Vacations in Greece

Greece is much more than what we are taught at school or the predictable summer image of glorious sunsets and sandy beaches. In Greece, you are standing at a crossroads of cultures, colours and civilisations, you feel the strength of history and the warmth of being in the southernmost part of Europe, you discover an evolutionary process of thought, influence and experience.
A country that despite being rich in history has a populaton that moves towards the future.
A country that although statistically small, is huge in its diversity.
A landscape that has given us thousands of postcard images but remains incredibly vibrant and impossible to capture.
Greece is a country of beautiful contradictions, a constant journey in time, from the present to the past and back again.
Walk through the olive groves, through ancient sites. Move to clusters of sparsely inhabited islands. Roam from the beaches to rocky mountains and explore breathtaking scenery.
In Greece the fusion of images becomes more than imagery and turns into reality.

The Greek coasts

The Greek coast has a total length of approximately 16,000 km.  Half of these are on the thousands of Greek islands, while the rest extends along the mainland. What characterises the famous Greek coasts is their unique diversity (beaches stretching over many kilometres, small bays and coves, sandy beaches with dunes, pebbly shores, coastal caves surrounded by steep rocks and with the characteristic dark sand of volcanic soils, coastal wetlands), their clean and transparent waters which have made them renowned all over the world and, for this reason, extremely popular.
In 2005, Greece had 383 beaches and 5 marinas that were awarded the "Blue Flag" (See below), a fact that puts the country in a top-ranking position among the European countries.
Most of the thousands of Greek coasts are freely accessible and you have the opportunity to discover and enjoy them without the presence of a large  number of swimmers. There are, however, also many organised beaches in the country with the necessary infrastructure providing high-quality services (umbrellas, reclining chairs, changing booths, cafes, bar-restaurants etc), where, apart from swimming, you can enjoy water sports  (water ski, windsurfing, diving etc) as well as other means of having fun in the water, such as the parachute for one or two persons, "tyres" and the "banana", pedalo, jet ski etc. All organised beaches also have lifeguard towers ensuring safe swimming in the area.

"Blue Flags of Europe"   ......

Each year this programme presents an award to the coasts and marinas which meet strict criteria as regards the cleanness of the sea and the coast, good organisation and safety as well as the protection of the coastal environment in general. More specifically, the criteria for the award of the "Blue Flag" are the following:

1. Cleanness of the sea and the coast
       -Quality of swimming water verified by measurement of water samples;
       -Absence of industrial sewage discharge on the coast;
       -Treatment of urban sewage as required by the relevant EU directive;
       -Adequate number of litter bins which must be emptied at regular intervals; 
       -Periodical cleaning of the beach from litter, cigarette stubs etc.

2. Organisation of the coast and safety of the visitors.
       -Continuous information of the public regarding the quality of swimming water;
       -Immediate information if the water has become unsafe for swimmers;
       -Plans to deal with a pollution accident and to immediately inform the public;
       -Adequate number of sanitary facilities with controlled sewerage;
       -Trained lifeguards or direct access to telephone, lifesaving equipment and First Aid; 
       -Safe passage to the coast and special care for people with disabilities;
       -No driving (vehicles and motorcycles) is allowed on the beach;
       -Free camping is forbidden; and
       -Pets have to be supervised on the beach.

3. Protection of nature and environmental education
       -Printed information and publicly displayed instructions regarding behaviour on the coast;
       -Activities actively promoting the protection of the natural coastal environment.

GREEK ISLANDS

The islands are Greece's chief morphological trait and an integral part of the country's civilisation and tradition. The Greek territory comprises 6,000 islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Sea, a truly unique phenomenon on the European continent; of these islands only 227 are inhabited.

The Greek Archipelago takes up 7,500 km of the country's total 16,000-km coastline, offering a highly diversified landscape: beaches stretching along many kilometers, sheltered bays and coves, golden stretches of sand with dunes, pebbly beaches, coastal caves with steep rocks and black sand typical of volcanic soil, coastal wetlands... Many Greek beaches have been awarded the blue flag under the programme Blue Flags of Europe . Apart from swimming, they lend themselves to scuba diving, snorkeling, water skiing, sailing and windsurfing. As they are the cradle of some of the most ancient and prosperous European civilisations (the Cycladic, Minoan civilisations, etc.), the islands boast unique archaeological sites, an outstanding architectural heritage and centuries-old, fascinating local traditions of a multifaceted cultural past. Moreover, 58.5% of the country's lodging establishments and 62.6% of hotel beds are found on the islands (data for 2003). All the above, combined with the ideal climate, the safety of Greek waters and the short distances between ports and coasts, have rendered the Greek islands extremely popular among Greek and foreign visitors.

