Well, we finally made it to Greece. It was a long journey, nearly 24 hours door to door. Here are some traveling tips for creature comforts regardless of where you're going in Greece to make life a little smoother.
Health safety en route to the sea One good way to ensure your comfort while you're flying is to carry on a beach towel for each of your family members. They can serve as neck rolls or blankets. You'll need them anyway if you plan on doing any swimming and they can be easily laundered. We didn't use the blankets and pillows on the planes we flew in. I think it was key for avoiding illnesses. I saw others using them and by the time we landed they were coughing and sneezing all around us. I suggest you bring your own along with some hand wipes sealed in individual packages. You can swim in most parts of Greece from early May until mid October. The sea is beautiful, warm and usually clean. You can swim in the early morning and until very late at night.Check out this report on the cleanest beaches: http://ec.europa.eu/news/environment/090611_en.htm
Surfing the web or trying to! Soon after we arrived at my parents' we lost power. To add to my frustration the internet service my mother ordered is slower than dial up. The worst of it is she signed a 2 year contract for a service that is practically useless. My Skype calls get dropped and don't even bother with a video call. If you have important work to do via the web be sure to settle these matters as best you can before you come to Greece. There are several sites with bilingual pages in English and Greek. Many of the reps and tech people also speak English though this may not get you very far as I've discovered. I am waiting for a reply from the sixth person I've spoken to at Vodafone as to whether or not the service can be made faster. Keeping up a blog in these conditions has been very challenging to say the least.
Vodafone, Cosmote, Germanos, Forthnet are sites you can check for more information on internet connections in Greece. Most hotels offer some form of web access but it is usually a pay per use charge on a timed basis. For more info on using the internet from hotels using cards you purchase from the kiosks: http://gogreece.about.com/od/connectivity/ht/internetaccess.htm . You can also take a look at http://www.ifree.gr/en/ though I've never used this service. You pay for the call to connect to the web but not the web access itself.
Power outages are not unfamiliar in Greece. Since young kids can get scared in the dark in unfamiliar places pack a small flashlight so you can see if the lights go out. This has become a standard practice for us on our travels and comes in handy in the evening for night time tag or changing a tire on an unlit street.
Now you ask is it worth all of the fuss to travel to Greece? Yes! Yes! Yes!
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