Choosing Your Holiday

Which island - and how many?

You may vegetate in one place or change islands twice a week. Click on destinations, study our main map and click on your chosen area for more information and pictures. You will see how the air and sea connections work and therefore which islands can most realistically be combined with which. Our table Where for What? aims to help you find (or avoid!) particular activities – walking, archaeology and so on.

Which accommodation?

Reserving accommodation through the Internet can be risky: photos can lie, especially by omission, and the glowing client “first hand” evaluations which many properties include on their sites are getting a very bad press for being rigged. Happily you have no worries with us since we know personally all our properties. And their owners.

Down the right hand side of the destinations pages we feature a wide spectrum from luxury class to simple village rooms (but every room has its private shower/bath & wc). Many old buildings are being luxuriously renovated into charming villas or boutique hotels and there are small newly-built complexes of excellently appointed studios and apartments.

In older self-catering properties there may still be only basic provision for cooking - a unit with a sink, fridge and two rings, seldom an oven or kettle (Greeks don’t use them) and minimal crockery and cutlery: in short, you can rustle up breakfast, invite half the couple next door to a drink or prepare a picnic; but embark on a Sunday roast at your peril.

Most self-catering accommodation for two comprises a studio – a bed-sitter with open-plan kitchenette and a [mercifully separate] sh/wc; a table and two chairs will grace either the studio or the terrace or balcony. Occasionally 1-bedroom apartments are available, with the bedroom behind a closable door and the living room sporting one or two sofa beds; such apartments can therefore accommodate two people in comfort or 3-4 in discomfort - but cheaply.

When to go?

For archaeology or walking go before mid-June or after mid-September. June and July are less crowded than September. May is always glorious with the flowers, the paint and the people all fresh. It is fun to be in the country for Greek Easter which in 2008 falls five weeks after ours. If you want a warm sea, late season is better than early because the sun has warmed it. October to December can be rewarding, often providing an Indian summer lasting till Christmas, whilst early January often has a week or two of “halcyon days” permitting comfortable al fresco lunches.

Avoid August if you can because it is when the Athenians swarm to the islands for Panaghia (Aug 15th). If you can’t avoid school holidays, try to avoid the first three weeks of August. However, bear in mind the seasonal differences: in the low season boats and excursions will be less frequent; some tavernas may not be open and some hotel facilities not operating; but you will enjoy less hustle and bustle and much more Greek ambiance.

Short breaks

We can arrange short breaks to Athens, Nauplion, the Argo-Saronic islands, Mykonos, Crete & Rhodes, at any time of year.

Holiday insurance

We have arranged travel insurance with Travel & General Insurance Services Ltd. A summary of the cover is shown below. If you wish to avail yourself of this cover, please ask us for the full details which will set out all the terms, conditions and exclusion clauses and explain the circumstances in which you may be asked to sign a declaration about your current medical condition and history and that of others travelling with you. We cannot activate your cover until the company has confirmed it has accepted your application form and we therefore ask you not to include the premium in your deposit payment to us, but arrange a separate payment by cheque or credit card once your insurance proposal has been accepted; as soon as that payment has been received your policy will be activated and the insurance certificate sent to you. Shown here are brief details only:

Children (provided they are accompanied by an insured adult) under 2 on date of departure are insured free and under 18 are insured at 75% of the adult rate. Adults aged between 66 and 70 on the date of departure can be insured at twice the appropriate premium and those aged between 71 and 75 for a premium of 250% of the adult premium. Adults aged 76 and over should contact Age Concern on 0845 601 2234 for a competitive quote.
Annual multi-trip insurance can be a cheaper option: please contact us for details.

Travel & General's phone no: 0845 408 0583

Summary of maximum benefits and cover (per person)
Cancellation & curtailment:	up to £5,000
Emergency medical repatriation etc	up to £2,000,000
Hospital benefit:	£20/day up to £500
Emergency assistance in the UK:	up to £2,000
Personal accident:	up to £25,000 (age limits apply)
Travel delay:	£40 first 12 hour period and £20 each subsequent 12 hours to maximum of £100
Missed departure:	up to £1,000
Missed connection:	up to £1,000
Personal possessions:	up to £2,500
Delayed baggage (after 12 hours):	up to £100
Travel documents:	up to £500
Personal money:	up to £250
Hijack:	£50 for each 24 hour period to max £500
Mugging:	£50 for each 24 hour period of hospitalisation to max £500
Personal liability:	up to £2,000,000
Legal expenses:	up to £25,000
Policy Excess (per person):	no excess is payable for hospital benefit, personal accident, travel delay, delayed baggage, hijack, mugging or legal expenses. For all other cover categories you pay the first £50 of any claim (except that for personal liability the excess you pay is £250)

Premiums (incl Ins. Premium Tax) pp
Up to 5 days	£13
6 - 10 days	£16
11 - 17 days	£20
18 - 24 days	£22
25 - 31 days	£25
Additional week:	£7

What next?

Now click on destinations to search for the right holiday, perhaps first taking in the note about our abbreviations which permeate all the accommodation descriptions and guide price tables. Once you find something which attracts you, ask yourself whether you want car hire, check on getting there to see what flight options are relevant (click on “getting there” in our text) and then go to the Booking Enquiry Form and we should soon be able to get things moving.

Booking Enquiry Form>>

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