Back from Greece, after a week of travel, my views on spending have collapsed…
🏛️ Back from Greece, after a week of travel, my views on spending have collapsed…
——2025 real shock: from the "Home of the Gods" to the "Euro Black Hole," spending ¥8,000 per person to buy the gap between myth and reality
⚠️ Why did my spending views collapse?
✅ Magical prices: €5 for a bottle of water at the Acropolis, €150/person for a "cliffside sunset dinner" on Santorini, €100/day to rent a car (manual old car)
✅ Shrinking experiences: One-third of the Acropolis is under repair with barriers, 1-hour queue for 3 minutes of photos at Santorini’s blue-domed church
✅ Transportation blows: Island ferries often canceled due to strong winds, last-minute flight changes cost €200+, taxis double the fare without meters
📍 2025 Greece real pain points (with solutions)
1️⃣ Dining: Tourist traps vs. local canteens
🍇 Current comparison:
Scenic assassins:
Plaka district in Athens "scenic restaurant" €30 (lamb skewers dry as firewood, undercooked rice)
Santorini Oia "internet-famous sunset restaurant" €200/person (book six months in advance, actual view half blocked by trees)
Local conscience:
Athens Central Market €15 (eat Souvlaki €3.5, fresh squeezed orange juice €2)
Crete countryside small restaurant €20 (stewed lamb + wine + salad, family-run)
💡 Solutions:
✔️ Find “Mageireio” canteens:
Next to Athens Liosia market (€10 set meal: stew + bread + yogurt)
✔️ Self-catering at supermarkets:
Carrefour buys Feta cheese €4/block, olives €3, tomatoes €2 (make Greek salad on the balcony)
2️⃣ Transportation: The "randomness" on the Aegean Sea
🚢 Pitfalls recorded:
Athens → Islands:
Speedboat €80 but causes seasickness, slow ferry €40 but takes 4+ hours with 30% cancellation rate
Flight €150 (doubles in summer), luggage fee €30 extra
Island transport:
Santorini bus €2 but packed like sardines, rent quad bike €40/day (exposed to sun + dangerous)
Taxi no meter (airport to Fira €25, actual price €10)
💡 Counterattack plan:
✔️ Off-peak ferry tickets:
Book early with Ferryhopper APP (choose early morning/night trips 30% cheaper)
✔️ Shared car rental:
Use Beat taxi in Athens (clear pricing), rent small automatic car in Crete €60/day (book 3 months in advance)
✔️ Give up island hopping: focus on 1-2 islands for deep travel (e.g., Crete + Athens, reduce transport costs)
3️⃣ Attractions: Myth filter shattered
📸 Truth shock:
Acropolis €20: under repair until 2026, Parthenon scaffolding permanent, 40°C sun exposure with no shade
Santorini: Oia sunset crowds like Spring Festival travel rush, blue-domed church is actually three small chapels (iconic photo spot is on private wall)
Delphi €12: 3-hour drive from Athens, ruins mostly rubble, museum small and stuffy
💡 Best moments:
✔️ Off-the-beaten-path alternatives:
Nafplio (2-hour drive from Athens, Venetian castle + seaside town, free to stroll)
Meteora Monasteries €3 (Sky City, 80% fewer tourists than Santorini, morning mist like a fairyland)
✔️ Off-peak tips:
Stay in a guesthouse near Acropolis €100/night (5-minute walk to Acropolis, opens at 7:00 am)
Stay at Perissa black sand beach on Santorini €120/night (cost-effective, 20-minute bus to Fira)
🗺️ 2025 optimized itinerary (damage control version)
📍 7 days 6 nights highlights
Stay: Apartment near Acropolis €100/night (with kitchen), guesthouse in Chania, Crete €80/night
Play:
✅ Day 1-3 Slow travel in Athens:
Acropolis Museum €10 (air-conditioned, see original Caryatids)
National Garden free (escape the heat, watch turtles sunbathe)
Ancient Agora €8 (quieter than Acropolis, Socrates used to stroll here)
✅ Day 4-7 Crete:
Knossos Palace €15 (hire guide €20, otherwise just ruins)
Balos Lagoon free (40-minute hike, jelly-like sea purer than Santorini)
Rethymno old town free (Venetian port, prices 1/3 of Santorini)
Eat:
🔥 Ta Karamanlidika €25 (Athens, smoked meat + cheese platter, century-old shop)
🔥 Peskesi €30 (Crete, traditional stewed lamb, reservation needed)
💡 2025 ultimate survival rules
❌ Avoid:
“Free” rose/bracelet (forced €10-20 tip)
Dock “last ferry” scam (claim ferry canceled, push expensive black taxis)
Restaurant “today’s special fish” (priced per 100g, bill turns €50+)
✅ Worth it:
Buy Greek sponge €5 at pharmacy (natural and soft, €15 in scenic spots)
Free museum Sundays (first Sunday of each month, free entry to Acropolis and national sites)
🏺 Traveler awakening quote
“When tourists pose in front of scaffolding at the Acropolis,
I sit under the plane trees in the National Garden, listening to an old man recite the Homeric epics in German;
When Santorini’s sunset viewing platform is packed with tripods,
I buy an octopus for €5 at a fishing port in Crete and ask the owner to grill it;
I didn’t see the perfect blue domes on postcards,
But in the morning mist of Meteora, I saw monasteries hanging in the clouds—
The truth of Greece
Is that it lets us touch the burning human world where myths fall.”
👇 Interaction
“How do you avoid spending traps in Greece?
One winner will get a 【Greek Sponge + Acropolis Museum Guide】!”