In this installment of our guide to holidays in Greece we look at the transportation on offer there...
It is inexpensive and easy to hire a car or moped in Greece. All you need is an internationally recognized driving license and a passport. Prices per day start at about $40 for a car and $15 for a moped - but make sure the quoted price includes all insurance and taxes. Hiring a vehicle offers the freedom to travel where you please. Most roads are good, but be careful in some parts of rural Greece or on the islands as some roads in these areas can be narrow and poorly maintained.
Greece's superb 'KTEL' (intercity) bus system lets you travel easily anywhere on the mainland. It's great value for money and lets you visit parts of Greece that you would otherwise never get to see. But the system was designed for locals, not tourists, so you might run into some language problems. However, most young Greeks have a little English and you will probably find one is willing to assist you.
Taxis are readily available and reasonably priced, and by law every cab must have a meter. Tipping isn't customary, but continuing to pick up passengers until the taxi is full is a local custom. So you can flag cab that already has passengers as long as they are going in the same direction that you want to travel. On the islands and in the cities, most - but not all - drivers will speak some English.
Getting to the islands requires either a boat ride or a short flight. For islands further away, you can fly to them (many islands have airports) from Athens or Thessaloniki; the distances within Greece are small, so even the furthest destination is less than an hour flight.
When travelling to islands close to the mainland, ferries - which run regularly throughout the day - are the best option. But these trips can be more time-consuming than you first expect as the ferries will make multiple stops on various islands.
It is inexpensive and easy to hire a car or moped in Greece. All you need is an internationally recognized driving license and a passport. Prices per day start at about $40 for a car and $15 for a moped - but make sure the quoted price includes all insurance and taxes. Hiring a vehicle offers the freedom to travel where you please. Most roads are good, but be careful in some parts of rural Greece or on the islands as some roads in these areas can be narrow and poorly maintained.
Greece's superb 'KTEL' (intercity) bus system lets you travel easily anywhere on the mainland. It's great value for money and lets you visit parts of Greece that you would otherwise never get to see. But the system was designed for locals, not tourists, so you might run into some language problems. However, most young Greeks have a little English and you will probably find one is willing to assist you.
Taxis are readily available and reasonably priced, and by law every cab must have a meter. Tipping isn't customary, but continuing to pick up passengers until the taxi is full is a local custom. So you can flag cab that already has passengers as long as they are going in the same direction that you want to travel. On the islands and in the cities, most - but not all - drivers will speak some English.
Getting to the islands requires either a boat ride or a short flight. For islands further away, you can fly to them (many islands have airports) from Athens or Thessaloniki; the distances within Greece are small, so even the furthest destination is less than an hour flight.
When travelling to islands close to the mainland, ferries - which run regularly throughout the day - are the best option. But these trips can be more time-consuming than you first expect as the ferries will make multiple stops on various islands.
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