GREEK TRAVEL TIPS:What not to Pack and to buy here instead page 3

Out of Athens, for casual wear, if you stick to the summer itinerary you'll usually be able to browse in small shops depending on where you go. For more variety and a a better selection Athens is the convenient answer.  Ex-athens tourist destinations have different 'rules' and I don't consider them the real Greece for some things like shopping. In fact in a place like Oia on Santorini (left) you are more likely to be gouged than get a good price. Yachters haven Fiskardo in Kefallonia is another example of fleecing the sheep Greek style. At least in Santorini there are some interesting crafts people and collections of goods to be found there alone.

 

In summer there are 2 kinds of Greek merchants you'll shop from. Permanent ones and seasonal ones. The permanent ones are more common in bigger metro areas like Athens, Patras, Naufplion and so on with the population center to support them. Here is where you can find the sales. In this picture (left) of Chania, Crete you'll find some interesting and unique items including traditional Cretan boots and knives.

Many people live and work in these larger cities and towns year round. But in many less populated areas of Greece many of the Greeks you'll see are not full time residents. They set up shop during the tourist season and return to Athens afterwards only to return again, if successful, the next season.

These seasonal merchants work the tourism location and the tourists themselves - wherever that might be. There are exceptions occasionally, on Mykonos and Syros for example, to mention just two islands, each with a large, young, hip Greek and Albanian population where you'll get good progressive restaurants and boutiques both. Remember though that for them August is high tourist season and they'll be less happy to hear that you know all about the summer sales! The sales are not mandatory for the merchants by the way. In that case bargain, if you must. Aghio Nicolaou Crete (left).

For shopping in Greece in General the best bopping around and just being a tourist shopping to be done is in Athens, Mykonos and Chania, Crete. Santorini and Syros have interesting design sense too.

More what not to pack for Greece page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5