Weather

Spring and autumn in Greece are the best seasons, with temperatures between 20 and 25?C (70-80?F). It snows occasionally in Athens in the winter months of December through February. The hot month is August, a great time to be on the islands, especially Santorini and Crete. Northern Greece is cooler in the winter than the Peloponnesus.

Visa, Immigration, Customs

Passport valid for at least 3 months beyond your scheduled length of stay.

Visa/Permit/Tourist Card: No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days. Single parents or other adults vacationing alone with children should be aware that some countries require documentary evidence of parental responsibility before allowing lone parents to enter the country or, in some cases, before permitting the children to leave the country.

Transportation

The national airline, Olympic, flies to major centres in Europe, and to New York. If time is a factor, fly inside the country also-the weather often slows sea travel.

Airports in Greece:There are 80 airports in Greece.

Travel by Rail:Trains connect the major centres.

Travel by Water:Cruise ships follow one another around the Greek Islands like flocks of birds, but still the experience is wonderful. Be aware that ferries have open Mediterranean water to contend with. Even in mid-summer, an 8-hour crossing can easily become 12. However, you will never land anywhere, even in the middle of the night, where someone doesn't meet the boat to offer you accommodation.

Travel by Road:Travel by road if you have nerves of steel - the Greeks love speed and thrive in chaos, while roads can be narrow and curving, especially in the mountains. Car rentals are available in most towns.
Bus tours come in all shapes and sizes, and are an excellent way to see the country, particularly as tour guides are usually university-educated in ancient and modern Greek history, and love to answer questions. Biking is a good way to see the country

What Side of the Road?: Driving is on the right side of the road.

Speed Limits: Town - 50 kph; open road - 110 kph; motorway - 120 kph.

Culture & Food

Languages Spoken:Greek 99% (official), English, French

Religions:Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%.

People and Culture:It's getting harder to find the real thing-retsina-happy locals springing up to perform impromptu Greek dancing-although there are shows put on for tourists. However, the Greeks are all Zorba at heart-open and sociable, loving to tell stories and watch the world go by. The Greek version of café culture is irresistible. The men of the country seem to sit sipping strong Greek coffee or glasses of ouzo all day long. Join them! As in many hot countries, the Greeks take a siesta in the middle of the day, with shops closing around noon and opening again in the early evening. The north coast of Crete is Venetian in its architecture. The farther east you go, the stronger is the middle eastern influence in food and lifestyle: the Greeks live a fascinating fusion of European and Middle Eastern cultures.
A resident or national of Greece is called "Greek". The Term used to describe things from here is "Greek". For example, "Greek food".

Tipping and Bargaining:Tipping is practiced here. Most restaurants will add a service charge or a charge for bread, whether you eat it or not. Bargaining in bazaars and markets is quite acceptable but not in regular stores.

Restaurants:	5-10% in addition to service charge
*Porters:	0.75 -1 Euro per bag
Taxi:	Round Up

* Try to use local currency. Foreign coins cannot be exchanged and will be useless to the person receiving them. Foreign paper money requires a trip to the bank for exchange. However paper US dollars are accepted almost universally.

Food:Greek dishes are famous the world over, with tasty cheeses (feta is just one of many you'll enjoy when you get there), lamb a staple meat, and excellent fish, especially in the south. The cuisine is slightly middle eastern in its spices, with rice and potatoes the basic starches. Don't be fooled by the quality of the bread in caféneions - get some from a bakery, add olives, cheese and wine from a market nearby, and enjoy the best picnic you've ever eaten! Speaking of "the best": the yogurt is to die for! Fruit and yogurt make a marvellous breakfast. In the restaurants, it's usual to sit outdoors. But first, go to the kitchen and have a look at the dishes on offer for the day. Fresh Mediterranean fish, lamb, often barbecued, and kebabs are standard fare-and all delicious. A favourite and versatile vegetable is the eggplant. Roasted potatoes and rice are eaten daily, and salads often feature dark kalamata olives-though many other varieties will appeal to you too. Choose what you want, and it'll be brought to your table. Ignore that cat! Not all Greek wines travel well, so you may only recognize a few varieties. But in their homeland, they are all worth trying, and few are expensive. After your meal, have baklava, a honey-soaked pastry with walnuts, for dessert. The Greeks eat at nine or later-keep in mind that they consider hot food unhealthy. Ask for café frappe too. In Athens, Kolonaki (up-scale) and Plaka (where Socrates and Plato ate!) are good destinations. On the islands, don't be afraid to leave the port areas and head back into the towns for places the Greeks themselves frequent-the food will be of better quality.

Money Conversion

Greece's currency is called the Euro (EUR)

Currency Converter :use the following currency converter tool to help you with your vacation. Currency Convertor Tool

Currency Cheat Sheet:use the following currency cheat sheet as a quick conversion reference on your vacation.Currency Cheat Sheet

Attractions

Destination Cities: Athens is dirty, lusty, but profoundly peaceful with rivulets of tumult: the traffic. On the Acropolis, Phidias' Parthenon still crowns the city. Lovely at sunrise, it is best explored before the heat and tourists take over. It is dedicated to the Virgin Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. A smaller Temple of Athena Nike (Victory), the Erechtheion (for legendary King Erechtheus) and the Acropolis Archaeological Museum, containing four of six original Caryatids and other treasures, accompany it. From the Acropolis, the whole city stretches to the surrounding seven hills and south to Piraeus, Athens' port. Nestled on the west slope above Plaka, a charming maze of tourist shops, is a whole village, moved entire from an island which succumbed to an earthquake in the mid-1900s . On the eastern slope are the Theatres of Dionysus (5th century BCE) and Herod Atticus (Roman). To the southwest, the ancient Agora with its Stoa of Attalos, Temple of Hephaistos (Theseion) and other magnificent temples and ruins thrill the imagination. Beyond the Agora-Monasteraki: go on Sunday to see it at its most lively, and wear your sceptic's hat unless you want to pay the asking price for souvenirs! Other cities and towns well worth visiting are Heraklion and Hania on Crete, Patras, the capital of the Peloponnesus, and Delphi for a consultation, ancient-Greek style, with the famous oracle.

Points of Interest:The more you know of ancient Greek and Christian history, the longer you will need to stay in this fascinating country. Thebes, where Oedipus encountered the Sphinx and then his mother-an even more fatal woman! ; Delphi; Corinth, where St Paul preached; Santorini (Thera), volcano-blasted in 1650 BCE (visit the Minoan city of Akrotiri, now being excavated); the island of Patmos near the Turkish coast, where St. John wrote the Book of Revelations-the list of fascinating and marvellous adventures one might take into the past is matched only by the joys of the present-the beaches, the stunning archaeological ruins, such as that of the Minoan Knossos on Crete or the theatres of Dionysus and Herod Atticus on the slopes of the Parthenon in Athens, and many more. Pick up the International Herald Tribune for current events. The scent of jasmine fills the night air. Best islands: Mykonos (sophisticated, and most touristic), Hydra (19th century architecture), Santorini (black sand beaches) and Crete (for its history). No person with a flair for the arts should miss Epidauros, site of the best preserved and most lovely ancient Greek theatre in the world.