Saturday 4 June 2011

The busiest June ever


Santorini will be busy this June

This month, Greek cruise ports are going to welcome more cruise ships than every other June. In fact, June's traffic in ports may be comparable to last year's July.

Cruise traffic might become quite inconvenient on small islands like Mykonos or Santorini. You will be among the myriads who will be walking around the small villages, searching for the right spot to take a good snapshot. You must face it though; we are in high season and those islands are among the world's most popular destinations.

Beaches in Greece are less crowded in June than in July and August. In case you go ashore on your own, don't underestimate the probability of being seduced by one or two of them on your way. Carrying or wearing your swimming suit is always advisable on Greek islands.

At Piraeus/Athens there are no such problems. On some weekdays you may see more than 5 or 6 large cruise ships docking along with yours. Don't panic though; the Port Authority has recently added shuttle buses to the port exit, while the Hop on - Hop off buses now make a stop there. Life has become easier than ever for cruise passengers visiting Athens.

The HoHo buses now take you from the cruise port to the center of Athens

If you happen to be at Syntagma Square, you will find out that many people have set up their tents there. This is the epicenter of the huge peaceful -spanish style- protests that take place every night at many different squares in Greece. If you walk between the tents and the stands, you will hear people talking about  the current debt crisis. Of course, you don't know Greek, but you will certainly feel the vibes of a place that is being closely watched by everybody in the World.