Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular destinations, has been honored this year as part of the 2015 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Islands, ranking as the fourth on the list of top 10 islands in the world and top island in Europe for 2015. The list of Europe’s top islands also includes Crete in the third place and Zakynthos in the fourth.

This year’s awards honor more than 100 islands worldwide including lists for Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, South America, the South Pacific, the U.K., and the U.S. The annual awards are based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travelers across the globe.

Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions on islands worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

“Our well-traveled community has uncovered the best islands around the world for that perfect island escape whether you want to lie on the beach or seek adventure,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.


To read the complete article, please visit: GreekTravelPages

Never one to pass up a deal, I am a sucker for all the ‘special deal’ websites that are really taking over – at least, they have taken over my inbox. I have a daily stream of special offers, discounts, coupons, for everything from restaurants and hotels, to theatre tickets, kids toys and ‘hot oil Thai massage’. Even my local supermarket has a discount card and I get their weekly (daily?) stream of offers and discounts. One wonders how we get any work done anymore – it could take an entire morning just to read through the endless stream of deals…

 

Prior to moving to Greece, I was an avid user of Groupon. I believe this is the ‘grand-daddy’ of the discount sites – you register, receive their daily list of offers, and purchase any that you like. I started using Groupon for restaurants – and still do. The usual deal is a set-menu selection, for +/- 50% off the regular price. You buy the ‘coupon’ online, book your table by phone, and show up with coupon in-hand. A great way to try a place you’ve never been to, without breaking the bank.

 

This past week I went a bit overboard and bought two Groupon deals for city-centre restaurants that I wanted to try. One was Nakama – a new(ish) sushi place in Kolonaki. With my growing addiction for raw fish, I couldn’t resist. Nakama is great, and affordable even without a coupon. Totally fresh food, lots of choice on the menu, cool, relaxed design, friendly service. And they deliver. Yes I will go back.

 

The other one was an Indian place in Psirri called Indian Tandoori Masala.  With a Groupon deal of 10.90 for 2 people, I was prepared to love it regardless. And I did – no disappointments here.  

 

There are of course a ton of these ‘special deal’ sites - I’ve listed some below, and I’m sure there are more. Not a bad way to try something new and save some euros at the same time!

 

Groupon.gr

Goldendeals.gr

Specialdeal.gr

Price4all.gr

Oladeals.gr

Xtipiseto.gr

 

 

P.S. I’m told that XpatAthens has something similar cooking… Looking forward! ;)

 

Until next week,

 

Jack

 

 

Massalias 5, Kolonaki

 

 

Kairaiskaki 15 & Aisopou, Psirri

 

“Treat your guests as you’d wish to be treated. Be yourself and smile. It doesn’t cost a penny!”These are the words of the Greek entrepreneur behind the 'Zen Project.'

Andreas is an experienced and skilled General Manager with expertise in hotel management, food and beverage operations, vendor relations, profit and loss management and guest services operations.

After 17 years of managing small and medium luxury hotels, he is currently developing the “Me Zen” project, a small chain of traditional Tsipouro Bars throughout Greece.

Following the successful opening of “Me Zen Volos” he and his team are preparing for the opening of “Me Zen Larisa”.

Travelling around Greece and the world to discover flavors is what makes my job unique. Meeting people with different cultural backgrounds always reminds me of the reasons for choosing a career in tourism.

My motto is: “Treat your guests as you’d wish to be treated. Be yourself and smile. It doesn’t cost a penny!”

Tons of work , full time schedules and no holidays and days off for years, elder colleagues that I had to manage, working on weekends and public holidays, accurate forecasting and teambuilding were a few of the challenges I had to face during the 17 years I have been managing hotels.

Better management of regional airports will certainly give a boost to more destinations. Destination marketing must at last follow a steady plan and be managed by one independent authority. Millions of euros have been spent during the past decades without any measurable outcome.

To read more of this interview, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

 

Expat Explorer, one of the largest surveys of it's kind, wants to hear from you! Help us to help them gather information about living and working in Greece!

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and is open until Monday April 27th. It can be taken here: https://start.yougov.com/refer/v2fdHjNr0y73P7.

