Top 12 Travel Tips before visiting Greece 2025

Planning your first (or next) trip to Greece in 2025? In this video, Rett & Katina share 12 essential tips to help you travel the Greek islands smarter—from choosing the right footwear and ferry planning to beating the Sunday crowds and navigating island weather.
Full description:
We recorded this guide while traveling across Greece’s top islands—Crete, Santorini, Corfu, Rhodes, Skopelos, Milos, Paros, Naxos, Symi and Paxos—to bring you real insights:

🥿 Secure footwear matters: Flip‑flops won’t cut it on cobbled streets or hikes.
🕶️ Sunscreen & sun protection: Especially for Brits, Aussies, and Canadians unused to Greek sun.
🚤 Plane vs Ferry vs Moped: Tips to pick the right transport and stay safe on ATVs/quad bikes.
🌊 Weather & wind awareness: Use local tools like Poseidon to plan beach days.
🏖️ Avoid Sunday beach chaos: Best to explore villages or hidden gems instead.
🚗 Rent a car: Access remote spots, avoid crowds, and enjoy flexibility.
⛵ Boat tours: Private or smaller boats offer better, quieter experiences.
🎒 Pack smart: Carry-on backpack options, layers, and room for local shopping.
💳 Save on phone & ATM fees: Use international SIMs, decline conversion offers.
🗣️ Learn a few Greek phrases: Locals appreciate the effort!

