During our over two week trip in Greece, we encountered some of the nicest and friendliest people. All of our tour guides were so helpful and gave us such good advice for our trip – both before and during. And so it’s only fair that I share these tips, since they really made our trip so much better. 

First, if you’re traveling during peak season, which is basically the summer months of June through August, then definitely book your tickets in advance. Almost all the ferry companies have websites where you can pre book your tickets. 

If you’re staying in an AirBnB or home exchange, you can store your luggage using the Bounce Luggage App until you can check in. 

Uber will work in Athens, but it will just call you a yellow taxi. Alternatively, you can also use the FreeNow App for ordering yellow taxi cabs. 

As told from one of our taxi drivers, the busiest days at the Athens airport are Friday and Mondays so avoid those days to fly out if you can or else you’ll be in for a long check-in and security wait. 

If you want to visit the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, go as early as you can. By the time 10am rolls around, it’s absolute madness. Currently, you have to go online and reserve a time slot in order to visit. The time slots are every hour and you can enter 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after your time slot. 

And lastly, learn a few words of Greek! While almost everyone we encountered spoke English, all our guides taught us a few words and told us how appreciative the locals would be if we tried. Here’s a few you can try: 

• Efharisto: Thank You; You can pronounce it as “F-Harry-Sto”, with emphasis on the “sto” 
• Kalimera: Good Morning 
• Yassu: Hello/Goodbye; You can pronounce it as “Yas-sas”
• Yamas!: Cheers (When Drinking) 
• Parakalo: Please