The 2014 Expat Explorer survey interviewed almost 10,000 expats about their views on different elements of life abroad, from general experience, through to personal finance and family life. The data is publicly available on an interactive portal designed to help expats make the most of their life abroad: http://expatexplorer.hsbc.com/.

Hospitality platform Airbnb has boosted the local economy by 69 million euros, supported over 1,000 jobs and is attracting new visitors to Athens, a study released on Wednesday found.

The survey, conducted between October 2013 and September 2014 jointly by Airbnb and Athens University professor Christos Genakos, revealed that the platform complements the existing tourism industry and spreads the economic benefits across Athens to new neighborhoods and small businesses.

According to the findings, Airbnb is attracting new visitors to Athens, with 71 percent of guests visiting for the first time and 67 percent reporting that they were more likely to return. The platform has 11,500 entries for Greece, 2,500 of which are for Athens, a figure that has doubled since 2009. Airbnb hosts’ properties span 25 neighbourhoods in the Greek capital.

Besides contributng to the local economy, the community-driven hospitality platform also helps locals who share their homes to stay afloat in difficult economic times.  The typical Athenian host shares their home with guests for about 68 nights per year, with 68% of hosts saying they rely on this income.

 

“Airbnb hosts attract new visitors to Athens, who are looking for an authentic, local travel experience,” explains Airbnb Regional Manager Jeroen Merchiers.

“This helps boost Athens’ tourism market and support the local economy while extending the economic benefits beyond the popular city spots. Meanwhile, Airbnb hosts have an extra income to sustain themselves and their families in this difficult economic period,” he adds.

 

Airbnb guests stay an average of 3.6 nights and spend 551 euros over the course of their trip. Some 26 percent said they would not have come or would not have stayed as long without Airbnb, while 91 percent would recommend the Airbnb property they stayed in to friends and family.

 

Guests opting for Airbnb are looking for genuine experiences with 75 percent saying they wanted to stay in a specific neighbourhood. In the meantime, 98 percent of hosts provide their guests with personalised recommendations on alternative neighbourhoods to visit and 70 percent provide their guests with locally produced products.

To read more, please visit Greek Travel Pages.

Athenian Brewery announced on Thursday it was launching Heineken beer exports to the Chinese and Italian markets, as the first batch set off on its long trip to the Far East.

The beer for export will be produced at the brewery’s Patra production unit, in an investment project amounting to 2 million euros. The decision was made in association with the parent company in Amsterdam and will boost employment in local communities as it involves the use of Greek raw materials.

“At first the new production line will be covered by existing employees, but this summer will see the gradual hiring of some seasonal workers,” Athenian Brewery’s managing director Zooullis Mina promised.


To read more please visit: ekathimerini
By Anestis Dokas

 

Here are 5 things you can do on the beautiful island of Paxos.

The village of Gaios is the capital of Paxos and the central port of the island. As you enter Gaios by boat, you will see two green islands. The island of Panagia and the island of St Nicholas. On the island of St Nicholas you will find a venetian fortress built using designs of Leonardo da Vinci.  If you would like to visit the fortress you must take permission from the municipality.Other interesting things you could do in Gaios are stroll through the narrow roads called (kantounia) , visit the museum of Paxos and the municipal gallery.

The small fisherman’s village of Loggos, is a traditional Eptanisian village with stone houses and colored windows. It used to be a commercial center in the past. At one side of the port you can see the abandoned factory that used to make soap. Nowadays the picturesque village of Loggos is famous for its great restaurants.

Lakka is another traditional village on the north side of Paxos island. It has a more cosmopolitan air since you will see a lot of yachts. There is also a yachting club in the area. Other interesting things  are the lighthouse and the church of Ypapanti. They are both within walking distance from the village.

To read more, please visit: Travel Passionate.

by Chrysoula Manika

Finally!  Greece is back on the map as a great holiday destination.

For its May issue, National Geographic Traveler UK urges holidaymakers and restless souls across the globe to “Return to Greece” and cites 11 reasons to explore the Aegean and beyond.

Though Greece may have experienced “a tumultuous few years, a new government and rumblings of a new (old) currency”, the National Geographic story dedicates 15 pages to what it describes as one of the most popular destinations for British travellers.

