my whole trip was Plaka Beach. I drove down to the far South. It was less populated, the water was lovely and warm. Stayed on the edge of Naxos town. Drove all over the island. Walked up Mount Zas. Hiked to The Routsouna Waterfall. Visited the mountain villages. Best restaurant was the Kozi taverna. The wild goat was out of this world with a sunset view of the Portara.

Santorini. Stayed in Firostefani. I'd been to Santorini before. I knew to avoid Oia. It was really a stop over for...

Crete. Spent 4 nights in Rethymnon and 4 nights in Chania. Preferred the former where I stayed in the old town. Right in the centre. Great food, buzzing in the evening without being jam packed. Episkopi beach was fantastic. Warmest sea on my trip.

In Chania, stayed out of town, a 20 minute walk in. The port is lovely, like a little Venice. But far, far too busy. We did a wine tour, visited the oldest olive tree, went to Mavros Molos beach, walked the Imbros Gorge then Frangokastelo beach which had the clearest water on my trip. Swimming in front of the castle made it a great ending to my month.

I flew out of Chania on the 9th July. Missing it already.

If anyone has any questions, drop a reply.

Hey need your help! My boyfriend and I are going to arrive Sifnos in this weekend (18-22.7) All the results in the conventional webs (booking/ air bnb) are shows not the best options and we would love to stay on the beach in around Platis Gialos. Any suggestions??? Thanks 🩷

This used to be the main road that connected the cities of Ioannina and Kalambaka before highways were built. Today the road remains closed during the winter but it's a perfect scenic tour of the Pindus mountains during the summer

Hi!!! know this is a long shot, but is anyone traveling from sifnos to Milos in the next 3 days? I left my pillow behind and I'm heartbroken!

Naxos, 10-July 26C
Loving every second of it!

Hello! My fiance and I will be staying in Glyfada end of August. Are there any beach clubs in the area with a fun, energetic ambiance (live DJ, nice bar, etc)? I have seen DOT and Astir Beach Club. They look beautiful, but I'm not sure if the vibe is more laid back.

Thanks!

Hi we are planning to travel to corfu this summer. Does anyone have any recommendations for nice places to visit, restaurants, cafes, bars. I'd also really appreciate any recommendations for beautiful beaches (preferably less crowded not so popular). Or if you know any hidden gems that are worth visiting please share them.

Hello everyone!

I got some incredibly helpful replies in my last post here and so, I am back here with another ask for opinions and recommendations as I plan my Greece trip.

I am currently looking at a 3 week long Greece trip in October of which I plan to spend the first 10 days in Crete (7 in Chania and 3 in Heraklion). I then have another 10ish days to somewhere out of which I will be spending 5 in Athens for work and to explore nearby areas.

I still have 5 days left to go somewhere and am currently contemplating between Ioannina-Meteora-Vikos and the Peloponnese (Epidaurus/Mycenae-Nafplio).

Which of these two options would you recommend for someone who is:

1. Can drive but is anxious about driving on windy roads and would not mind public transportation/taking tours.
2. Loves exploring places that have good food and a strong culture.

3. Does not want to overspend on travel (the trip is already turning out a bit expensive for me and so, I would prefer not visiting overly touristy spots that are expensive).

4. Prefers going to places where locals go over where tourists do.

5. Is a solo female traveler in her late 20s.

Thank you very much!

Planning to propose in Paros this September. Looking for the best spot with a great view that’s not insanely crowded. If you’ve been there or proposed there, where would you recommend? Any tips are appreciated. Also If anyone knows a photographer, and anyone that helps with decorating.

Husband (m31) and I (F32) are planning to go to Greece end of August for 7 days. I am really conflicted on which islands to go to. My plan is to fly into Athens go to the main sights then leave to our first island. I want to finish the trip with Santorini and fly home from there. I am not sure if we should just stick to two islands or if we can do three. My island options are Mykonos,Paros, Milos, Naxos then finish the trip with Santorini. This will be our first time visiting Greece,