I'm going to Europe in a few months, but my itinery is open, so thinking about going to Greece. With all their debt troubles, etc would now be a good time to visit? I'm a little confused at how their internal troubles would impact my costs for vacation, etc since they use the Euro. I'm assuming it would not be on sale like Iceland (when they had their major currency devaluation) because of having the Euro. Am I correct in thinking there won't be much difference (other than flucuation in the Euro:USD)?
Alcibiades said: the riots last year were a real party
got drunk and flipped over some police cars
We do that out here every time the Lakers win a title.
Zro
Member
posted: Feb. 8, 2010 @ 9:43p
Several strikes are planned for this month. Plus increased taxes. I don't think it will be a good time to visit Greece for some time (unless they leave the EMU)
-If you are interested, see my several posts on a thread that appeared a few weeks ago on the Travel forum - contained lots of general advice about travelling in Europe in the summertime, especially by train. Wasn't focussed on exchange rates, obviously, but there is probably info there (from me and other posters) which would be of value to you.
-As someone said in a post here, you have got to be careful of European strikes in this very iffy climate. Even on the London Underground (subway system), I read a few days ago that the maintenance workers will be striking every Sunday until some kind of deal is struck. Strikes don't always affect just a small area of life - they can become overwhelming to a small country, especially if they are in transportation or basic services or at the border crossings/ports.
-You're not going to know what the exchange rate is going to do in a few months' time. The dollar isn't stable either. I wouldn't plan my trip just on exchange rate speculation.
-This summer there will be a fall in tourism in all of Europe, and possibly in Greece especially, so what you need as a traveller (rooms, food, admission prices, transport) might be somewhat cheaper and more readily available as compared to a few years ago. But the social climate and safety situation (something to take seriously) and who knows what might be a little more precarious -- you need to judge how much risk you want to take, how much time you've got (in case you get stuck for a while), etc.
-If it were me, and I were going to Europe this summer, but not to one specific place in particular, I wouldn't plan my itinerary out definitely until soon before I left, and I'd then plan it one week or a few days in advance, only booking rooms and transportation after I could see what the current social/financial climate in each country was like, and after I decided what I felt like seeing at that moment.
-If it were me, just to be on the safe side, I'd probably steer clear of Greece this year, because there are so many other great places to go, and you can always see Greece another time.
I also, personally, wouldn't want to be island hopping in Greece this summer and depending on a once-daily or twice-weekly ferryboat (or similar) for my sole connection to the rest of the continent.
But probably it's going to be _just fine_ to visit Greece this summer, as long as you keep your wits about you and prepare for the small possibility that things could change quickly (currency upheavals, riots, strikes, road blockages, extensive monument/museum closures, supply-chain breakdowns etc.)
iseetrails said: Alcibiades said: the riots last year were a real party
got drunk and flipped over some police cars
We do that out here every time the Lakers win a title. I just cross the bridge and do it in Oakland..saves tghe airfare
nic3456
Member
posted: Feb. 9, 2010 @ 6:41a
Thanks for the great info, I really appreciate it! I am going towards the end of May and will keep this in mind.
NantucketSunrise said: -If you are interested, see my several posts on a thread that appeared a few weeks ago on the Travel forum - contained lots of general advice about travelling in Europe in the summertime, especially by train. Wasn't focussed on exchange rates, obviously, but there is probably info there (from me and other posters) which would be of value to you.
-As someone said in a post here, you have got to be careful of European strikes in this very iffy climate. Even on the London Underground (subway system), I read a few days ago that the maintenance workers will be striking every Sunday until some kind of deal is struck. Strikes don't always affect just a small area of life - they can become overwhelming to a small country, especially if they are in transportation or basic services or at the border crossings/ports.
-You're not going to know what the exchange rate is going to do in a few months' time. The dollar isn't stable either. I wouldn't plan my trip just on exchange rate speculation.
-This summer there will be a fall in tourism in all of Europe, and possibly in Greece especially, so what you need as a traveller (rooms, food, admission prices, transport) might be somewhat cheaper and more readily available as compared to a few years ago. But the social climate and safety situation (something to take seriously) and who knows what might be a little more precarious -- you need to judge how much risk you want to take, how much time you've got (in case you get stuck for a while), etc.
