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Greece Travel / Political Travel / Tourism / Travel News / → All Tags

Smile, You're in Greece!

It’s not exactly a time to party over in Greece—at least for the country’s residents—due to the ongoing financial problems, bailouts, and other money misery. We’re hardly experts when it comes to the economic situation in the region, but we do know they’re going to get an influx of cash sooner than later. That’s because the tourists are getting ready to arrive, as the weather gets warmer and those Greek islands become more and more appealing.

Obviously buying up some souvenir t-shirts isn’t going to save the economy, but a little extra cash from a few tourists certainly won’t hurt. That’s just one of the reasons that the country’s prime minister is asking residents to pitch in, and to show a smiling face to greet those coming to visit Greece.

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Travel Cat / Rhodes Travel / Animals / Greece Travel / → All Tags

The Adventures of Travel Cat: Rhodes, Greece

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted at: Rhodes, Greece.

This week's Travel Cat is from Instagrammer @aksakosha, who spotted this puss doing what any other cat would naturally do in the same situation: pop a squat on a perch perfectly sized just for him.

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Greece Travel / Strikes / Athens Travel / Europe Travel / Tourism / Politics Travel / Travel Politics / Travel News / Tourism Industry / → All Tags

Major Strike (Intentionally) Grinds Greece Travel to a Halt

We hate getting involved in travel politics labor issues. We say things like 'hey, if your company or your country is in financial or economic trouble, maybe you should go to work,' which seems reasonable to us. You guys respond by yelling at us for - actual quote - "undermin[ing] the intrinsic and sacramental right for unions to strike or engage in collective bargaining." That's no fun for anyone.

That said, we'd be remiss if we didn't at least suggest the possibility that the 24 hour strike currently crippling Greece—which is specifically designed in part to disrupt travel and includes that country's civil aviation authority—is probably not going to help Greece's troubled economy.

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New Airlines / Airline News / Athens Travel / Greece Travel / ATH / SkyGreece Airlines / → All Tags

SkyGreece Airlines. New, Non-Stop and Not Yet Flying. Let's Talk About That.

Your future vacation to the Greek Isles just got a little bit easier, as it looks like a new carrier has its sights on non-stop flights in and out of Greece. Sure there are seasonal non-stops for when the weather is warmer, but year-round options just aren’t available. That might not be the case for much longer thanks to this new airline with a new vision.

SkyGreece Airlines is based out of Canada—not Greece—and they're looking to link Athens with both Canada and the United States sooner than later. Obviously there’s still plenty to do before the flying fun begins, but if all goes according to plan they’re thinking planes will take to the air as soon as May of 2013. Nonstop options will depart and arrive from spots like Toronto and Montreal, as well as New York and Chicago.

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Greece Travel / Greek Islands / Mykonos Travel / Island Travel / Travel Tips / Road Trips / Scootering / → All Tags

Awesome and Affordable Scootering on Mykonos

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

We've heard it before and, heck, we've even uttered it ourselves. And that's just what we did when we were in, well, Greece. After arriving on Mykonos, we saw heaps of scooters going every which way and it looked like the best way to experience the island.

Locals have the right idea to get around the island, navigating narrow laneways. A sputtering scooter turns a trip around the island for a gliko frappe or a spanakopita into a lickety-split affair. You not only get to see a lot more than just one city, but you'll escape the hordes of tourists all looking for tacky souvenirs at the same shops.

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Travel Cat / Animals / Mykonos Travel / Greece Travel / → All Tags

The Adventures of Travel Cat: Mykonos, Greece

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: Mykonos, Greece.

This week's Travel Cat comes from Instagrammer @bollozos, who spotted this tired orange cat atop one of the whitewashed walls that so typify the Greek island. He totally needs to send a postcard to these cats.

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Travel Cat / Animals / Greece Travel / Santorini Travel / → All Tags

The Adventures of Travel Cat: Santorini, Greece

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: Santorini, Greece.

This week's Travel Cat is from Jaunted reader Amanda Abrams, who tweeted this photo to us of "cats having a conversation in Santorini, Greece." It's quadruple the Travel Cat fun this week! You can follow Amanda's adventures both in and out of her home country of Canada on Twitter, as ACityMouse.

