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Greece

**IMPORTANT NOTE: The information below is NOT intended to be complete, but rather is selective, opinionated, and reflects our own particular experience at the time.**

Cruising Notes for Greece -- June 2003

The order of the ports and other info reflects our route from Turkey to Croatia, via the Corinthian Canal. Organization of these notes is basically stream of consciousness (sorry).

There is nothing quite like island-hopping in Greece. We loved our long lazy sunny days here, and there was plenty of sight-seeing to do whenever we got tired of the cool blue sea.

Entry

We cleared into Greece at Kos and out at Corfu. Formalities were straightforward and professional at both places, and total cost was €100.

Caveat: Although the Greek Waters Pilot has generally accurate information about clearance formalities, Greek policy seems to change on a regular basis and may be different from island to island. Expect the unexpected. We cleared in at Kos because we were told by cruisers in Turkey that Kos is an easy place to clear in, and we found it to be so. (See Kos below) We received a 3-month cruising permit there, and Alan was able to complete all formalities alone. A fellow cruiser who cleared into Kos several weeks afterwards told us that officials are now giving only 30-day cruising permits. I do not know whether that change is restricted to Kos, or whether there were special circumstances in the individual case in question, or what, but I'll pass that info along for whatever it's worth.

Exit: When we cleared out of Corfu for Croatia, we could not get the Greek officials to give us an exit clearance paper. They said they never do, and everyone we know who has cleared out of Corfu confirms that no paper is given. However, cruisers who have cleared out of other ports have received written exit clearance. There were many dire rumors circulating that Greece was imposing an exorbitant exit tax, but we know of no one who was so charged. It is unclear whether Greece's fee for going back and forth between Greece and Turkey within a 30-day period is still being enforced (see Turkey cruising notes).

Immigration: Upon our exit from Greece at Corfu, immigration officials insisted on seeing every crew member personally before they would stamp the passports.

General Information

Weather: For our entire time in Greece, we either had 25 knots of NW or NNW meltemi or no wind at all. We understand now after having been in the Med for several months that being able to have a pleasant sail to one's destination is a rarity. A good engine and plenty of fuel are very handy, and crucial if there is any kind of schedule to keep.

Fuel: Fuel is expensive in Greece, but cheaper here -- at least on the mainland -- than in Croatia or Italy. We paid €0.65/liter in Piraeus on the mainland, slightly more on the island of Corfu.

Internet: Internet Cafes are fast and widely available. It is possible to get a pre-pay ISP card called NetKey (phone 89625 38888), which gives you a toll-free national dial-up number, username, and password for temporary low-cost Internet access from your laptop. The instructions on the back of the card are in English, and tell you how to configure a dial-up connection. Then all you have to do is find a friendly phone line (usually available at marinas and Internet Cafes) for the toll-free telephone call. Very easy. The card costs €10 for 20 hours of connection time. I bought mine from a computer store called Multirama, but I'm guessing they are widely available.

Mobile Phone: We got our Greek pre-pay SIM card from a Vodaphone store. It was good value, and the stores are everywhere for re-charge cards.

Money: Greece uses the Euro. ATMs are widely available. For exchanging cash and traveler's checks,. we found the Post to have the best rates, at least on the islands. In Athens, for some unknown bureaucratic reason, the only bank that can exchange traveler's checks is the National Bank of Greece. Their rates are competitive with cash rates elsewhere.

Food: As usual in the Med, fish is bizarrely expensive -- often twice the price of a steak! The cheeses are phenomenal, though, as are the tomatoes, olives and olive oil. Provisioning is excellent everywhere there is a town or village.

Ports of Call

Aegean Sea

Rhodes

We visited Rhodes by ferry on a day trip from Marmaris, Turkey. Fellow cruisers in Marmaris told us first- and second-hand stories of serious damage sustained by yachts in the Rhodes harbor (the only place to clear in). Damage was caused by ferry wash, by local day-tripper tour boats hitting yachts at speed, and by inadequately moored vessels breaking free and hitting yachts on the quay. In light of that information, we chose not to take the boat there. The ferry was great (see Turkey notes, though, for restrictions and yacht bonding for an overnight absence from Turkey), and Rhodes town is well worth the visit.

