I'm an American who visited Greece for the first time. Here are 11 things that surprised me the most. (2024)

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The weather really was as great as people say.

Greece is known for its abundant sunshine — reportedly enjoying more than 250 days of sunshine, or 3,000 sunny hours, each year.

As someone who is averse to heat and humidity, this made traveling during the country's shoulder season — typically April through mid-June and September through October — ideal. I got to avoid the crowds and soak up the Greek sun at a pleasant 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Some days, there was nary a cloud in the sky for miles.

That said, seaside locations are often much breezier than you might expect, and temperatures can significantly drop after sunset.

I prioritized packing light to avoid carrying a heavy suitcase along the narrow, cobblestone streets and up steep hills, but I'd definitely recommend bringing at least one sweater, jacket, or sweatshirt and a pair of long pants or jeans.

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Greece's famous beaches were beautiful but very cold.

Any trip to Greece wouldn't be complete without dipping your toes in the crystal-blue waters of the Aegean sea, but my husband and I were immediately surprised at how cold they were.

Our boating captain in Milos told us that September actually served up the warmest water temperatures of the year, but he could have just been saying that to encourage us to jump in. We found that diving headfirst without thinking about it helped, and swimming was comfortable once you made it in.

Still, the pools and hot tubs at the hotels we stayed in were quite cold. A fellow traveler even told us that the cavernous hot springs of Santorini were chilly. On the bright side, this made a quick dip quite refreshing after hours spent beneath the sun.

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Local Greek residents were extraordinarily friendly.

One of the joys of traveling is getting to meet new people, and I found that everyone we interacted with was friendly, personable, and happy to chat.

Nearly everyone we met fluently spoke English, which made things easier, but I always recommend learning a few basic phrases no matter where you're visiting.

As someone who also experiences social anxiety, I was immediately put at ease by the friendliness of folks, making for some memorable conversations.

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There were a lot of stray animals.

One of the first things we noticed upon our arrival was an abundance of stray cats and dogs wandering the streets.

Sadly, stray animals can be a problem in many places around the globe, and they often rely on tourists and locals for food and shelter during busy seasons but fend for themselves on off-seasons.

Experts disagree on whether or not it is safe for visitors to interact with or feed strays, but I fed any I saw during meal times, figuring that giving them a little bit of food was better than letting it get tossed in the garbage.

It truly broke my heart, and I now have pipe dreams to retire someday and help create safe rescues and resources for the cats and dogs on the streets of Greece.

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Guided tours were the way to go.

After chatting with a friend who had a lot of experience in Greece, I was inspired to book several small group tours, which I'd never considered trying.

I enjoyed a guided walking tour of the Acropolis, a guided food tour in Athens, an all-day sailing cruise in Milos, and a group wine tastingin Santorini.

If you're someone who feels overwhelmed by the thought of being on a boat with a small group of strangers for 10 hours, I think you'll feel at ease once you give it a try. Every guide we had was friendly and thoughtful, giving amazing historical feedback and information about each landmark or spot we visited.

Plus meeting fellow tourists from all over the world was a treat.

We were able to learn so much from each experience and see more than we'd be able to on our own, creating amazing memories along the way.

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Under-the-radar islands definitely shouldn't be overlooked.

Initially, I'd planned to spend some time in Athens before heading to two of Greece's most coveted islands — Mykonos and Santorini — but my friend encouraged me to swap Mykonos for Milos, citing that it and Santorini are heavily touristed.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the romantic and Instagram-friendly isle of Santorini, so she recommended staying near Imerovigli, a quieter portion of the island.

My husband and I didn't regret overlooking Mykonos, which is known for its epic party scene, and found Santorini to be heavily commercialized and filled with tourists, even in the quieter spots.

Milos, famous for its colorful fishing villages and jaw-dropping beaches, made for a perfect respite between the busy Athens and Santorini.

If we returned to Greece, we would solely visit some of the more under-the-radar islands, as there are plenty of hidden gems to discover no matter where in the region you are.

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It was exciting to travel between islands, but it took up a lot of time.

With hundreds of islands, Greece has no shortage of stunning places to explore. But between the 15 international airports and countless ports, traveling from one to another — or even within each individual region of the country — can be time-consuming and unpredictable.

We chose to fly from Athens to Milos and experienced a delay of over an hour, with little information from the crew. We then took a ferry from Milos to Santorini, another trip that came with more than an hour's worth of holdups.

You can typically find ample flight and ferry options no matter your starting point and destination, but the latter can take several hours and can often be a bumpy ride, depending on the conditions of the waters.

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Many spots were not accessible for those who have trouble with navigating steps or rough terrain.

Greece welcomes millions of visitors each year, but I was (perhaps naively) surprised to find that even the most popular locations and attractions were inaccessible for those who can't safely navigate steps and uneven, steep terrain by foot.

Many hotels, restaurants, shops, and attractions are accessible only by climbing many hills and steps, including the Acropolis of Athens.

There are resources available to help tourists find accessible travel options, and I did see several people use hiking sticks for support along the steep terrain in Santorini's main areas. Renting cars and ATVs is also a popular option, but on some islands, there are spots so remote that they're only accessible by boat or foot.

It seems like some of the biggest island destinations are working on becoming more accessible to all kinds of travelers, but it is worth noting if you're someone for whom walking long distances is not possible.

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Traditional Greek breakfast is "coffee and a cigarette," but the food was even better than I expected.

However amazing you've heard the food in Greece is, it's even better in real life. Every meal we ate was good or incredible — even room service was tasty and satisfying.

Of course, there are also cultural differences, just as you'd find anywhere.

Our food tour guide in Athens told us that the traditional breakfast for locals is "coffee and a cigarette" unless they're on holiday and someone else is doing the cooking.

The three hotel breakfasts we enjoyed were extremely delicious and put the sad continental breakfasts you'd find in the US to shame. I'll forever dream about the scrambled eggs topped with feta, creamy local yogurt, and honey I ate each morning.

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A bottle of wine in Greece often cost the same as one co*cktail in NYC.

Living in the suburbs of New York City, I'm accustomed to paying a pretty penny to enjoy meals and drinks out, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that in both Athens and Milos, the prices were incredibly affordable, especially for the plentiful portions.

Our first dinner in Athens, my eyes were bigger than my appetite, and my husband and I ordered a few appetizers along with entrées for each of us. We were so full from the starters that we took our meals to-go before they even reached the table, and it all only cost about $35.

Wine and co*cktails in Greece are abundant and usually affordable as well, making it more cost-efficient to order an entire bottle for the table, at about $10 to $15 apiece.

That said, food and drink prices were markedly higher in Santorini, likely due to the heavy tourist presence.

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The COVID-19 safety precautions were hit or miss.

With the Delta variant still a major worldwide threat, I was particularly concerned about contracting the coronavirus in Greece and potentially unknowingly spreading it to others.

In the airports and on the ferries — which were typically full of tourists from other countries — mask usage was precarious, with plenty of people wearing them incorrectly or not at all.

But on the metro in Athens and throughout the city, we found that most people wore them correctly and kept their distance whenever possible.

Plus we found that workers were always willing to put a mask on immediately when they noticed us approaching wearing them, and hand sanitizer and wipes were freely available at almost every turn.

We made sure to do everything we could to protect ourselves and others in our travels, which seemed to pay off, as we enjoyed an unforgettable trip in good health — a much-needed respite from 18 months of life at home.