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Best
Time to Travel To Greece
Conditions for travel to Greece are perfect between
Easter and mid-June and again from the end of August to mid-October.
Beaches and ancient Greek archaeological sites are relatively
uncrowded, public transportation operates on close to full schedules
and accommodations are cheaper and easier to find than in the
mid-June to end of August high season. Winter travel to Greece from
the middle of October through the beginning of April used to be
undesirable, but this is slowly changing because on the most popular
Greek islands some restaurants, hotels and bars remain open
year-round and the ski resorts on the Greek mainland do a thriving
business.
Climate charts:
Temperature,
Humidity, and
Sunshine
Official Country
Full Name
Hellenic Republic
Capital City
Athens
Area
131,940 sq km or
50,942 sq miles Population
10,668,000
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +2
(Typically 10 hours ahead of Los Angeles, 7 hours ahead of New York)
Daylight Saving
Start
Last Sunday in
March
Daylight Saving
End
Last Sunday in
October
Languages
Greek (official)
Modern (demotic)
Greek is the official language of the State. It derives from Ancient
Greek yet it has a much simplified grammar. It has absorbed many
words from its linguistic and cultural neighbours. Modern Greek
differs substantially from the purist 'Katharevousa', or cleansing
Greek, an artificially contrived variant which is closer to Ancient
Greek that was used at varying times in recent Greek history. While
Katharevousa is no longer used in everyday speech it still evident
on street signs and can cause occasional confusion for the tourist.
Religion
98% Greek
Orthodox (Christian), 1.3% Muslim, 0.7% other
Currency
Euro (€)
Electricity
220V 50 Hz
Electric Plug
Details
European plug
with two circular metal pins. The standard in Greece is 220V AC
(50Hz). Appliances from North America require a transformer and
British ones an adaptor.
Country Dialing Code
30
Public Holidays 2007
1
January: New Year's Day
6
January: Epiphany
19 February : Ash Monday
25 March: National Holiday
8
and 9 April : Easter
1
May : May Day
28 May : Whit Monday ( Holiday only for public sector)
15 August: Dormition (Assumption) of The Virgin
28 October: National Holiday
25 and 26 December: Christmas
Shopping
Greece is the ideal destination to shop for a wide variety of
products, catering to everybody’s tastes and wishes. Prices are very
reasonable in relation to product quality and visitors will be able
to find something for every budget.
Shops are open Monday through Friday from 09.00 till 14.30 and on
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday also from 17.30 through 20.30. On
Saturday shops open from 09.00 till 15.00, while they are closed on
Sunday. Supermarkets and kiosks may stay open till 22.00.
More specifically, in the centre of large urban areas as well as in
tourist areas, tourist shops and kiosks are open from early in the
morning till late at night, seven days a week.
Types of Accommodations
Most tourist lodging establishments have been recently renovated and
upgraded, thus boasting state-of-the-art facilities. These
establishments are licensed by the Greek National Tourist
Organisation (G.N.T.O.) and fall in the following categories:
-
Hotels (ordinary hotels,
traditional guesthouses, agrotourist lodgings, etc.).