Kos

Kos was our port of entry for Greece. We berthed at the Kos Marina -- a new, clean, well-run festive place with bright blue water and excellent facilities. After we docked, the marina staff helped Alan organize a taxi to town for clearance formalities, but it turned out to be close enough to walk. At the marina, a phone line is available for laptop Internet; or you can use their computers and connection for a small fee. There is a laundry service, market, cafe and bar. Highly recommended. The town itself is built around many interesting ancient ruins. Like most Greek island towns, the main joy is just wandering around. There are many stray cats to feed in the Archeological Ruins between the marina and town. We had dinner in the garden of the excellent and romantic restaurant Petrino in town (tel. 27251).

Astipalaia

At the halfway point on our sail from Kos to Santorini, we anchored at the bay Ormos Livadhia (36deg32.46'N, 26deg20.65'E) in 20 ft of sand. Protection and holding were good. Small gold sand beach; blue-domed church in hora on hill. We'd regard this island as a convenient stopover and not necessarily a destination in itself.

Santorini (Thira)

Anchorage: Santorini has to be the most spectacular island in the Aegean, but you have to work to see it. Finding a safe anchorage has always been a problem. We anchored safely at Red Beach (36deg20.86'N, 025deg23.49'E) near Akrotiri, on the south side of the island in 20 feet of sand, good holding, crystal-clear water. Very nice in reasonably settled weather, protected from the West through North to East. The anchorage's red cliff and red-sand beach are conspicuous. We spent most of one day sailing around inside the caldera looking at the anchorages mentioned in the Pilot, but all were either 90 feet or deeper, or bumper-to-bumper with large local boats, or completely unprotected as far as we could tell. We watched yachts and local tripper boats try to tie up to the main quay at the "harbor" at the bottom of the cliff below the town of Fira, and it was a nightmare -- huge swell, big wind gusts, crowded area, much yelling and swearing, several bumps and crashes. Definitely not for us. There are two decent other anchorage possibilities besides Red Beach. The first is the "marina" mentioned in the Pilot at the southeast corner of the island. As far as we can tell, the marina has no staff, but the quay is still in good shape. However, depths are less than reported (silting, maybe?), and friends on a yacht with about 7.5ft/2.3m draft hit bottom twice while entering, and reported that it was getting even shallower when they turned around. The other option is the southernmost bay on the east side of the island, where other friends anchored safely, though they reported an uncomfortable swell. At Red Beach, we stayed safely for 3 days with good protection from all but southerlies and no swell to speak of. Had the wind turned SW or S, however, it could have gotten ugly fast. It would be advisable to leave someone on board for long trips ashore, or to buddy up with other boats for a communal boat watch (as we did).

Transport: At Red Beach, one can land the dinghy either on the beach and walk up the hill to the right to a small settlement; or one can dinghy around the small spit to the east to land at the dock of that settlement. At the settlement are a couple of restaurants and a mini-market, from which one can arrange transport to town. We called from the mini-market to rent a car from Axion Rentals (6944 663509; contact@axion.gr) in nearby Akrotiri -- good value, and they will deliver and pick up there at the beach.

Sightseeing: Walking around and shopping in the main town of Fira is fun, and the sunset there is spectacular. We watched from the walkway above Franco's -- same view as that famous bar without having to pay €10 per cocktail. Driving around the island is fun, stopping at the wineries, etc. My favorite spot was the marble pedestrian walkway through the small town of Ia (sometimes spelled "Oia") to the north. The main activity, though, is taking photographs of the justly famous view over the caldera.

Food: Provisioning is excellent. Restaurants are excellent. Possibly the best taverna (informal restaurant) in Greece is a mainly-locals no-view spot in Fira where the menu is delivered verbally by endearingly cranky elderly waiters. Can't think of the name right now -- sorry -- but it has red-and-white checked tablecloths, and it's the only traditional taverna in Fira without a view of the caldera.

Ios

Paros

Mykonos

Siros

Kea