Greece Travel Tips and Guide

When choosing a travel destination, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the vast number of choices. There are so many historical, beautiful, interesting places on this Earth, it is easy to see why many people become frustrated. Greece, and the Greek islands are by far, one of the top travel destination choices by cultured and choosy travelers. Not only is Greece a wonderland of blue ocean vistas it is also the home of many exciting cultural events.

The Hellenic Festival

This extremely popular festival offers a huge range of performances. Classical music, ballet, opera, both ancient and modern theater, singers, dances and more are featured at this festival that takes all summer to exhaust its supply of entertainment. The festival encompasses the entire city, with many theater performances taking place at the Lykavittos Theater set atop Lykavittos Hill. Neither buses or taxis will take you to the top of this hill, so it is best to leave early to walk the ten or fifteen minutes you will need to get to Lykavittos Theater.

The Epidaurus Festival

This festival takes place annually during the summer months. Held at the ancient (and acoustically perfect) theater of Epidaurus, this festival is held as a part of the larger Hellenic Festival. The Epidaurus Festival is an opportunity to witness plays just as the ancient Greeks did. Adding to the flavor is the fact that the performances are in Greek. Theater goers are provided with programs that translate major languages. Some tips for enjoying the Epidaurus Festival include dressing warm and bringing a blanket. The theater is outside with most programs starting at 9pm and weather unpredictable, even in the summer months. Best to be prepared. Many of these shows sell out quickly and can only be bought 3 weeks in advance.

The Icarus Festival of Dialogue Between Cultures

Overwhelmingly, Greek cultural events are rooted in the love of music. The Icarus Festival for Dialogue Between Cultures takes place annually on Ikaria, Greece. Traditionally held during the summer, this event hosts performances by artists whose music has been inspired by many cultures. Every year the event is dedicated to a single instrument, 2008 was dedicated to the violin, as it is the favored instrument of the island Ikaria.

The August Moon Festival

Annually, whenever the full moon decides to make its appearance, many sites around Athens are open to the public for free entertainment. The Odeion of Herodes Atticus, the Acropolis, Roman Agora, provide the city with Greek dances, classical music and opera performances. What a spectacular site to behold by the light of the full moon!

Rockwave Athens

The largest rock and roll festival in Greece takes place in July, during the intense heat of summer, and provides the city with some of the hottest international rock bands. This musical event has taken place since 1996 and is still going strong. Not to be outdone, the Island of Cyprus holds many exciting cultural events as well. As the third biggest island in the Mediterranean sea, this island has direct ties to Greece and many of its festivals are based in the Greek culture.

The Wine Festival in Lemoses attracts thousands of tourists each September to take part of this event. Cyprus, an island known for its extraordinary wine, offers this festival as a means to pay tribute to Dionysus, God of Wine as well as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. The Lemesos Carnival Parade takes place in February, or approximately 50 days before Easter. Highlights of this annual event include the Children's Carnival Parade, Grand Carnival Parade of groups and chariots, King Carnival and Serenader's Parade. This carnival is held to celebrate the last week of meat-eating before the Apokria or what is referred to as the fasting before Easter. Costumes are prepared for the entire family for this event, and at the end of the event, more than fifty floats parade through the city.

The Festival of Ancient Greek Drama is held during the summer months in Cyprus. The performances are held in three separate theaters throughout Cyprus, each sharing the ancient Greek traditions of tragedy, comedy, treachery, adventure and more with the audience. This festival attracts thousands of people internationally and the venues include: Paphos (Ancient Odeon), Limassol (Kourion Ancient Theater) and in Nicosia (Makarios III Amphitheater). When it comes to festivals and cultural events, the Greek and Cyprus communities are unmatched throughout the world. These ancient lands are steeped in traditions of beauty, art, culture, wine and drama. There really is no other choice when it comes to choosing this travel destination spot.

Greece can satisfy even the most demanding of its visitors. It has beautiful scenery and great man made establishments, it has sea but also mountains, it has archaeological sites and night clubs as well, it has crowded areas but it also has nice and quite places. The best of all is that all these are not far away from each other. I don't think its an overstatement to say that Greece is a traveler's paradise.

Where can you find such places.

If you want to find fancy restaurants and Hotels and all the comforts a man can get those are the services every known place has and they are actually difficult to miss. Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu, Crete, Athens, Thessaloniki, Samos are among the most visited destinations in Greece. If you need luxurious accommodations, fancy restaurants, loud music, packed cafes, lots of visitors you can find them here.

Places that are not crowded but still have lot to offer are more difficult to find. There are less services and less money to be gained from visitors and therefore are not heavily promoted. If you are looking for those places don't ask at your local travel agent. Don't arrange a Cruise hoping to find them. The are usually very close to the crowded centers but not much is mentioned of them.

Lots of smaller islands that are not heavily advertised, and island satellites to famous ones usually fall under this category and would be ideal places for people that want to explore the alternative Greece. For the sake of the discussion I am going to mention Gaudos, Paxoi, Fournoi, Sifnos, Ikaria, Chios but this is not extensive by any means. These places are usually recommended from people that have already gone there. If you have not had such recommendations then I would advise you to prepare your trip to the most favorable location leaving some room in your schedule for visiting places that the locals will undoubtedly suggest. An inquiry to a local Greek travel agent or a Greek Habitant might reveal some hidden treasures around the area. Keeping in mind the pros and cons presented right after, one can easily recognize such places.

With quiet destinations you avoid the mass tourism and the noise and you enjoy more the nature and the hospitality of people simple and not caught up at the great rush of our times. Nature is purer and the food is fresher and atmosphere is unspoiled and healthier. The prices are cheaper too. One great disadvantage is that such places don't have many means of transportation to and from them and not to many comforts should be expected when looking for accommodation. Some of them don't even have air connectivity with mainland Greece. They might have boat or bus connection 3-7 times a week from the near by Town.

Travel off high season

Greeks usually take their summer vacation around the 15th of August that is the biggest festivity in the Orthodox Christian world, commemorating the Assumption of Theotokos (Mary the mother of Jesus). Around these days everything gets very busy with boats running full and extra flights being added and all types of accommodation running at full capacity. These period makes for some very tiresome vacation and I would definitely avoid it if I had the choice. Planning either before or after August is probably the smartest thing one can do when traveling to Greece. You do avoid the headaches and prices are a whole lot different.

Almost all destinations in Greece are connected through Athens, so this gives an opportunity to the traveler to explore the Athenian lifestyle and Acropolis if he/she so chooses. Some alternative routes include Italy which has daily direct boat connections to the Ionian islands and Turkey which has daily boat connectivity to the nearby islands of the Aegean.

Arranging your car rental before hand

Small places usually luck the public transportation of the big and famous cities. Buses usually run not very frequently and planning your excursions around them usually is not an easy chore. The more crowded places will probably have cars booked fully for the high season times. So if you are planning on using a car arranging it ahead of time is always good choice.

Alternative accommodations for rent

If you are not interested in the standard services of a hotel (food, everyday cleaning/towels/sheets pools and restaurants) you can rent villas or homes at cheaper prices. Usually the such places provide a high level of service compared to what you pay for them.