F.A.Q

There may be a thought that Greece is an eternal summer time country, but this is not true! The change of seasons is really noticeable in Greece too, making it a great year-round destination, as the places to discover and the activities we love are different in every season.

The question is rather what is the best time for you to visit Greece! How you have dreamt it as regards the weather in relation to the activities that you would like to do.

So if you have the summertime dream and you love the warm weather, the sea, the sun and swimming, we propose the following seasons for you:

Continental Greece: June - September
Greek islands: mid-May - end of October
Crete: mid-April - mid of November

However, if you also enjoy winter activities or agrotourism, Greece has another magical side that will enchant you in the other seasons as well.

Average temperature of sea water in Celsius degrees

Average temperature of air in Celsius degrees

Athens

For travellers wanting to take a taste of Athens and its famous historical sites, a short 3-5 day trip is great!

Those wanting to visit Athens and combine some of the most important archaeological sites around (Delphes, Mycenes, Nafplie, Epidavros) at least a week will be needed to bring enough comfort in the experience. 

Crete, Peloponese, Continental Greece

To see the most important places in each of those areas, again at least a week is pretty ok as a minimum. If you could make it 10 days, it would be better and if you can stay at least 2 weeks, this would allow you to make a tour of the island. The general rule is “the more, the better”! Have in mind that their turbulent geological history, gave them a landscape so versatile that every corner you change the scenery changes. Discoveries here never end!

Greek islands

Give them at least a week! We bet you didn’t do all the way here to visit just one island. Besides, once you make the start, it’s hard to stop the “island hoping”! 

Counting that:

• moving from one island to another is basically done by boats;
• boats’ itineraries change depending the season

you need the perfect organization and a longer duration of your trip.

But again, minimum is relative!

Greece and Crete are amongst those destinations of many destinations, due to their varied natural and cultural landscapes. The more places one wants to explore, the more time they need.

As we believe that traveling is not a mission of running to see everything, but an experience that wants its own time, rhythm and comfort, certainly for those who have an exploratory mood and a great appetite to visit different places, the ideal minimum is two weeks (but again, the longer, the better, if you can make it!)

Well, at Petassos we love groups, but we do not do the ‘grouping’. We do plan and organise trips for groups already formed, of people already knowing each other and wanting to travel together with us.

Yes, you can travel without a guide even if you are not an English speaker. Out team can arrange everything needed for your trip (accommodation and other provisions such as rental of vehicle, escorts by guides or specialists, activities, etc.) to make this work. If you do not speak a word in English, just don’t forget to make a special note about that, so that we can organise the trip accordingly and make it easy for you. Although you will not need to talk in English, still being positive, communicative and using body language is always necessary while travelling!

If you are interested in visiting more classical destinations, such as major cities and the main archaeological sites, it is possible to do it without renting a car. You will not have a problem with transportation by bus, as the connections between central cities work very well, especially during the tourist seasons.

If you want to be moving a lot around the country and visit many places, then renting a car is definitely required, because distances are not insignificant and buses cannot serve your transportation needs in the context of a multi-day trip, except if you travel more than a month. Especially if you want to explore the hinterland of Greece, you will need to be fully autonomous. Bus itineraries between the big cities may be regular, but not between the villages, so the plan of moving around the hinterland of Greece by bus can easily turn into a nightmare. On the contrary, the autonomy of a car will add great fun and comfort to your explorations.

Most of travellers had heard and read that driving in Greece is difficult, but finally it turned out that it was not that bad and all could make it with ease! To help in your preparation, a month before your trip we send you a link with useful information we have collected about how to drive in Greece and Crete.

This car necessity doesn’t always apply for travelers who are interested in purely trekking trips, wanting to spend more time in the paths and the villages and the settlements on the way. Bear in mind that there are some marvelous areas in Greece and Crete (usually natural parks) where there are well organized networks of paths that allow trekkers to move from one village without any need of vehicle use. If this idea seems tempting to you, just ask us!

