A month in Greece

My month-long trip to Greece, June 6-July 6, 2015, began with a short visit to Sparta, located in the southeast of the Peloponnese peninsula. The bus ride there from Athens took less than 3½ hours and cost less than $20 (in euros).

The KTEL bus system is a really good outfit — fast, reliable and not too expensive — and it traverses the entire country. They even go to the island of Corfu! (In my hometown library, I found a list of every place the bus goes in Greece.) Tickets can be purchased at terminals. Best of all, I heard that smoking is not allowed on their buses; no drivers on my buses smoked.* 

To catch the bus in Athens, I followed the directions I had gotten at the hotel’s check-in desk. I took the metro to Omonoia Square, walked two blocks and rode bus No. 33 to the KTEL terminal, where I bought my ticket for less than €5 (near $6). 

Sparta is a small town with few visitors nowadays. Not much remains of its acropolis, which is strewn all over the hillside, with hardly three blocks of stone standing on top of each other. It was hard to make any sense of these ruins, which keep a silent vigil on a long-forgotten past. 

I stayed at a super hostel in Athens, the Athens Backpackers (12, Makri St., Makriyanni, Athens; phone +30 21 0922 4044, www.backpackers.gr). It was right in the heart of “the action,” close to the National Archaeological Museum and the Akropoli metro stop. I paid about $25 a night for a spot in a 6-bed girls-only room.

After meeting my Exodus Travels (Toronto, Ont., Canada; 844/227-9087, www.exodustravels.com) tour group at the airport, we were off on the ferry to visit three islands. “Walking on the Greek Islands” was the name of our 8-day tour.

However, things didn’t go as planned. After a few days, I got a bad case of bronchitis and didn’t feel well enough to do any of the hikes. I left the tour and spent four days in Athens by myself.

Athens Backpackers was full, so I stayed at “the other hostel,” City Circus Athens Hostel (16 Sarri St.), near the metro stop Monastiraki. I paid less than $25 per night for a bed in a girl’s dorm.

The directions to City Circus were difficult to follow, so I just found a place to sit and waited till a couple of young dudes with backpacks showed up and followed them to this “hidden hostel.”

It’s a nice hostel. Unfortunately, it’s in an extremely bad location, amidst parking garages, old buildings and some questionable shops. I was afraid to go out at night, and I do not recommend staying there.

After three nights, I moved two blocks away to Athens Studios (3A Velkou St., Makrigylanni; phone +30 210 9235811, www.athens studios.gr), where I again paid less than $25 per night.

After three nights there, I met the group at the airport who I’d be traveling with on an 8-day/7-night “Greek Cruise & Island Walking” tour with Explore! (Oakland, CA; 800/715-1746, www.explore
worldwide.com). (I always book my trips with Explore! through Maz Livingston at their Oakland office.) 

The price of the tour was in the ballpark of $1,100-$1,150 (about the same price as the 8-day Exodus tour). This included all but a couple of island dinners that featured specialties ($10-$12).

It was 8 p.m. when we finally set off for Rafina to catch the ferry. We reached the island of Evia at 10 p.m. (I had stashed my big pack — the “mother ship” — in one of the lockers at Athens Studios. I carried a smaller Zodiac pack onto the boat with me.)

We did several hikes during the week, with lots of swimming near the boat and at coves and beaches. The water was cold!

Because of my bronchitis, I liked being able to get on the boat and do as little or as much as I felt I could. It was nice having a week to read, swim or hike… or not. After a few days, I felt capable of doing a 7-mile hike with the group. Thanks to previous workouts, I wasn’t hurting too much the next day. 

The weather was hot and windy on the hikes, and there was a bit of rain one day, but that didn’t change our plans.

While on Evia, we got to visit the stone Dragon Houses, a “must see.” There were several settlements, and the one we visited was surrounded by lots of trees. Others were built close to the tops of various hills. I think they were early Neolithic.

And, yes, I would recommend this trip with Explore!.

With the economy in Greece getting worse, store owners were asking for cash for purchases. On some days, the bus and metro were free for locals, in an effort to help them, but, as a tourist, I would have had to pay for a ticket. Also, the ATMs were being overrun, since, at the time, the locals were allowed to withdraw only €60 a day.

SAMANTHA SARTAIN

Colorado Springs, CO

*According to the Fodor’s guidebook website (www.fodors.com), smoking is not allowed on KTEL buses, but drivers are exempt from the rule, so passengers who prefer to avoid smoke should try to not sit near the front. (Rest stops are made every two hours.)