Most islands lie in the Aegean Sea and are divided in seven groups (from north to south).

• The Northeastern Aegean Islands: Agios Efstratios, Thasos, Ikaria, Lesvos, Limnos, Inousses, Samos, Samothrace, Chios, Psara.
• The Sporades: Alonissos, Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros 
• Evia
• The Argo-Saronic Islands: Angistri, Aegina, Poros, Salamina, Spetses, Hydra and the coastal area of Methana.
• The Cyclades: A group of 56 islands, its most important ones being Amorgos, Anafi, Andros, Antiparos, Delos, Ios, Kea, Kimolos, Kythnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Serifos, Sikinos, Sifnos, Syros, Tinos, Folegandros, as well as the "Minor Cyclades" comprising Donousa, Irakleia, Koufonisia and Schinoussa. 
• The Dodecanese: Astypalaia, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Thasos, Kastelorizo, Kos, Lipsi, Leros, Nisyros, Patmos, Rhodes, Symi, Tilos, Halki.
• Crete

      The Ionian Sea is home to one sole island group:

• The Ionian Islands: Zakynthos, Ithaca, Corfu, Cephallonia, Lefkada, Paxi, Antipaxi, Ereikoussa, Mathraki, Meganissi, Othoni, Strofades.
  These islands, together with Kythira, which is however cut-off from the rest, opposite the southern Peloponnese (Lakonia), as well as neighbouring Antikythira, they constitute the Eptanissa.

The islands of Gavdos (situated south of Crete), Elafonissos (in the Gulf of Laconia) and Trizonis (in the Gulf of Corinth), although not forming part of any group, are of unparalleled natural beauty.

For more info's link : http://www.the-greek-islands.biz

Sea tourism

The wealth and diversity of the Greek seas, the endless kilometres of the Greek coasts and the thousands of Greek islands, the protected sea areas covering thousands of square kilometres, the mild climate, the high percentage of sunshine and its interesting and varying landscape make Greece the ideal destination for the development of sea tourism activities. This advantage is strengthened both by thousands of years of marine tradition and by conditions favourable for sea travelling: the Greek seas are considered safe, distances between coasts are small, while conditions related to wind strength, ambient and sea temperatures are equally favourable.
In Greece sea tourism started in the ?60s and since then has been developing at a fast pace, especially in recent years.  Cruise ships under Greek flag organising short or longer cruises to Greek ports and ports of other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean amount to more than 160,000 GRT units and have a total capacity of over 10,000 passengers. Greek ports, however, are also visited by cruise ships under foreign flags, which annually bring more than 500,000 passengers into the country by sea.

Attractions

Greece has an abundance of resources that tourists with ecological and cultural interests will find attractive. The wealth of cultural as well as ecological resources, both biotic and abiotic, constitute a special comparative advantage of the country for those interested in the conservation of cultural diversity, bio-diversity and eco-systems. These resources are marked by their wide variety, rareness and distinctiveness and are found in areas many of which have already been placed under special protection

Events

Greece is a country with a vast wealth of cultural tradition and folklore.  Visitors, therefore, have many opportunities to enrich their travels by attending the various cultural or sports events held in every region of the country, to participate in the festivities that often are connected with enchanting customs and get acquainted with unknown but extremely interesting aspects of Greek folklore heritage.

Greek gastronomy

The unique tastes of Greece guarantee that you are in for many culinary surprises during your stay in the country. Contrary to common belief, you will discover that Greek cuisine is not only moussaka, souvlaki and choriatiki salata, but has a wide variety of dishes that can meet the culinary demands of both meat-eaters and vegetarians in an extremely satisfying way. 
Things could not be different, anyway, in the country that gave birth to symposiums and the Epicurean philosophers.  It was, in fact, Archestratos who, in 330 B.C., wrote the first cookbook in History, and reminded us that cuisine is a sign of civilisation. Greece has a culinary tradition of approximately 4,000 years.  Nevertheless, like most national cuisines, Greek cuisine has both influenced others and embraced ideas from its eastern and western neighbours.

Links for more info"s http://www.culture.gr/     http://www.gnto.gr.

Climate - Weather

Greece has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine, mild temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall. Due to the country's geographical position, its rugged relief and its distribution between the mainland and the sea, there is great variation in Greece's climate. In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by seasonal winds called the meltemi, while mountainous regions have generally lower temperatures.