Honeymoon in Greece HELP!

CountrieBum

So we have an awesome Honeymoon planned, 9 days in Ireland and then wisking ourselves away to Greece for 10 days 2 days in Athens, 3 days in Mykonos, and 4 days in Santorini. The plane tickets are done, hotels picked out, just need to book them. I was about to book them yesterday when I saw the major riots that happened in Athens and Corfu. 

First thought was "we can't go there, its too violent now." So we started to look around for another place to go, and to be quite honest even the French Riviera didn't have the magic that Greece did to us. So now we are torn, go to Greece and risk going while there is a political uprising, but its the history and the beauty that make us want to go SOOO badly. Not to mention the hubby is Greek, OR do I book something like Venice Italy, and know that it isn't what we wanted but we are safer? 

The hard part is spending the money on something we aren't SUPER excited for, but for peasce of minds sake is it worth it? 

Anyone have any ideas, thoughts, been in a similar situation? Thanks! 

ItalyAsh

It is a tumultuous time for Greece to be sure.  This unrest has been going on for a while now.  I don't know that it would affect you - sometimes what they show on TV is highly sensationalized and once you are away from the city center where the rioting is, you will not even know it is going on. I know that this is like burying your head in the sand but it is your honeymoon!  If it is going to cause you stress however, you might want to consider something else. Have you thought of the Amalfi Coast and Capri?  I can give you some advice on that area if you are interested. PM me if you would like. 

Good luck!

ItalyAsh

It is a tumultuous time for Greece to be sure.  This unrest has been going on for a while now.  I don't know that it would affect you - sometimes what they show on TV is highly sensationalized and once you are away from the city center where the rioting is, you will not even know it is going on. I know that this is like burying your head in the sand but it is your honeymoon!  If it is going to cause you stress however, you might want to consider something else. Have you thought of the Amalfi Coast and Capri?  I can give you some advice on that area if you are interested. PM me if you would like. 

Good luck!

aloisk57

I would also recomment Cinque Terre...it's supposed to be ridiculous.  We're making a stop there on our little European tour.

Honestly, there is unrest in a lot of places and I think you'll be fine in Greece.  I know some friends who went there and they were out at a restaurant.  They had finished their meals and wanted to leave when the manager brought them a free round of drinks for no reason.  They graciously accepted, and later found out that it was because there was some huge protest going on in the streets, and the restaurant manager wanted to keep them out of harms way.

I think the people of Greece will take care of you.  Just be aware of the situation and don't put yourself in dangers way.

amys325

Since you are only planning on 2 days in Athens, I wouldn't really worry about it. 

My H and I just spent a week there for our HM (started in Italy for a week) and we spent 2 days in Athens and besides a strike on the train system, everything was fine.

And the island aren't affected by the politics that Athens is. 

I say book it, get travel insurance in case you are that worried and enjoy.  Greece is amazing and I can't wait to go back!

snoangel79

I wouldn't worry about the islands being a big issue, I'd worry about Athens. Obviously your plane stuff too if there's a strike. We went to Greece in Sept 2010 and this stuff was going on, we spent two nights in Athens and the rest in Santorini. Didn't have an issue, but I could see Athens being scary getting out of hand. I doubt you'd have any issues on the islands though! Did you book through a travel agent? We went through Petros at Hellenic and I know this concerned me back when we went, he was going to re-route us just to santorini if there was an issue.

Santorini was a dream btw, and the people are amazing! The riots usually happen in Constitution Square I think. We stayed away from there and just went to our hotel which was in the Plaka. We also had an awesome driver that was arranged by our travel agent who took us to the Parthenon and other places we wanted to see. 

MrsGandthebeag

I would skip Athens and stay longer in one of the other spots.  DH and I went on a mediterranean cruise last year for our HM.  We did a stop in Athens and honestly neither of us was impressed.  It was a week after the riots.  There were still protesters out that we took pics of from our bus.  I can't imagine being there right now with everything going on.  The city was very dirty and the Parthenon was cool, but you couldn't touch anything.  When we were in Turkey we did a tour of ancient Ephesus which was awesome and we walked all through the ruins.  Nothing was roped off or untouchable like Greece.  We also went to Rome where we could touch everything.  I wouldn't risk your safety for 2 days.  

Hilraythebride

The Greek islands shouldn't be an issue just Athens.  My FI and I are going to Santorini for our honeymoon too!

hcampana

Spend 4 days in Mykonos and 5 in santorini and skip Athens.

CountrieBum

Thank you EVERYONE for the helpful advice! Yes we are in the process of getting travel insurance. I wanted to have some kind of plan before I called my insurance company. 

We have to travel through Athens because that is where our plane takes us, so we will probably spend an afternoon there, and if we have to ONE night, and then head off to Mykonos and Santorini. We are planning on just spending extra time on the gorgeous islands, and visit a few smaller islands from there. 

I really appreciate everyones input it really did put this into perspective! I had never done one of these message boards and I can honestly say it was a huge help! Thanks so much everyone. 

SomethingBlue01

My family is Greek American and I have a lot of family still in Greece. I would DEFINITELY stay away from Athens. My cousins who lived there had to leave because it was so dangerous. 

I don't think the touristy islands would be bad. I have family on a few of the islands, and they are mostly filled with either locals or upper-class Greeks and Europeans. But you should always be careful! A lot of people in Greece are in poverty right now, and they don't have the same public-assistance they do here. Therefore, the only way these people can make money to feed their families is to steal...and they usually target tourists. Please be extra careful. I was in Greece last summer (on the island of Chios), and it was fine. But my Uncle warned me not to carry a nice, expensive bag, or wear any fancy looking jewelry. Someone might see this and they will think "Oh, they obviously have money!", and then you can be a target. Also, another weird tip that my family told me. They said not to wear flip flops....because in Greece, the locals think that only Americans wear flip-flops, and again, this will make you a target because they assume Americans have money. If someone comes up to you and shows you a map or a piece or paper...WALK AWAY! They are most likely going to pick-pocket you as you look at the paper they put in front of you. Make sure you watch all your belongings while you're on the beach. Don't leave anything you need on the beach while you go swim in the ocean. Take only the essentials with you when you go. 

Greece is absolutely beautiful. The food is amazing, as is the culture. I don't want to scare you. I still think you should go to the islands. You just need to be extra careful. PM me if you have anymore questions!

hcampana

Agree with the pp. I was in Athens 2 years ago and within the first 2 hours I got my iphone stolen. So I can only imagine what it's like now.  I was alone, so I was SOOO happy that he didn't take my purse.  He could have easily gotten it.  I would have been screwed cus my passport and everything was in there.

You can go from athens directly to the ferry port and stay there over night and take your ferry in the morning, but it's not the safest place either and i've heard protests happen there, at the port. 

I stayed in a pretty shady area right next to the port in a couple shady hotels and lived to tell about it.  I hear there is a much nicer area nearby though.  You should look into that.