Hellenic Republic
Area: 131,990 sq km
Population: 11,216,708
Population density: 84 per sq km
Capital: Athens
Area: 131,990 sq km
Population: 11,216,708
Population density: 84 per sq km
Capital: Athens
Greece country information
Passport & visa | Getting there | Cycling & maps | Cost of living | Accommodation | Food | Bike shops | Climate | Distances
Passport & Visa
| Passport Required? | |
|---|---|
| British | Yes |
| Australian | Yes |
| Canadian | Yes |
| USA | Yes |
| Other EU | 1 |
| Visa Required? | |
| British | No/2 |
| Australian | No |
| Canadian | No |
| USA | No |
| Other EU | No/2 |
Passports
Passport required by all
except:
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Passports must be valid for the following durations:
(a) British and EU (excluding Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) passports must be valid for length of intended stay.
(b) Australian, Canadian, USA and excluded EU passports must be valid for at least three months beyond length of stay.
Note: EU and EEA nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed.
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Passports must be valid for the following durations:
(a) British and EU (excluding Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) passports must be valid for length of intended stay.
(b) Australian, Canadian, USA and excluded EU passports must be valid for at least three months beyond length of stay.
Note: EU and EEA nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed.
Passport Note
Greece is
a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.
Visas
Not required
by all nationals referred to in the chart above
for the following durations:
(a) nationals of EU countries for an unlimited period;
(b) nationals of Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Romania and the USA for stays of up to 90 days.
Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements.
(a) nationals of EU countries for an unlimited period;
(b) nationals of Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Romania and the USA for stays of up to 90 days.
Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements.
Visa Note
(a) 2.
EU nationals staying more than 90 days or for
employment (including establishing a business,
trade, profession or commercial activity) have
to apply in person to the consulate general of
Greece for a national visa; (b) Greece refuses
admission and transit to holders of travel documents
issued by the area of Cyprus not controlled by
the Government of Cyprus, and holders of UN laissez-passers;
(c) Some nationals may have to register with the
Aliens Department of the nearest police station
within 48 hours of arrival. Contact the nearest
embassy/consulate to determine whether this is
necessary prior to travel.
Types of Visa and Cost
National visa: £30.
Working Days Required
Three to 14, dependent upon
nationality.
Getting there
Getting There by Air
The national airline is Olympic
Airlines (OA) (website:
www.olympicairlines.com
).
Approximate Flight Times
From London
to Athens is 4 hours; and from New
York is 13 hours.
Main Airports
Athens
(ATH) (Elfetherios Veniselos) (website:
www.aia.gr
) is located 33km (23 miles) northeast of the
city. To/from the airport:
There is a six-lane motorway linking the city
and the airport, and regular airport buses run
24 hours from the centre and the port of Piraeus.
In addition, metro line 3 has been extended
so that some trains run between Monastiraki
in the city centre and the airport. Facilities:
Duty-free shops, car hire, banks, ATMs, bureaux
de change, bar and restaurant facilities, post
office, business centre and hotel.
Thessaloniki (SKG) (Macedonia) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach and taxi services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shops, restaurants, bars, banks/bureaux de change, car hire and a post office.
Corfu (CFU) (Kerkira) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach, taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, cafe, bar and car hire.
Rhodes (RHO) (Paradisi) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Coach, taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change, cafe and bar.
Departure Tax: €12.
Heraklion (HER) (N. Kazantzakis) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change and bar.
Thessaloniki (SKG) (Macedonia) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach and taxi services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shops, restaurants, bars, banks/bureaux de change, car hire and a post office.
Corfu (CFU) (Kerkira) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach, taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, cafe, bar and car hire.
Rhodes (RHO) (Paradisi) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Coach, taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change, cafe and bar.
Departure Tax: €12.
Heraklion (HER) (N. Kazantzakis) is 3km (2 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Taxi and local bus services are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank, bureau de change and bar.
Departure Tax
€12.
Getting There by Water
Main ports: Corfu,
Heraklion, Igoumenitsa,
Patras, Piraeus
(Athens) and Rhodes.
International car ferry lines
link Patras and Igoumentisa with Ancona, Bari,
Brindisi and Venice in Italy year round, and
there are also summer services from Corfu to
these ports. There is also a service between
Rhodes and Marmaris in Turkey.
Major ferry operators covering
the international routes are Superfast
(tel: 210 891 9000; website:
www.superfast.com
), Minoan (tel: 210 920 0020; website:
www.minoan.gr
) and ANEK (tel: 210 323 3481; website:
www.anek.gr
).
Greek ports (notably Piraeus, Corfu, Santorini,
Mykonos, Rhodes and Heraklion) are used by a
number of cruise lines.
Other useful links:
Ferry
crossings to and from Italy, Turkey and Greek
islands
Open
Seas booking of ferry crossings, airline
tickets etc
Getting There by Rail
The national
railway company is Hellenic Railways Organisation
Ltd (OSE) (website:
www.ose.gr
; tel: 1110). A good way to travel from the UK
is to take the Eurostar through the channel
tunnel, from London to either Brussels or Paris,
both of which have onward connections to Greece.
For further information and reservations, contact
Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, within
the UK or +44 1233 617 575, outside the
UK; website:
www.eurostar.com
) or Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064,
within the UK; website:
www.raileurope.co.uk
).
