Some more information and some hints and tips for getting here.....
Of course you do not have to be gay, or lesbian to be worried about this!
So just lately Greece has been getting some publicity and as we all know there is no such thing as bad publicity, (except your own obituary according to Brendan Behan), but in this case the publicity hasn't worked as well as we would hope !
According to my sources, Nexus, that runs gay cruises around the Aegean has cancelled one of its cruises because the passengers were concerned about 'the situation in Greece'.
Of course I do not know exactly what they mean by that, but then some people are very easily put off, so let's deal with the possible causes.
The economic 'situation' in Greece does not mean that Greece is closed for business, in fact internally everything is exactly the same as before! Yes we have had some increases in taxation with VAT (GST to some of you) rising by a massive 1%, yes ONE percent! Most places haven't bothered to even change the price lists as for, say, a long drink, (G & T, V & O, Metaxa & Coke), to put the price up by 4 to 6 cents is not really practical. And remember that spirit measures in Greece are unmeasured so for between €4-6 you are getting the equivalent of a treble in the UK! Good beer (Mythos 4.1% ABV) is still only around €3.50 - €4 for a large one too! And yes we have a 12.5% tax on mobile phone calls, but this hardly affects you as a visitor to Greece. For those that still smoke good, cigarettes are now €3.80 for a packet. For drivers, fuel prices are similar to those on mainland Europe, especially if you fuel up outside the main tourist areas!
Food prices and eating out are competitively priced compared to many other European countries, and unlike some you will have no unpleasant surprises when you come to pay your bill! Here on Crete you will almost always be given or offered raki and fruit at the end of your meal. In how many other European countries will you be given a free drink at the end of your meal, quite often after you have asked for, or even paid, your bill?
To put some more detail on the economic situation, the Greek Govt is running a large deficit, some of this is due to current international conditions, much is due to the poor record they have in collecting taxation, and some is probably still due to the Olympics (which are always wildly expensive to stage and do not really produce any additional foreign revenue to pay for themselves!). In fact the deficit it really no worse than in some other European countries, including the UK. What is making matters worse in Greece is the Government's apparant inability to collect taxes, and bearing in mind that things like water and electricity are still in the public sector, so even non-payment by consumers makes a difference to Government cash flow. (As an example here, when I bought Villa Ralfa in 2004, I discovered that the previous owner owed €1200 to the water company, a simple calculation showed that he had never paid a water bill since the house was built in 1991!)
The Government's response to the deficit has been to raise some taxes, cut wages in the public sector and increase pension age to 65, this has led to strikes and demonstrations. Some of these do lead to problems for travellers, for instance, air traffic controllers or immigration officials striking stops flights! But let's be honest what real effect does a strike by tax collectors or bank staff really have on visitors? The answer is none!!
Strikes by Customs also have little effect as we are part of the EU and visitors from other EU countries do not go through Customs as such.
Demonstrations have received much airtime internationally, but nothing has been made of the fact that these have taken place in Athens, in front of the Parliament building. But even so Athens is still open for business as the demonstrations are planned and announced in advance and any visitors need only check with their hotel front desk to find out where and when they are, and then plan to be somewhere else that day.
On the islands, parades and protests are virtually non-existent and here on Crete are only likely to take place in the capital Heraklion, which is hardly a Mecca for tourists except for visiting the museums.
Greece is still one of the safest countries in the world and is rarely a target for terrorism and has a low crime rate.
Generally strikes etc. take place on Thursdays, ergo, travel on a different day!
A small and slightly odd web site that has surprisingly accurate information on strikes, not just in Greece, (we are not alone!), can be found here Easy Travel Report
Many of the large travel companies seem to be limiting their exposure to Greece, I have even heard of one well known travel company advising visitors not to come to Greece, so for those who are 'hooked' on the 'package holiday' there may be only limited availability, but never fear, there are many opportunities for independent travellers to Greece and with accommodation available direct through the web it should not be difficult for prospective visitors to find readily available accommodation, as well as Villa Ralfa, of course!!
Remember too that travelling independently is better for the Greek economy as all of the money you spend on accommodation ends up in Greece, as most tour companies have their profit centres outside of Greece, but do ensure that you are booking with a locally owned and family run hotel or apartment business. Even better avoiding the large resort and all-inclusiv means you get to experience true Greek and especially Cretan hospitality.
So travelwise what have we got? Well forget about airfares for next to nothing! These days the price of aviation fuel is high and governments around the world have increased passenger duties and taxes in their greed for ever increasing revenue. Also bear in mind that Greece is a long way and is serviced by fewer airlines so you cannot compare the price of a flight from northern Europe to Spain for example because one is two hours flying time and Crete, Greece, for example is four hours!!
For travellers from the UK, expect to pay around 150GBP return including taxes, from Italy expect to pay around €160, both of these are for flights in July with Easyjet Easyjet also have flights in June from Berlin to Heraklion from €160
BOOK WISELY...BOOK EARLY is the slogan here, these budget flights fill up quickly and the prices rise the nearer you get to the departure date!!!
Aegean Airlines also have some very reasonable flights from various destinations around Europe in September and October bearing in mind that with Aegean you have to travel via Athens to get to Heraklion Crete, they have flights from Paris - CDG for €187 plus taxes. Aegean flights are of course scheduled flights and many of them run every day of the week!
Viking which used to only deal through agents and act as carriers for many package holiday companies, now take booking direct for flights from the UK and around Europe in general.
For a Europe-wide resource for budget flights to an from virtually everywhere then Attitude Travel still remains one of the best places to look first!
There are also some flight search engines on my web site at http://www.villaralfa.com/
If you want a round up of current news and possible strikes in Greece, the Athens News web site has much up to date information in English. For those looking for more news from Greece there is an English edition of Kathimerini here, or you can read the Greek version using the 'Google translate' toolbar, if you have it installed, here
Or you can read a local Cretan newspaper, Patris, here. This is only in Greek so you will need to have Google Translate, or something similar installed in your browser.
For those of you who have been to Greece and especially, Crete, before, remember all that sunshine, that crystal clear turquoise sea, the amazing scenery, the many thousands of years of history, the hospitality, the many small bars and restaurants serving traditional Cretan dishes from fresh produce? Isn't it time you came back?
For those who have never been before, well you do not know what you are missing! All of the things in the last paragraph for a start!
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