-If it were me, and I were going to Europe this summer, but not to one specific place in particular, I wouldn't plan my itinerary out definitely until soon before I left, and I'd then plan it one week or a few days in advance, only booking rooms and transportation after I could see what the current social/financial climate in each country was like, and after I decided what I felt like seeing at that moment.
-If it were me, just to be on the safe side, I'd probably steer clear of Greece this year, because there are so many other great places to go, and you can always see Greece another time.
I also, personally, wouldn't want to be island hopping in Greece this summer and depending on a once-daily or twice-weekly ferryboat (or similar) for my sole connection to the rest of the continent.
But probably it's going to be _just fine_ to visit Greece this summer, as long as you keep your wits about you and prepare for the small possibility that things could change quickly (currency upheavals, riots, strikes, road blockages, extensive monument/museum closures, supply-chain breakdowns etc.)
Alcibiades said: SUCKISSTAPLES said: I just cross the bridge and do it in Oakland..saves tghe airfareYes, Golden State will one again someday, Raiders too ! Oakland doesn't need an excuse. It's where they send people if Detroit is too good for them.
kharvel
Senior Member - 3K
posted: Feb. 9, 2010 @ 4:40p
There are no financial benefits from visiting Greece at this time. Even if Greece defaults on its obligations, everything will remain pretty much the same as everything is priced in euros and the other EU countries will not allow Greece to go bankrupt or kick Greece out of the euro zone.
Vacation is supposed to be fun. Greece is fun. Hence, visit Greece and you will have a blast. You will enjoy the beauty of the Mediterranean sea, the nightlife, the food, the awesome beaches and societal freedom. Hands down visit Greece vs. any other "sea-less" destination.
To me summer = sun + sea.
May is somewhat early, the sea is still cold and the summer fun is not in full swing. July - August are the busiest, end of June is probably the best.
Go island hopping if you have not been to Greek islands, they are amazing.
Money wise it is expensive due to the euro/dollar difference.
All else is irrelevant, and people who comment on the economical/political stability of Greece are clueless parrots repeating CNN's bshit.
Public sector workers in Greece have clashed with police during a nationwide one-day strike in protest at the austerity measures being implemented to try to address the country's financial crisis.
Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in Athens, according to local reports, after refuse collectors tried to team up with other strikers by driving their trucks through a police cordon. Hundreds more people gathered at Syntagma Square in the centre of the capital, some waving banners or beating drums, to voice their opposition to the spending cuts.
"It's a war against workers and we will answer with war, with constant struggles until this policy is overturned," Christos Katsiotis, a representative of a communist-party affiliated union, told the Associated Press.
A demonstration is planned outside the Greek parliament later today.
The prime minister, George Papandreou, who is in Paris to discuss the economic crisis with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has already faced down a protest by farmers demanding higher subsidy payments who staged tractor blockades on Greek highways for nearly three weeks.
It emerged last night that Greece's European partners may be close to agreeing a bailout, with German officials saying a deal had been agreed "in principle". An EU summit in Brussels tomorrow will address the Greek crisis in the hope of containing the growing threat to the eurozone.
Non-urgent hospital appointments have been cancelled, and schools across Greece will remain closed. Air traffic control staff are also taking part in the dispute, meaning flights in and out of the country will be heavily disrupted. Greece's largest airline, Aegean, has suspended all its services, while British Airways has cancelled three scheduled flights from Heathrow to Athens.
Union leaders called the action in protest at Papandreou's plans for spending restraint including cuts in public sector pay and bonuses, and a freeze on hiring new employees.
Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary of the public sector union ADEDY, accused Papandreou of targeting the wrong people in his efforts to fight the debt crisis that threatens Greece's financial stability and raises the spectre of contagion across the eurozone.
"They had promised the rich would pay but instead they take the money from the poor," Iliopoulos said. ADEDY also accused the Greek government of planning "permanent austerity" and "the bankruptcy of employees and pensioners".
Papandreou, though, had urged civil servants not to strike at a time when European leaders are considering a bailout for Greece. "Our primary duty is to save the economy and to reduce debt while seeking just solutions that protect as much as possible those on lower incomes and the middle class," he said.
