New answers tagged greece
7
EDIT: This is a fast evolving situation. Under the current circumstances I suggest anyone planning to come to Europe just cancel or postpone.
A Schengen visa normally allows one to enter any Schengen country.
There is no obligation to enter the Schengen area through the country that issued your visa.
So entering via France (or any other country) is not ...
0
I've been to Greece a few times.
Not all Greeks are super good in English but for the most of time in doesn't matter as gestures etc is understood - but you should always be friendly and take your time communicating.
If you're a citizen of the EU then you will have free roaming in Greece and you can then use Google Translate to make communication easier. ...
0
Took a holiday in Athens. The language was all Greek to me.
Had no issues being understood or understanding. Most restaurant menus are double language and there are many people who can speak English. If you go away from the touristy areas, you may find it is less easy to get by. But as long as you can get back to where you started, you're not going to ...
3
This is not an answer, but may be relevant:
In the days of phrasebooks, when somewhere really exotic and non-English, I would point to the phrase in the book, which also made for a lot of entertainment on all sides. These days you can do that with Google translate, then you all gather around and have a smile.
27
You'll manage. I speak from recent experience: I completed last year's Athens Classic Marathon (which incidentally led to this question, but I digress). Unlike you I didn't book via a travel provider but arranged everything myself; I've visited a couple of restaurants outside the city center and all waiters spoke decent English. I haven't spoken more than a ...
11
A phrasebook will certainly help. So will "nee", "oki", "yassas", "efharisto" and "parakello" ("yes", "no", "hallo", "thank you", and either "please" or "you're welcome"). Whilst you can certainly expect most Greeks to speak English to a greater or lesser extent, it is profoundly rude to rock up in someone else's country without knowing even those basics. ...
7
I have visited Athens twice on business. At the airport, everyone I dealt with spoke English reasonably enough. I had no problems at passport control, customs, etc. I had no problem getting a taxi and communicating with the driver - although I always carried with me a piece of paper with the address of the hotel.
Once in the city, again, I had no problem ...
16
You should not have problems.
My recent experience in Greece (mainly in Crete, off-season):
Athens airport: no problem, English is understood, signs are also in English, personnel speak English. There is no problem in customs (like most countries: it is not necessary to know local language).
Car rental: no problem: you will have documents in English, and ...
21
am concerned about getting through customs and getting to and from the airport to the hotel. Will i have issues in customs, or are there english speaking staff available?
Living in Greece all my life I can assure you that, nope, you won't.
As a famous tourist destination almost all tourist related jobs here require some sort of proficiency in speaking ...
47
Millions of people per year visit Greece, and I'm willing to bet that a large portion of them do not speak any Greek. It's a very popular holiday destination for English speaking people. I can't imagine you would have much trouble at all1.
Immigration and customs should be no problem. Have the name of your hotel written down in the unlikely event you get a ...
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