Subscribe to follow our journey and check out our full Greek Life docu-series here:
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gimea from the Greek island of Pacos in this video we’re going to share travel tips that you need to know before coming to Greece this summer hey Kina what’s the first thing we tell people before they come to Greece wear good shoes wearing appropriate footwear is like the thing that we see people fail at all the time people like to wear flip-flops because they think they’re going to the beach what they don’t realize is what materials like limestone and marble that cities are built out of here not to mention while climbing mountains or a lot of times you have to hike to a beach it’s not always the easiest way to get places i can’t tell you how often we have seen people end up needing to just take their shoes off because they cannot make the trek in the flipflops or the slides that they’re wearing or they break we’ve seen that many times i also cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched people completely bust it on the side streets i’ve seen people fall in Athens when climbing up to the Acropolis it’s very slick there i’ve also seen people fall and break a bone hiking down the mountain in Saintiniti because they can’t catch the car down they don’t want to take a donkey and then you’re stuck hiking down this mountain and it’s a lot more slippery than you think i’ve even made this mistake in Corfu where I was wearing the wrong type of sandals and I ended up sliding down an entire row of stairs but uh definitely make sure that you have solid footwear and all right new location we find that wearing sandals in Greece is still very helpful but you want to wear something that you can hike in hike down to beaches climb up mountains definitely do your research on what island you go to first cuz that matters but I wear Keen i wear a zero soul a lot of people wear Chacos or Teas something like that that just has grip on the bottom of your foot that you feel like you could hike to a beach in and women really consider what you’re packing when you are thinking about your shoes honestly it’s a lot of cobblestone it’s a lot of rocks that you’re trying to walk over and if your ankles are not used to that type of ground it’s not the best i’ve watched so many women twisting their ankles or unable to walk places because they’re wearing high heels stilettos or even sometimes the wedges so if you’re not used to walking on completely uneven surfaces I’d suggest you just go ahead and don’t bother bringing them and save that suitcase space for something else this next one might sound obvious but make sure you wear sunscreen we see way too many people especially from countries who aren’t used to being in the sun forgetting to put it on and they are turning bright red within the first few days of their trip and then they’re not staying out of the sun this is causing so much sun damage and it just really pains me when I’m seeing people lobster red walking around and they’re lobster red and then they go out and sit in the day and they think “Hey I’ve only got this much sunshine i need to take full advantage.” But after you’re red and burned you really need to not only wear sunscreen but cover up sun poisoning is real and it’s honestly pretty dangerous so really make sure that you’re covering up if you do happen to get a burn my biggest suggestion is to get the Kora’s After Sun cooling yogurt it has been a lifesaver for me for over a decade and honestly ever since I’ve started using it even if I do get a burn I haven’t peeled and it turns into a nice tan yeah this isn’t sponsored but I mean she’s addicted to Corores so you know if you guys want to send us anything you may have already done this but make sure to do your research on when to fly versus when to take a ferry we did a video on this a while back but honestly it just depends on where you go how many islands you’re going to and the best way to get there and it could be a mix of both for your trip i know booking fairies can be a little bit intimidating as an American coming over because it’s not something we’re used to but there are a lot of really credible viable sites that you can go to to find your tickets and there’s some places that you have to take a ferry to sometimes the rides can be a little rough so if you do get seasick make sure that you are bringing something to help with that so something that goes handinhand with that is when you’re booking your trip don’t try to cram too much in i think this is a big mistake people make when coming to Greece and yeah you see a lot of places but if you’re trying to go to three or four islands in a week then you’re probably doing it wrong take your time for meals in Greece that’s part of the culture that’s part of the reason you come here you’re not going to fully immerse yourself or even be able to experience what this place has to offer if you’re trying to fit too many things in your agenda and honestly it might just be going to one island you can go to Cit and spend two three weeks and you’ll still not see it all you could go to neighboring islands and take fairies like Paros and Nooxos uh or just any cyclistic islands really keep in mind that sometimes especially with fairies the time of departure might change so you really do have to be flexible so give yourself that time and really you don’t want to spend your entire vacation here traveling from one place to another the other thing about being flexible due to the weather is waves and wind so this also goes for picking what beach you want to go to i think a lot of times as an American we try to control our vacation and say “In this day we’re doing this and this day we’re doing this.” And honestly you have to be a bit flexible so there’s a Poseidon website that I use that shows you what days and how bad the wind and waves are going to be and what direction they come from like on Milos the northern waves come in and some of the best places to see like Sakos you can’t swim at all because it’s very dangerous time your beach days appropriately and again stay flexible another one is something we learned by living here and that is avoid the beach on Sundays if you can and that’s because all the locals are off and the beaches get very crowded yeah those days honestly are a little bit better to go into the villages or to go do some more sightseeing that might actually not have as many people because they’re all going to the beach yeah like in Cree for example the villages get really busy on Sunday but it’s because everywhere is open and tables are overflowing they do this uh antichristto meet which is a specialty thing so it’s cool to see but if you want to avoid those crowds you could also go into town another thing that you really want to consider is renting a car most islands in Greece you can’t really see well without a car there are a lot that have buses but this means that you’re limited in the places that you could go but also the times that you will go unsee me there’s actually not a lot to see on the island so I could understand not renting a car but Katina and I were there we took a car and a boat ferry and it was actually great because we visited Archangel St michael’s Monastery which is a popular monastery we had it all to ourselves and as we left a ferry came in dropping off a couple hundred people and this happens on beaches all the time so having that flexibility with a car not only allows you to see more things be more flexible with your time but also have a more pleasant experience and some islands you are able to hire a driver but keep in mind that can get expensive also many places you are able to get ATVs or mopeds but do keep in mind that it is a bit more dangerous to take these types of transportations especially if you’re not used to driving them and four-wheelers really do give some people a false sense of security since you’re on four wheels but they do have a tendency of flipping over yeah that’s actually something that we’ve heard from locals i think people think that they’re safe just because they’re rented out and in some islands that’s very common but it’s usually the top cause of death for travelers in Greece and if you do decide to go down the option of an ATV or a moped please make sure that you’re wearing your helmet i know it’s hot i know you want your hair to look good but it’s really important to keep your head and your brain safe in case something were to happen also along the lines of avoiding crowds do a boat tour you definitely get what you pay for with us no matter what a boat tour is fantastic and depending on your budget really will determine what you’re able to do but again the experience you get is the experience you pay for we’ve seen so many of these boat tours coming into different places and coes packed full of people all trying to see all trying to get the best spot and it is very difficult these boats are also bigger so they can’t get into some of the smaller caves and some of the smaller places also they’re not going to be able to stop in most places so if you are able to charter a smaller boat you’ll be able to get more locations get into more locations and just have a far more pleasant experience honestly it’s a little bit different on every island so just do your research and if you get a chance see what the boats look like in the harbor the day before or a couple of days before because you can kind of see how crowded they can get sometimes you can book like a catamaran and you might share it with like 10 to 15 people or sometimes you can book a boat to yourself with a private captain or even rip one and take it out on your own it’s a very slow one if you don’t have a boating license but it still gets you from A to B if you don’t have far to go but definitely take a boat tour it’s the it’s really the best way to see most the islands it’s one of my favorite things in Greece pack light but smart make sure that you’re really packing a lot of mix and match options you really don’t want to have to carry a huge piece of luggage or more around Greece with you i honestly prefer to pack in a Cotto Paci that I can put on my back so that way I know that my luggage is always going to arrive with me wherever I go and that I can make it upstairs through cobblestone and personally it’s just a lot easier than lugging something really heavy around that you might typically overpack yeah and we’ll have an Amazon shopping list sharing some of these things coming really soon um so that you can look at this stuff and say “Hey yeah these are good ideas that I can use and things that I can buy to help my travels in Greece.” The thing to keep in mind is there’s a lot of old towns that you can’t drive in so a lot of times you’re pulling your luggage through cobblestone streets sometimes up hills mountains stairs and a lot of places don’t have elevators you might be in the third fourth floor and have to carry something up a spiral staircase so having it on your back is a lot easier than rolling it if that’s an option for you also when traveling make sure you save a lot of space greece is full of great shopping excellent stores great quality clothes so sometimes just bring a few things and plan on buying some clothes while you’re here i guarantee they will not disappoint you another big thing is saving money on your phone bill most international carriers now allow an international day pass option and that’s around $10 a day so at that price if you’re here for a week that can really add up local eims are actually extremely cheap they run specials every month so I can’t tell you exactly what they cost but a lot of the time you would spend €10,520 a month for unlimited calls and data also make sure that you talk with your cell provider before you leave for Greece to see what your plan offers another thing is how you spend money get a travel card also ATMs that’s a really tricky one a lot of them really trick you in the way that they ask questions and Greece operates in cash so you always need it make sure that you’re always declining the conversion rate always get it in euros and please just don’t click yes for convert in your own currency very true same goes for if a restaurant or a shop when using your card asks you if you want to be charged in US dollars or euros or British pounds always choose the local currency where you’re at so if you’re anywhere in Europe that’s using euros go with euros and always make sure that you’re carrying cash on you while places are required to take credit card the Greeks really do prefer to operate in cash and pro tip a lot of times there’s a different cash price as opposed to the credit card price the cash price is cheaper and lastly it always helps to learn a few Greek phrases before you come and it’s not required they’re very kind here and in tourist places they’re going to speak English better than almost any country I’ve been in Europe but the Greeks really do appreciate when you try to learn the language they will welcome you they get very excited when they hear you even just trying so just a few basics will get you a long way so aaristo for watching this video and kalisa have a great day make sure that you like and subscribe and hit that bell button to make sure that you’re not missing any of your videos or any future tips that we’re going to provide for you only matter but I give it a [Music] second okay