I’m looking to take a trip some where at the end of summer. Where it’s still warm but the end of the tourist season. I see people going to Greece in Santorini or one of those islands and it looks nice and all. But what is there to actually do? I’m also not really sure what authentic greek food is like, I personally don’t like cucumbers in a meal and not a fan of the yogurt sauce. But i have not tried authentic greek food.
Also, people say it’s cheap. I’m looking at the prices of hotels, it’s at least 4k Euros for 5 nights at a good hotel close to the sea. The thing I realized traveling in Europe is, hotels are ridiculously expensive, often not really that nice even at 4-5 stars, old in a bad way and small. Really really small. Especially the beds. European King is like a US full size.
The only thing that is cheap is the flight. I don’t know how restaurant prices are there. I bet it is cheap in non tourist places but I have a feeling vacation spots are going to be expensive.
Feel free to throw out other options. @gain how was Istanbul?
It’s most expensive in the islands, middling in Athens, and cheaper in the north. Keep in mind that June-August is peak tourism season. You’ll get better prices and fewer crowds outside of this window.
Flights to and from the islands are cheap, and intercity bus transportation is cheap and convenient on the Greek mainland.
It really is a fantastic place to visit. I went to Santorini, Athens, Meteora, and Thessaloniki (the latter mainly as a hub to continue on to other parts of the Balkans). An unforgettably amazing experience.
Greece is a bit overrated. Try Italy instead. Lots of nice beaches, especially in the South. And fantastic lifestyle with great food, excellent coffee and fantastic wine.
It was great. The traffic was a mess but everything else was amazing. I felt safer there than in Paris or Rome and it was incredibly cheap.
Greece is ridiculously expensive in summer. You might want to wait till October or next year. I know someone who went in April and it wasn’t expensive at all.
Istanbul is a fantastic city to visit and as the Turkish lira is in the doldrums its cheap. Many cultures meet here, christian, jewish, islamic so some great sites. Also the Turkish rivera coast has great beaches, good hotels and cheap beer and food.
How did you get around? They have Uber? I enjoy Turkish food so it’s appealing to me. Although the south of Italy sounds nice, I’m honestly hoping to eat something other than Italian food on vacation.
I figured that. Maybe I will look a bit farther down the date I originally planned. I don’t have a set time so it’s doable if the weather is still warm.
I only stayed on the European side and I used trams and the subway. They cover pretty much all the tourist attractions. A ride is 2.6 lira = 13 NTD. I was shocked by how cheap it was.
It’s also possible to walk but the traffic isn’t the best. It’s extremely conjested, the city is pretty hilly and the roads are poorly designed. I never used Uber and all the information I could find online advised against taxis. I guess they aren’t exactly the most reliable.
The food is great and cheap. Even fancy restaurants are not that expensive. Pide is amazing and there’s a lot of seafood available.