-
Rooms to let
-
Apartments to let
-
Self-catering units (tourist
residences and villas)
-
Campsites
-
Youth hostels
Hotel
Classification
Hotels, as well
as rooms and apartments to let, are subject to a rating system
determined by the Greek National Tourist Organisation. In
particular, their classification is based on:
-
Class designation (old
rating system): Lux, A, B, C, D, E
-
Star ratings (new rating
system): 5*****, 4****, 3***, 2**, 1*
In terms of
technical specifications, it should be noted that class L (Deluxe)
hotels correspond to 5*****, A to 4****, B to 3***, C to 2**, and D
and E to 1*. Until completion of the new rating system, some hotels
will continue to feature the class-based designation, while others
will display star ratings. Thus, if you wish to search for a Deluxe
hotel, you should search both under Class L and 5*****
Temperature
Average temperatures (°C)
|
Athens |
Corfu |
Heraklion |
Rhodes |
Santorini |
Thessaloniki |
Serres |
| JAN |
10,3 |
9,7 |
12,1 |
11,8 |
11,2 |
5,0 |
3,9 |
| FEB |
10,7 |
10,3 |
12,3 |
12,0 |
11,2 |
6,6 |
6,2 |
| MAR |
12,4 |
12,0 |
13,6 |
13,6 |
12,6 |
9,7 |
9,6 |
| APR |
16,0 |
15,0 |
16,6 |
16,6 |
15,5 |
14,2 |
14,2 |
| ??Y |
20,7 |
19,6 |
20,3 |
20,6 |
19,1 |
19,4 |
19,6 |
| JUN |
25,1 |
23,8 |
24,3 |
24,7 |
23,3 |
24,2 |
24,3 |
| JUL |
27,9 |
26,4 |
26,1 |
26,9 |
25,4 |
26,5 |
26,3 |
| AUG |
27,7 |
26,2 |
26,0 |
27,0 |
24,8 |
25,9 |
25,3 |
| SEP |
24,2 |
22,7 |
23,4 |
24,6 |
22,5 |
21,7 |
21,6 |
| OCT |
19,4 |
18,4 |
20,0 |
20,6 |
19,0 |
16,1 |
15,5 |
| NOV |
15,5 |
14,3 |
16,7 |
16,5 |
15,4 |
11,0 |
9,2 |
| DEC |
12,2 |
11,2 |
13,9 |
13,4 |
12,7 |
6,8 |
5,0 |
Rainfall-Humidity
Relative humidity (%)
|
Athens |
Corfu |
Heraklion |
Rhodes |
Santorini |
Thessaloniki |
Serres |
| JAN |
68,9 |
74,8 |
68,0 |
70,6 |
71,6 |
75,8 |
77,1 |
| FEB |
68,3 |
74,1 |
66,2 |
69,8 |
70,9 |
73,0 |
71,7 |
| MAR |
68,3 |
73,0 |
66,1 |
69,0 |
72,3 |
72,9 |
68,9 |
| APR |
62,8 |
72,3 |
62,0 |
66,3 |
69,8 |
68,5 |
63,2 |
| MAY |
59,5 |
69,1 |
61,0 |
63,6 |
67,6 |
64,3 |
59,8 |
| JUN |
53,4 |
63,0 |
56,6 |
57,6 |
62,5 |
56,3 |
53,8 |
| JUL |
47,6 |
59,1 |
56,7 |
56,4 |
59,9 |
53,6 |
51,7 |
| AUG |
47,3 |
61,3 |
58,1 |
58,9 |
62,0 |
55,4 |
54,5 |
| SEP |
53,7 |
69,7 |
61,5 |
60,8 |
65,9 |
62,5 |
59,5 |
| OCT |
61,9 |
74,3 |
65,7 |
67,0 |
70,1 |
70,4 |
69,6 |
| NOV |
68,9 |
77,3 |
67,6 |
72,0 |
72,1 |
77,3 |
76,8 |
| DEC |
70,1 |
76,7 |
67,8 |
72,7 |
72,0 |
77,8 |
80,2 |
Sunshine
Average daily sunshine (in hours)
|
Athens |
Heraklion |
Rhodes |
Thessaloniki |
| JAN |
4.12' |
3.48' |
4.24' |
3.06' |
| FEB |
4.48' |
4.18' |
5.12' |
3.30' |
| MAR |
5.54' |
5.42' |
6.36' |
4.48' |
| APR |
7.42' |
7.36' |
8.00' |
6.48' |
| MAY |
9.24' |
9.42' |
10.00' |
8.06' |
| JUN |
11.12' |
11.42' |
11.42' |
9.54' |
| JUL |
11.42' |
12.00' |
12.06' |
10.30' |
| AUG |
11.00' |
11.12' |
11.30' |
9.30' |
| SEP |
9.12' |
9.24' |
10.06' |
7.42' |
| OCT |
6.42' |
6.24' |
7.48' |
5.18' |
| NOV |
5.06' |
5.00' |
5.54' |
3.54' |
| DEC |
3.54' |
3.54' |
4.30' |
3.18' |