Definitely yes!

Petassos is part of a wide community that is active in many fields relating to the natural and cultural landscape of the areas of our interest. We have developed a network of specialists in environmental and human sciences, in crafts and arts, as well as of people engaged in traditional practices. Loving the great work of our passionate fellows, connecting people and communities and sharing knowledge and experiences, we will be more than happy to accommodate your particular interests during your trip.

Definitely ask us about that, so that we can try to organise something special!

Yes, it is a safe country to travel! No particular worries! 

Our activity is limited to organizing trips and accommodation services. We don’t deal with tickets because we would have to increase their cost, and we don’t want to do that.

Entrance tickets to organized sites are easy to find and can be also purchased on the spot, plus that by purchasing them by yourselves you may profit from special offers and discounts (children, students, elderly) that we may not be aware of. Also, more and more museums and organised sites are providing the possibility of electronic purchase of tickets. In these cases, this will be noted in your guide booklet!

Not really. If you are travelling with children, check our thematic programmes specially designed for families and children. These programmes aim to be interactive learning and fun experiences suitable for the curious and playful world of children, and connected to nature and outdoor action. When planning your trip with us, you will be provided with options and activities suitable for your team/family and the age of the children you will be with. 

In fact we avoid bogus folklore events that mostly feel as representations of social traditions and entertainment. We hate to turn a social practice associated with freedom, carefreeness and fun into a commodity and asking local people to do things that they wouldn’t normally do. If you want to see how people dance in Crete, for example, we will suggest you to go to a local festival in a village, join the actual event and the people and live it your way. We may also join you if we happen to be around!

Definitely there is. There are very good hospitals in all cities and there is a medical centre in each village for emergencies, easier access to care or for less serious issues. Pharmacies are easy to find everywhere.

Also, Greece now has rescue mechanisms and very well-trained teams for incidents in paths, gorges, caves and, generally, for emergencies in nature, to respond even in cases where there is technical difficulty. We are always in everyday contact with all our travellers by WhatsApp and we will be able to assist you in case anything happens.

No vaccine is necessary to travel to Greece, except from what applies according to COVID-19 travel regulations.

It is absolutely safe.

A travel agency is a facilitator to your exploration, helping you easily and smoothly deal with the challenges relating to what is unknown when visiting a new place and culture. At Petassos, we are happy to be making our living by becoming your fellow travellers, sharing our knowledge, experience and passion, ensuring a pleasant and safe travel experience. 

Travelling alone is great but only for people who are really accustomed to doing it so. This is also much easier when doing a more classical, mainstream trip. Especially for travellers seeking to explore many regions and unknown parts of a country and expand their experience off the beaten track, planning this through travel agencies is a good idea. Beyond travel planning, suggestions and provisions, what feels nicer is to have a trusted point of reference and support.  

Now, if you are wondering why to choose our team, click on the link below to see a small video we have made to help travellers understand how planning your trip with us is like.

Yes, definitely! Especially since we will be touch during the trip.

There are so many easy ways to try to book your flight and see directly the dates and prices that suit to you, however if you are having a hard time with this, we can help through a trustful agency that we cooperate with, dealing with and specializing only in flights. We don’t take any commission from this agency or you, travellers; we just do that to assist you in this part of organising the trip.

So, in case you want us to look for a flight, please send us the following info:

• Airport of departure
• Destination airport
• Flight date(s)
• Number of travelers
• Place of residence
• Exact full names of all travellers (Latin characters)
• Dates of birth of all travellers
• Passport number of all travellers
• Any luggage except from hand luggage, per person (additional luggage of 20 or more kilos costs more)

Our cooperator will look for flights in simple seat categories (not VIP seats).

We would like you to know that from our experience so far, we strongly recommend Aegean Airlines, because apart from being a very high standard company, communication and customer service is very easy and not impersonal.