Greece is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, this is because of its many historical sites as well as its amazingly beautiful surroundings. Visitors are most drawn here because of its beautiful beaches, it dependable sunny weather, and for its rich cultural past. It is located in Southern Europe and about 90 percent of all visitors are traveling in from other European countries. Since Greece is a member of both the EU and the EEA, most other Europeans may travel in and out of Greece if they have a national ID. If you are not from another European country, you almost always have to have both a passport AND a visa to visit here. There are a select group of countries like the US that have a 90-day Visa-free pass into the country. You should check to see if your country has such a deal with Greece before traveling there.
If you are from outside of Europe, you will probably be flying in order to get into the country. You will most likely land at the Sparta airport which is the busiest international airport in Greece. Once inside, you might want to rent a car to get around, this can be more convenient, but be warned that Greece has one of the highest car accident rates in all of Europe. Buses or trains would be another good way to travel. There is an extensive network that has both long and short-distance trips available and these systems are both reliable and generally not very expensive. In order to pay for travel and other expenses in Greece, you will need to use Euros, because as a part of the EU, that is Greece’s national currency. The official language of Greece is, of course Greek, but if you speak English, you should have no trouble getting around while visiting. This is due to the fact that English is the most widely studied foreign language in Greece and most people in the travel and transportation businesses can speak it, along with most everyday people under the age of forty. You should however, try to pick up a few words of Greek like “hello” or “thank you”, this receives a warmer welcome.