Rail Passes
InterRail:
offers unlimited first- or second-class travel
in up to 30 European countries for European residents
of over six months with two pass options. The
Global Pass is available in
durations of one month and 22 days for those looking
to travel continuously; otherwise there are passes
that allow for 5 days of travel to be used over
a ten-day period or a ten-day pass to be used
over a period of 22 days. Each pass is valid across
all countries.
The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days to be taken in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail ).
Eurailpass: the global Eurail pass offers unlimited train travel in 20 European countries. Select, regional (Greece is grouped with Italy) and one-country Eurail passes are also available. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com ).
The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days to be taken in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail ).
Eurailpass: the global Eurail pass offers unlimited train travel in 20 European countries. Select, regional (Greece is grouped with Italy) and one-country Eurail passes are also available. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com ).
Getting There by Road
It is possible
to ferry cars and caravans across to one of the
major ports of entry. Points of overland entry
are from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
via Evzoni, and Niki; from Bulgaria via Promahonas
or Kastanies and Kipi. From Serbia, the route
is via Italy (Trieste), Austria (Graz) and Belgrade.
The journey from northern France to Athens is
over 3,200km (2,000 miles). For car ferry information,
see Getting There By Water.
Bus: There are routes from Athens via Thessaloniki to cities in Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Information and bookings are available from the Hellenic Railways Organisation Ltd (OSE) (website: www.ose.gr ; tel: 1110), which operates international coach services.
Bus: There are routes from Athens via Thessaloniki to cities in Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Information and bookings are available from the Hellenic Railways Organisation Ltd (OSE) (website: www.ose.gr ; tel: 1110), which operates international coach services.
Cycling & Maps
  |
Road Editions (a Greek company) publishes several detailed maps of Greece. We used this one, because it has all of Greece on it. Recommended by Lonely Planet. Available at bookshops around Greece. |
  |
These maps are available at bookshops around Greece. Note: they are pricey! |
Greece Road MapCost of living
Greece:
all prices in European Euros (€)
TIP: Did you know that most of the museums and sites are open to the public on Sundays and that they are free on that day?! A bit of sightseeing planning can safe you enough euros for a nice evening out!
| drinks and snacks | food: local markets; restaurants; and stores |
||||
| water (mineral)
|
1 litre
1 litre 500ml 1.5 litre |
0.75
0.85 0.75 1.40 |
bread loaf-white
|
700g
800g |
2.20
3.30 |
| veggie restaurant
fries/salad/roast veggies mid range restaurant pizza-takeaway |
meal + salad
big serve meal + wine med |
7-10.00
2.50-4.50 15.00 6.00+ |
|||
| beer-local
wine |
500ml
750ml |
0.75
2.50+ |
|||
| tea
coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee-ground Magnum icecream |
20 bags
per cup 125g 500g each |
1.50
2.25 2.75 6.20 tba |
dolma or jumbo beans
tinned tomatoes rice (white) pasta eggs |
160g can
250g kg 500g per 10 |
0.90
0.80 2.70 0.54 2.00 |
| milk
yoghurt / curd cheese (hard) cheese (feta) |
1.5 litre
200g kg kg |
1.65
0.50 5.50+ 4.30-7.50 |
potatoes
onions tomatoes green beans |
kg
kg kg kg |
1.20
0.40 1.20 2.50 |
| kalamata olives
chips chips-tortilla salted peanuts dried apricots |
kg
200g pack 200g pack kg kg |
4.50
1.90 1.65 tba tba |
apples
oranges bananas pears |
kg
kg kg kg |
1.50
0.65 1.25 1.15 |
| cornflakes
chocolate biscuits-plain biscuits-chocolate |
375g pack
100g block 130g pack 200g pack |
2.20
0.75 0.85 1.45 |
pineapple (can)
oil (olive) |
500g can
500ml |
1.55
1.80 |
| peanut paste
chocolate spread honey |
500g jar
600g jar 400g |
2.70
2.80 4.20 |
|||
| accommodation | personal | ||||
| budget city hostel
budget city hotel |
12-15.00 per dorm bed
35-50.00 double with ensuite |
deodorant - roll-on
|
50ml
150g bar 200ml each 75ml 5 pack 8 pack |
3.20
1.05 2.30 1.20 1.20 3.40 1.90 |
|
| camping
municipal wild camping |
10.00+ per tent + 2 persons
|
||||
| internet | 3.00+ per hour | ||||
| *
tba = price to be announced
* January 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 0.79 EUR all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Greece. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury. |
Source: www.exchange-rates.org |
TIP: Did you know that most of the museums and sites are open to the public on Sundays and that they are free on that day?! A bit of sightseeing planning can safe you enough euros for a nice evening out!
Accommodation
Want
to find a camping in Greece? Try these first:
campingclub.gr
greecetravel.com/campsites
camping-in-greece.gr
travelling.gr/camping
Thessaloniki-Bikers is
a refuge for travellers who are cycling through
Greece. Not only does it provide good budget
accommodation, facilities and information, but
it is the place for cyclists to meet and share
cycling tips of their travel across Europe. Located
near the waterfront it makes for a good base
for exploring Thessaloniki on bicycle. There
is also free and secure parking for your bicycles
as well as free bike rental for city-touring.
Included in the price of just 15 euros per person
per night is your linen, laundry facilities and
24 hours hot water. E-mail them or look them up,
if you are passing through Thessaloniki.