Today's strike was planned before the Greek government announced its latest cutback measure yesterday – raising the average retirement age from 61 to 63.
Stock markets across Europe rose this morning, buoyed by hopes that a rescue package for Greece will be agreed when European leaders meet tomorrow.
Further strikes are planned for later this month.
Promitheas
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 10, 2010 @ 5:21p
What you fail to understand is that this is the status Quo in Greece for many years and is not a phenomenon of the "economic crisis", or this year in particular. So if strikes prevent you from visiting Greece, then there is no good time to visit, ever!
For example, farmers have been consistently blocking roads every winter (not just this year) asking for more money and more tax breaks. But these protests happen only in the winter cause farmers are just sitting idle doing nothing at that time. Summer they are busy in their fields and hence no blockage has every occurred in the summer. We are too lazy to work and protest during the summer months.
Analysis of the news stories:
source: Charles Wyplosz, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva; Director of the International Centre for Money and Banking Studies. CEPR Research Fellow (http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4583)
Like any crisis, the new one generates myriads of misguided comments and reactions by journalists, financiers and policymakers. Ten myths that are frequently heard clash with ten facts that are frequently overlooked.
Myth 1: Greece is bankrupt. Countries cannot be bankrupt; their governments can only default on their debts. In the absence of internationally recognised resolution mechanisms, government defaults open up a messy situation as governments negotiate with their creditors.
Fact 1: There is no reason for the Greek government to default. It is not in its interest and it can service its debt, whose size is half that of the Japanese government and the same order of magnitude as that of many other governments, including soon the UK and the US (OECD 2010). Yet, markets can force the government to default if they refuse to refinance the parts of the debt that reach maturity. This is a pure case of self-fulfilling crisis.
Fact 2: This crisis started as a panic reaction to fears of default but, as usual, some market players now also bet on a default. The market reaction is both defensive and offensive.
Myth 2: Greece is being singled out because it cheated repeatedly. Reports of Greek data manipulation have occurred long before this crisis. The latest report was issued by the government elected in October 2009 while the risk premia have been large since October 2008.
Myth 3: The Greek government is particularly vulnerable because its debt is widely held internationally, in contrast with the Japanese debt. Crisis after crisis, post-mortem examinations reveal that residents act exactly like non-residents. They panic and speculate like all financiers do, independently of where they live and work.
Fact 3: The monetary union is an agreement to take monetary policy out of national sovereignty. Very explicitly the Treaties leave budgetary matters in national hands. There is no sense in which the current crisis is a “proof” that Europe has failed. The Greek (and Portugese, and Spanish…) debt situation is a Greek (and Portugese and Spanish…) problem.
Myth 4: This is a euro crisis, which could result in a breakup of the monetary union. There is no mechanism for transforming the debt crisis into a Eurozone breakup. No country can be forced out and it is in no country’s interest to leave (Eichengreen 2007). Had Greece not been part of the eurozone, it would have long undergone a major currency depreciation, like in Hungary in November 2008. The euro protects Greece.
Fact 4: A debt default by the Greek government, on its own, would be a non-event. Greece is a relatively small country (with 11 million people, its GDP amounts to less than 3% of Eurozone’s GDP). Contagion to Portugal, which is even smaller, would also be a non-event. Moving on to Spain and Italy is another matter.
If you don't realize that this time is different, you are the person who is misinformed.
-----------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8533240.stm
As many as two million people in Greece are to hold a 24-hour strike against the imposition of austerity measures.
Acropolis closed
For the second time this month, Greek air space will be shut down and the country will be isolated from the rest of the world for 24 hours.
The credit rating cuts came after unions blockaded the main stock exchange.
Archaeological sites, including the Acropolis, will be closed to tourists, chipping away at the country's international image.
Yahavtabekrazy
New Member
posted: Feb. 25, 2010 @ 3:32p
If you cruise to Greece with a big name cruise company (Celebrity, etc.) do you have a better chance of avoiding these problems?
BarneyFife
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 25, 2010 @ 3:55p
You will be ok in the summer. They do all of these stunts in the winter when the weather is cool and in the summer they go into hiding because its too hot to protest.
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