Trip Planning & Budget Tips

Best Time to Visit

Late May, June and September offer the same sunshine as peak summer with smaller crowds, shorter queues and noticeably lower prices on flights and hotels. July and August bring the heat, the crowds and the highest rates, especially on the islands.

Photo: Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0 (multi licensed, also GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0, 2.5, 2.0 and 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Eating Well Without Overpaying

A menu with photos and five languages parked on the busiest square is a reliable sign of tourist pricing. Walk a block or two off the main strip and look for a short, handwritten, Greek only menu instead.

Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0 (multi licensed, also GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0, 2.5, 2.0 and 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Dress Code for Churches & Monasteries

Shoulders and knees covered are the rule at most churches, but working monasteries are stricter and Meteora is the strictest of all: women need a skirt or dress below the knee, because trousers of any kind are not accepted, and men need long trousers, because shorts of any length are refused. Most of the Meteora monasteries lend wrap skirts at the entrance to women who arrive in trousers, but stock runs low in peak season and there is no equivalent loan for men, so it's safer to bring your own.

Photo: Takeaway (en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 (also offered under GFDL), via Wikimedia Commons

Budget Accommodation Strategy

Mix a couple of simple, family run rooms with one splurge night rather than paying mid range rates everywhere. Booking the islands in shoulder season, rather than peak summer, is the single biggest lever on the whole trip's cost.