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gemsofgreece · 2 days ago

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Which places of greece are ruined by tourism and would it be ok to visit them in winter ? Asking because i'd really like to see all of greece but i dont want to participate into what makes people lives shit

I'd say that while Greece has gotten very touristy in many places by now, the most touristy places are still (barely) hanging in there and have not been totally ruined yet. The two most critically affected by tourism places are Santorini and Mykonos islands. Aside from Santorini perhaps, which really receives more tourists than it can bear, in the other touristy areas the situation is not so bad yet that you could cause problems with your mere presence there. Tourists do become a problem due to their behaviour rather than their presence, so I am going to give you some tips for an ethical, viable for the local population vacation in any region in Greece.

Ethical travelling in Greece:

Do not use Airbnbs. They have caused severe housing problems in the country. Basically locals can not find houses to rent / buy because everything is modified into an airbnb. Please, do not use airbnbs. Every single type of hotel, from small family run businesses to major hotel chains, they are all more ethical and beneficial to Greek society and economy than the airbnbs.

If you are travelling in the Aegean islands in the high season, avoid the excessive use of tap water. Most Aegean islands have severe shortage of water resources. The little resources that they have get wasted in filling the countless pools of the hotels. And I ask, what is the point of so many pools in Greece? Are tourists really doing all the fuss to reach a Greek island to spend their days swimming in the pool and stare at a wall? You can do this at home. I really don't understand this. Go to the beach. Greek beaches are typically very safe unless you are advised otherwise by the locals. Ask your hotel receptionist or your tour guide if some beach is suitable only for very seasoned swimmers or is better avoided for any other reason. Please, do not support the endless useless pool constructions that suck all the water. Apart from the pools, practice reasonable use of tap water in general (i.e while showering).

Ideally, avoid cruises. They are the biggest culprit of tourist overcrowding and they virtually leave zero money to the local society.

Keep alcohol consumption within reason. Greeks love to drink and have fun. However, unlike in Northern and Western Europe, excessive drinking is not at all part of our cultural understanding of having fun. There are unfortunately 2-3 spots around the country which have become destinations of young tourists aiming to get hammered every night. Their drinking and its consequences disrupts severely the quality of living for the locals and other travellers. If you (not saying this personally, but generally) tend to drink enough that ending up crawling or vomiting in a street or a hospital is not unlikely... just don't do it. Don't do it, it affects negatively the local people's lifestyle and their sense of safety. Remember also that the Greeks like to stay out with their kids until very late at night, don't create publicly images that could be questionable for a child to see.

You can dress however you want in Greece. The only limitations are to keep nudism for nudist beaches and if you decide to visit monasteries, then you should comply with their dress code, which is usually skirts / dresses and covered shoulders for women and ideally long trousers for men. Women in Greece do not cover their heads / hair in religious places. Churches have a more liberal dress code but, still, don't go in in your swimsuit or something.

Do not climb on the churches, private properties and hotels just to take a slightly better photo for your Instagram.

That's all, I believe. These are the Greece-specific ethical travelling tips.

Should you go to touristy places in winter instead? NO

Like I said, if you are concerned that your mere presence is going to be an issue to the locals, then no, you don't have to change your plans and come in winter. Maybe only if you decide to go to Santorini, then it would be indeed better to go in spring or in autumn, not only for the locals but for your own experience as well. Santorini is an island famous for its vistas, the volcano, its towns and archaeological sites and not so much the beaches, so why go there in the summer and get pressed by the tourist hordes? Go in another season. But NOT in winter.

There is a huge misconception that Greece is eternally warm like a tropical country. Greece is a temperate country. If you go to the islands in winter, you will get winter in the islands, with all the wind and the humidity and the shut down businesses and half of the local population fled to the mainland. Forget about island / summery vibes. If you fall in love with a place so much that you end up wanting to experience it all year round then sure. But if it's your first time in that place, it's not very wise to visit it for the first time in its absolute lowest, right?

Not sure how you imagine a Greek island in winter but it's probably not like that, is it? I am not saying it will definitely snow, but you will be taking your risks. This is from the famous Mykonos btw.

So, if you want to come in the winter, you have to go to winter destinations (mountains, ski resorts, landlocked parts of the mainland, forests, towns and villages in higher altitudes etc). Every season has its best things to see. The islands are for the summer and the spring. Spring and autumn are seasons in which you can prolong your summer in the south or your winter in the north but even those are worthy to be visited for their own strengths.

City breaks / urban destinations are good all year round, least of all summer, because the cities tend to get super hot.

Summarizing, if you want to come in the winter just for the sake of the locals, then no don't worry about it. If you want to come in the winter because you are afraid of the overtourism but wish to see a summery destination, then my advice would be to come in the summer but simply replace the over-touristy destination with a less busy look-alike. Good substitutes for Mykonos are Paros and Ios islands. Good substitutes for Santorini are Milos and Folegandros islands.

"Seeing all of Greece"

I must examine a little what you mean by "I'd really like to see all of greece". If you mean "I'd like to visit any part of Greece so all of Greece is okay for me", it's okay, I get that. If you mean, "I want to make a plan of fitting all of Greece in the same season / trip without bothering the locals" forget about that. You're not visiting all of Greece, not now, not in many many revisits. Don't be fooled by any influencer or youtuber showing you around or any foreign travel article about where to go to, it's total misinformation, 99,9% of the time they are not seeing shit. Moreover, they are not being accurate about the size of the country, how navigable it is, the microclimate variety and the destination density per surface area. There is this portrayal of Greece in foreign media as this tiny flat easily navigable country with all its tinier islands and beaches concentrated within arm's reach. All of this is the exact opposite from the truth; Greece is of average size, extremely mountainous, hard to navigate, with numerous islands larger than you think and in considerable distances with each other. This is why you should NOT DO ISLAND HOPPING IN GREECE, I can't stress this enough, it's the most popular and yet the worst way to travel in the country. The most superficial way, the most tiresome way and simultaneously the way that guarantees you will see the least stuff. Lose - lose - lose situation.

The clever plan is simple, much simpler actually. You stick to one or max two mainland regional unit(s) or one island or max two small islands or tops a mainland region and a nearby island if you have a lot of time, and you explore that thoroughly either with a tour guide or with a map / book guide for this specific region that you explore by yourself. You can find such map / book guides everywhere in kiosks, bookstores, some markets etc. This way you're gonna like Greece ten times over than if you were just ticking off popular islands / destinations from your list. I believe every single Greek will attest to this as well as those loyal travellers we have that return every year - some do it for decades. Those follow this plan. Famous people do this too - I have never heard of foreign celebrities island hop in Greece (unless they have private yachts and stay in those which is more like a cruise rather than island hopping), they choose their destination and stick to it. It's because they know better, island hopping is a SCAM. Ticking off popular destinations is a SCAM. Not because the famous destinations don't deserve their popularity but simply because this is not the efficient / clever way to travel in Greece (and in most places, but especially Greece). Take my word for it! The country is not... structured for this type of travelling.

Summary:

You don't have to be overly conscious of your presence in touristy areas as long as you practice common sense and don't actively disrupt the lives of the locals in the ways described above.

If you are really concerned about overtourism, better change destination with a similar less busy one rather than change the season of visiting. Remember, different places are better in different seasons.

Do not island hop and do not have unrealistic expectations about how much of Greece you can see in a trip. Trying to meet such common expectations, that are founded on widespread misconceptions, will certainly make your travelling experience worse or not as good as it could have been. Based on your interests choose one specific region only and explore this one thoroughly without worrying that you will miss out, because you won't.

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