Greece – Explore
When I think about Greece, first thing comes to my mind is Greek mythology and Greek Gods. There are 12 Greek gods in the ancient mythology. The twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon. They are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. So many memories of childhood stories attached around this.
Kids are all up to date with god names and their role in mythology than me from books and movies. They have read/watched Percy Jackson, Hercules and many Greek mythology related stories. When I try to say something, they had lot more to talk about that. We all were excited when we thought about going to Greece.
Second thing is History studies from school in India. who remember Alexander the great and his quest?
“Greek sovereign land includes 6,000 islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, of which only 227 islands are inhabited.” I started planning our trip and started exploring the first 4 in the list below. We had 9 days for our trip. So we wanted to limit the destinations to 3. Crete is a huge island and needs at least 5 days to explore. Which ruled out Crete from our trip due to limited time we had.
Top destinations in Greece
- Athens
- Santorini ( Oia, Thera/Fira, Imerovigli, Kamari beach)
- Mykonos
- Crete
- Paros
- Naxos
- Pireas
- Hydra
- Poros
- Aegina
- Delphi
Here is our trip itinerary
Day 1: With stop over at Fiji, we reached Athens and landed very late in the night around 8:45PM. We took at Apartments first time next to Hilton. When we booked in Expedia we thought is Hilton , but turns out it is next to Hilton..:)
Day 2: Acropolis & Athens Sightseeing coach Tour & Acropolis Museum
Day 3: Ferry from Athens to Santorini
Day 4 : Oia and Beaches
Day 5: Fira and Trip to Volcano
Day 6 : Ferry to Mykonos
Day 7 : Ferry to Athens
Day 8 : Poros, Hydra & Aegina Day Cruise
Day 9: Back Home
Things you will be interested to know before starting the trip :
1. What is the best time to visit Greece?
Winter :
- December, January, February
- mild, some rains, no snow
Spring :
- March, April, May
- lovely sunny days, occasionally some rain
Summer :
- June, July, August
- hot…like more than 30 degrees Celsius hot, dry, no rains
Autumn :
- September, October, November
- feels more like Western European summer
April: 40% crowded – High Season – the beginning of the high season and most restaurants, beach bars, cafes and businesses open in April as it is also the Greek Easter and lots of Greeks visit the island to start preparing for the high season)
2.When it is crowded?
High season is the summer in the Greece.
mid June – mid- Sept
3. Do you need Visa for Greece?
US citizens : Don’t need to get Visa
Indian citizens (If you are staying in US) : Need Visa
SFO Greece Consulate : By appointment only (In person). Give enough time like at least 3 months during high season.
LA Consulate : Walk ins are allowed
4. Time difference from US
10 hrs ahead of US PST.
When planning think about
9:00 AM PST = 7:40 PM Greece time
11:00 PM PST = 9 AM Greece time
5. Transportation
It’s very easy to rent a car in Santorini and Mykonos. It’s also very economical to rent a car than taking taxi/bus.
6. Heard one thing not to miss is Moussaka.
Unfortunately Moussaka is made from beef and we asked in many restaurants for either chicken/lamb/egg plant and not lucky.
7. Hot water
You need to turn on the hot water heaters after you check in to apartments. It is recommended to turn off when you go out.
8. Vaccine
Travel Date : April 12, 2019 to April 20, 2019
