Budget Travel - Greece April-May

Hi

Im currently studying in Europe and am going to meet my friend in Paris. From there we want to go to Greece. What is the best means to go about that? We were thinking of taking a plane to Rome for about $30 US and then take a 7 day cruise around the Greek islands for about $850 US a person. I'm thinking that thats super pricey and it might be cheaper to go about doing it by ourselves?

Any suggestions? I know there are ferries between the greek islands but I have no idea what they cost each, where to stay, where to go, and most importantly how to get to greece in general. If you can't tell, I'm completely new to this whole "traveling by myself" thing.

Thanks!

Hi

Im currently studying in Europe and am going to meet my friend in Paris. From there we want to go to Greece. What is the best means to go about that? We were thinking of taking a plane to Rome for about $30 US and then take a 7 day cruise around the Greek islands for about $850 US a person. I'm thinking that thats super pricey and it might be cheaper to go about doing it by ourselves?

Any suggestions? I know there are ferries between the greek islands but I have no idea what they cost each, where to stay, where to go, and most importantly how to get to greece in general. If you can't tell, I'm completely new to this whole "traveling by myself" thing.

Thanks!

It's simple really.
You find the cheapest flight available to Athens airport.
You get a bus from the airport to Pireaus Harbour and you catch anyone of a large number of ferries that head off each day to the islands.
When you reach an island that takes your fancy you get off the ferry and you'll be met by loads of people offering you cheap accommodation.
You eat,you drink,you sing,you dance and then when you get bored you go to the harbour and get the next ferry that comes along.
Here are a couple of websites - I recommend you buy the Greek island hopping book on Amazon.
Enjoy.

www.greektravel.com/
www.greekislandhopping.com

do you think that spending 1000 including stay and transport and food on a cruise is a little pricey? do you think its more worth it for me to go venture on my own?? how much would you say i would spend for 7 days including hostels/ferries/flights etc etc?

do you think that spending 1000 ...

Sounds pricy to me. As mentioned in the second post, lots of ferries, not that expensive.

OTOH, if it's a first time, do your homework.

I suggest looking at Lonely Planet's Thorntree, lots of good advice there.

Also may want to invest in a good travel guide that specializes in low cost travel. Check out this forum's favorite travel items sticky thread.

EmailKid

I completely agree with ShowBizGuru's thoughts.

You should be able to secure perfectly comfortable hotel rooms for about 25 - 40 euros/night on the Greek islands. Prices are cheaper prior to the middle of June, and peak during the months of July and August. If you eat in restaurants, food may be your biggest expense. But you can always cut this cost with grocery stores.

You will find the cost of most ferry trips to be in the 25 euro range, depending on the length of the trip. Your most expensive ferries will probably be to and from the port city of Pireaus

The cheapest way to Greece is usually Aegean Airlines. They fly to Athens from a number of cities in Germany and Italy. Also check with Lufthansa. I recently saw a $120 rt fare from Frankfurt to Athens.

Independent travel is definitely the way to go in Greece. You can do the "classic" historical trip of ancient Greek ruins (Crete, Delos/Mykonos, Rhodes), or hit the big party islands (Mykonos, Kos, Ios,), or go for the scenery (Santorini) and beaches of Naxos and Paros.

As your talking only eight days, my recommendation would be to focus one "group" of islands....choosing between the Ionian, Cyclades, or the Dodecanese. That way you do not lose too much time in ferry transit.

thank you all for all your great advice. I am definitely going to look into it. my only concern is safety since it will only be me and my girlfriend but i definitely am going to look into it more!

Thanks

thank you all for all your great advice. I am definitely going to look into it. my only concern is safety since it will only be me and my girlfriend but i definitely am going to look into it more!

Thanks

The Greek Islands are probably one of the safest places in the world to travel and the Greeks are very friendly people - particularly at that time of year when the tourist season hasn't kicked off.
Violent crime is almost unheard of except between drunken tourists.
If you want to spend 1600 dollars on a cruise then all your going to see is a trypical cruise itinerary of tourists traps.
I think you need to be a little adventurous for once,my friend !

Unless you're elderly or have difficulty with mobility, I don't think a cruise is the best way to see Greece. All the above advice is perfect because it will immerse you into the culture! www.greektravel.com is a great resource - we used one of the recommended guides, and it was fun. Athens isn't super cheap, but has stupendous sights, so spend a couple days there. The islands should offer bargains at the time of year you're going. Safety was never a concern when we took our young kids there 3 years ago, so I don't think you and GF need to worry. Just be sensible.

For flights, Lufthansa can have some good deals, or try skyscanner - can't recall if that's .net or .com.

Have fun!