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Greece Travel / Greece / Athens Travel / Bulgaria / Bulgaria Travel / Europe Travel / Tourism / Political Travel / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Protesters Shutting Down Greek Travel Attractions, Tourists Shifting To Bulgaria Instead

When we suggested taking advantage of Greek labor instability by scooping up cheap Athens hotel deals, that was premised on the idea that protesters would mostly ignore tourists. Certainly we never imagined that they'd actively try to ruin the Greek tourism industry, which powers almost one-fifth of the country's economy. Oops.

Last Wednesday and Thursday 150 protesters shut down the Acropolis, the ancient religious sanctuary-global tourist mega-attraction that rises above Athens. They didn't think they were getting enough money, so they wanted to make sure that tourist-dependent hotels and restaurants didn't get any either (we're paraphrasing, but only a little bit). Keep in mind these were government workers who shut down the site, not the usual hodgepodge of anarchists who normally get the blame for ruining everybody's fun. Government workers from the Culture Ministry no less, who are in charge of bringing tourists into contact with Greek's historical treasures, the Acropolis included.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Greece Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: Wafer Cookies. It's a Greek Thing.

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Week after week of Foreign Grocery Friday, we get emails from you all requesting a feature on Tim Tams from Australia. First, we need to get our hands on some since we're not currently in Australia. Second, we've learned something from all this: everyone loves cookies of all shapes and sizes. So today we're looking at Greece and their fascination with wafer cookies in particular. The most prevalent brand is the gold-wrapped Chocofreta, our highlighted item today.

The Taste: Chocofretas are your typical wafer cookie, but far heavier on the milk chocolate than the wafer. And boy is the chocolate milky and quick to melt in your hands. Chocofretas are an ideal sweet treat after a quick meal. Think a casual, everyday lunch or an al fresco bite from a local coffeeshop. They do provide the needed crunch, but are deceptively light; a single bar is 207 calories.

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Crimes / Greece Travel / Death / Thanatourism / Tourists / Souvenirs / → All Tags

Sound Advice: Do Not Buy Skulls as Trip Souvenirs

If it looks like a skull, feels like a skull and probably smells like a skull, do everyone a favor and don't buy it as a souvenir of your trip, okay? We wish that two young tourists to the Greek island of Mykonos had figured this out when they purchased six human skulls and tried to transport back to the US through Athens International Airport. Of course they were stopped at security when the scanners revealed the skulls in their carry-on baggage, and the two were taken into custody.

Despite the claims that the tourists believed the skulls to be fake when they purchased them from a souvenir shop on the island, MSNBC reports that the airport summoned a coroner, who confirmed that they were indeed actual human remains. The consequences: the travelers were charged with "desecrating the dead."

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Europe Travel / Euro / Greece Travel / Spain Travel / Portugal Travel / Money / Political Travel / Italy Travel / Bulgaria Travel / Romania Travel / → All Tags

Where to Find the Best Euro-Driven Travel Discounts

We've emphasized before that, especially if your travel plans are flexible, you should strongly consider going to Greece. The economic turmoil has caused tourism to plummet, and prices have declined accordingly. But Greece's problems are the Eurozone's problems, which means that there are also macroeconomic issues driving the Euro down relative to the dollar.

Not to be too callous on the point, but Europe's woes are creating some fairly interesting options for American tourists. Portuguese hoteliers have been sending up red flags about the state of their tourism industry, and even government officials have begun to pay attention. The exact same logic holds for Italy: dependent on tourism, and in a broad economic slump that makes it highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the Euro. And by "vulnerable" we mean "welcoming," and by "fluctuations in the Euro" we mean "tourists."

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Political Travel / Bangkok Travel / Thailand Travel / Travel Alerts / Greece Travel / → All Tags

Thailand Tourism Bottoming Out in Midst of Mass Rioting

Sometimes mild political turmoil causes travelers to needlessly panic, with sensational news coverage making people think that a crisis is much worse than it is. Those people cancel their vacations, and the resulting drop in tourism opens up great travel deals for the rest of us. That's what's happening with Greece travel right now.

But sometimes spiraling political turmoil causes travelers to correctly panic, with accurate news coverage signaling to people that they need to get the hell out of wherever they are. Those people cancel their vacations, but under no circumstances should you consider taking advantage of the resulting drop in tourism. That's what's happening with Thailand travel right now. Bangkok is in the midst of some of the very worst rioting in the city's modern history. 1,800 people have been injured, and just on Wednesday nine people were killed after they took sanctuary in a temple. The result for the tourism industry, which accounts for 15% Thailand's jobs? Almost $4 billion in losses and still counting.

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