New investments, increasing number of flight connections, alternative hospitality choices are all drawing visitors to Greece, National Geographic Traveler UK editor Pat Riddell explains, adding that the Mediterranean country is now much more than the loved and highly sought after sea and sun.

To read more, please visit: gtp Headines

Greek company Hellenic Seaplanes has expanded its waterway network to include the ports of the North Aegean islands Chios, Psara and Oinousses, according to an announcement made on Thursday 16th April 2015.

The Chios Municipal Port Authority committee has awarded “Ydatodromio Chios, Psara and Oinousses IKE”, a subsidiary of Seaplanes Greece SA / Hellenic Seaplanes SA, the contractor rights.

The “Ydatodromia Chios, Psara and Oinousses IKE” will now apply for a license to operate the waterways at the ports.

According to Hellenic Seaplanes, which aims to connect the Greek islands with the mainland via waterways, some 50 waterways are in the process of creation and licensing countrywide.

There are many reasons why Athens is such a great city to visit. Here are 10 reasons why everyone should visit Athens at least once!

1 – It’s full of monuments of the famous ancient Greek civilization.

The Greek civilization is one of the oldest and biggest in Europe, stretching back more than 3000 years. Here you can find dozens of monuments from the distant pant. Of course the most recognized is Acropolis. A hill in the centre of city, with ancient temples and buildings. The biggest and most important is the Parthenon, which is dedicated to the goddess Athena. But it’s not only Acropolis. Across the city there are temples, libraries, bridges and a lot of other monuments. And of course there are two museums that you can’t miss : the Archaeological museum and the museum of Acropolis, one of the most astonishing in the world.

Democracy is the most common form of government nowadays. Did you know that it first appeared in the city of Athens, around 500 B.C. ? It comes from the greek words “demos” (that means people) and “cratos” (that means power). The Athenian Democracy was the most direct form of it, as the institutions of the city were consisted of the citizens, and the decisions were made by them for them. Today you can take a walk to the hill of Pnika or to the area of the Ancient Market, places where people used to meet back then to discuss about the important public issues and make the decisions.

The first theatrical plays were written in Ancient Athens, and were part of the festivals that honoured the god Dionysus. There were three types of plays: tragedies, comedies and satyr. The actors wore always masks and unlike today, back then they were only men. The most famous tragic writers were Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus, and Aristofanes on comedy. Near Acropolis you can find the ruins of the theatre of Dionysus, the biggest in the city on its Golden Era. If you are lucky, you can also watch a play on the Roman theatre of Irodis and feel like taking part in these ancient festivals.

4 – Just three words. Modern Olympic Games.
Of course most of you know that Olympic Games started in Ancient Greece. But the first modern ones were held also in Athens, in 1896. Pierre de Coubertin was the one who had the idea and in the spring of that year, around 250 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Games. The opening ceremony was a huge success, with 80000 spectators coming to the Panathenian Stadium. Today, it’s the finishing point of the Athens Classic Marathon. 108 years later, Athens was again the hosting city. This time there were more stadia and thousands of athletes from 202 countries. For 20 days, it was the centre of the world in one of the most important moments of our modern history.

5 – Want to have fun? You are in the right place.
Athens is the perfect destination for those who seek fun. 24/7, you can always find something to do. Are you a coffee, tea or chocolate lover? There are many places where you can have a drink. Especially near Monastiraki, Plaka or Thisio, with an excellent view of Acropolis. But Athens is also known for its nightlife. Here the people go out every day from dusk till dawn. If you are an alternative person or want something more quiet, you can drink a beer or your favourite alcohol in one of the many bars & pubs across the town. Or just enjoy some wine listening to traditional Greek music. And if you fancy dancing till you drop, go to a night club or one of those bars with their super parties. So you can see how hard can the Greeks party.

6 – Sea, sea and sea again.
We are so lucky to be less than an hour away from the sea here in Athens. Many of us can even see it from our terraces. On the hot days of summer, we have the chance to go to one of the many beaches around the city. Of course Greek islands are a lot better than this, but if you can’t visit them, don’t worry. There are plenty of beautiful coasts around Athens where you will have the feeling that you are miles away from a metropolis. And all of them are easily accessible by bus or the tram.

To read more, please visit: The Travel Issue

By Konstantinos Kotzias