Holidaying In Greece

[longshot]

This may seem like a dumb thing to ask but I am off on holiday to Greece (Paxos specifically) in a week's time and I am not sure what to expect considering the current financial crisis they are going through.

Has anyone been on holiday there this year?
Has the price of anything changed dramatically?
Has day to day life stayed the same?

As said, it may seem like a dumb thing to ask, but I really don't know what to expect and hope that things are going to just the way they usually are.

Thanks.

[YRRunner]

longshot said:

This may seem like a dumb thing to ask but I am off on holiday to Greece (Paxos specifically) in a week's time and I am not sure what to expect considering the current financial crisis they are going through.

Has anyone been on holiday there this year?
Has the price of anything changed dramatically?
Has day to day life stayed the same?

As said, it may seem like a dumb thing to ask, but I really don't know what to expect and hope that things are going to just the way they usually are.

Thanks.

On the outer islands you will notice nothing really by way of austerity measures, they pretty much take care of themselves self sufficiency wise and although they will tell you stories of how bad it is, most of them don't care too much. Athens and other major cities on the mainland it's different. Remember the cuts and measures are predominntly to the public sector workers so hardly effects the islanders in truth. I'm not long back from Kefalonia and Rhodes and saw very little to suggest there was a decline there, on the contrary, you see all the money they borrowed from the EU in new roads, bridges and infastructure in general. Signs everywhere displaying how many millions of euros were spent on this bridge and that school.
You have little to worry about on Paxos... Perhaps just the likely occurence of baggage handlers or air traffic control going on strike!

[Blown2CV]

Try the stuffing, it's great

[otherman]

I agree. All the unrest is on the mainland and then mostly confined to Athens. In the islands they talk about the mainland like its a foreign country.

[longshot]

Thanks for the replies, I feel re-assured.

[ChrisBMW]

The only thing that may affect you on the islands is if they go on strike again, it will affect air traffic control in the whole of Greece.

We just made it in tow years ago, we landed 30 minutes before the place went on strike for 48 hours. If we had of been 30 minutes longer we would have been turned back, also don't expect everything to be cheap we found it to be on a par with anywhere else in Europe for eating out etc.

[prand]

ChrisBMW said:

also don't expect everything to be cheap we found it to be on a par with anywhere else in Europe for eating out etc.

First of all - lucky, lucky you going to Paxos - it is a great destination and worth the extra hassle of getting there. Over recent years, and this isn't austerity related (more to do with levelling out across Europe with the Euro and the weakness of the GBP) we have found Greece become quite expensive - and as above more in line with the rest of Europe.

Paxos isn't a cheap island anyway - but no worse than the UK, if you really want cheaper try Croatia or bad bits of Zakynthos!

As for going to Paxos, apart from keeping an eye on general strikes affecting air travel, I really wouldn't worry about it there one bit. I would expect some traders to put prices up and perhaps some smaller boats moored in Gaios harbour this year, but it's really going to be business as usual for the tourist trade.

We're to Lefkada in a few weeks and we've noticed that there seem to be a lot of bookings still available around the Ionian islands and a feelign that proces for villas etc are down on recent years.