Ah, Greece!
Good afternoon everyone! At one time, the reviews left were very helpful to me (thanks to everyone), so I decided to write my own. Maybe it will be useful for someone too. I was in Greece at the end of May - beginning of June 2013 - Halkidiki, Sithonia, Philoxenia Bungalows hotel. Departing party - Solvex-tour (through the pilgrimage center "Nicea-Sofia"), receiving party - Beleon Tours. Hotel guide - Amiran. The guide, in principle, is good, responsive, gives good advice in everything except excursions. In them, he is very poorly oriented. Well, or just trying to sell more, deceiving.
I want to warn you right away: Greece is a paradise for smokers. Non-smokers will have a hard time there. Almost everyone smokes almost everywhere. And they don’t even understand why it can bother someone. If there are smoking neighbors, you will not be able to open the windows, because they will smoke in turn, and you will “enjoy” with each of them.
At the pilgrimage center, they first promised that there would be an opportunity to join pilgrimage groups on excursions, but then they said that they did not want to spoil relations with other companies, then that it would be more expensive. In general, I had to go with the usual excursions. Although I applied to the pilgrimage center specifically for the purpose of traveling to places of pilgrimage, it “did not grow together”. So you can contact Solvex directly.
The flight was all right. We were brought to the hotel at 9:00. Checked in at 13.00! This is after a sleepless night due to an early flight. Even a grandmother with a small granddaughter had to persuade the reception for a long time, they barely begged to check in at 11.00. At the same time, they offered to leave things in a separate room without supervision. They said they had a video camera there. Although it is unrealistic to quickly run there from the reception, if anything. In principle, nothing really terrible, it was only necessary to warn about it in advance.
I understand that formally they are right, the official check-in is from 12.00 to 13.00. But if the hotel values customers, it was possible to meet halfway. And where is the Greek hospitality praised in all the booklets? At least they offered coffee or breakfast to the child. She wouldn't have eaten them. If this had been warned, it would have been easier to perceive. And so the girl from Beleon left us at the reception and ran away. Allegedly, they speak Russian there, so there will be no problems. One girl does speak Russian, but not very kindly. In general, we somehow did not really feel the vaunted Greek wonderful attitude towards Russians, which is written about on all sites. Although, of course, everything was within the bounds of politeness. By the way, if someone also has to wait a long time for check-in, breakfast is paid - 5 euros, but it's better to take it if you don't have anything to eat with you. Because the taverns on the beach start trading only after lunch. Well, you can buy something in the store.
The sea was stormy that day, it was cool, so I had to go to bed in the room where things were left. Fortunately, there were soft sofas. Then one sofa was taken away, only one remained. Now not everyone waiting for settlement can fit there. By the way, the neighbors later told us that our rooms had been empty for several days before our arrival, that is, there was no need to wait for the departure of the previous vacationers. The funny thing is that after that, when the next day at the reception they returned our passports, a piece of paper was enclosed in them with the following text: "Dear guest, approaching the date of your departure from the hotel ... ". I actually just arrived and planned to stay for another 2 weeks. Well, then please share your wonderful impressions of Greece with everyone. Being bullied! I haven't liked anything yet! Well, it's okay, these are emotions.
We must pay tribute to all senders and receivers, the room turned out to be good, spacious enough, clean, as ordered, with a balcony overlooking the pine trees (the aroma is fabulous! Squirrels jump, gnaw cones, birds sing! ) and towards the sea. The noise from the track, of course, is audible, but thanks to the reviews, we were ready for this. In these rooms, the track was the least disturbing. For this, a really big thank you to everyone who is involved in this process!
Cleaning and change of linen is regular, a large and deep closet, a lot of furniture and, apart from the closet, everything is made of natural wood, which is nice. Lots of toilet paper and soap. Once, however, after cleaning the shower horn turned out to be a tuft of hair in an incomprehensible way. Well, let's assume that the maid did not want to earn a tip, that's her business. Also, there is no place to dry clothes. Everything is hung on the railings of balconies and chairs. Some dryers would be nice, of course.
With us, they just replaced the old models of TVs with flat ones.
It's kind of weak and tasteless. What is brewed, what is soluble. If you pour soluble into the boiled, at least some taste appears. Dinners are very good and varied. Only drinks are paid for everything, even water. But they warn about this when buying a tour, so there were no problems either. It remains a mystery to everyone why every evening at dinner the waiters asked us for a room number? True, dinner was not deprived even of those who had never ordered drinks. For some reason, only green olives were given, and I like black ones more, but this is again from the area of u200bu200bpreferences.
Only buy water, there is no cooler on site. Although in a hot country where water is a matter of survival, they could have delivered. Those who like to drink tea, take a kettle or a kettle with you. And brew.
On the veranda, where most of the dining tables are, plywood is lined for nesting swallows. This is great!
We were just there when they were feeding the chicks, so cool to watch!
Before an early excursion (or early departure), you can order an early breakfast or dry ration at the reception. But I must say that for some reason they are very reverent about this, they are afraid to “transmit” something. Although at a normal breakfast, a person will eat more in every way. For the first time, we had to explain for a long time that it would take 10 minutes to run to the canteen, eat and return to the bus by no means in time. The girl was frankly surprised why. Early breakfast is just tea (coffee) and cookies. And that's all. They won't give you butter or cheese, let alone sausage. Packed rations - a hefty hot dog, an apple, a small bottle of water. Well, as they say, thanks for that.
In the evenings it is quiet and calm, if violent neighbors do not come across. There is no entertainment. Walk along the embankment, sit in a tavern, but return in the dark through the forest.
And in general, this is a village with all the consequences ...So whoever wants to have fun - immediately choose another place.
Free Wi-Fi only around the pool. But on the other hand, you can surf the Internet while lying on a lounger, which is also nice. There is a computer at the reception, but there is an expensive Internet connection.
The bar is also by the pool. There are no other cafes on the territory. Everyone is on the beach. There are also 3 or 4 not-big shops. It's a long walk to the supermarket, especially in the heat it's hard to drag back with bags. If you are on a budget, compare prices with beach shops, some of them are cheaper. And in the supermarket at the checkout, the packages are free, but those packages in which you pick up vegetables and fruits are listed on the check at 0.45 euros apiece (that is, 20 rubles per package that you immediately throw away).
The wine was bought from the monastery Cahors from the Russian monastery (in the beach shop it turned out to be cheaper than in Ouranoupoli, and, of course, cheaper than in Russia), good and Mavro Dafni too.
But the pink from another monastery (in the same semicircular bottle as Cahors) turned out to be with some kind of sediment and not very good. Although the Greeks say that they do not counterfeit wine.
The olives were bought vacuum-packed at the beach shop, again, they turned out to be very salty and did not succumb to soaking. In the supermarket you can try the olives that are sold by weight and choose, but there was no strength to go to it at the end of the holiday.
The hotel area is small, but beautifully decorated and well maintained. As the roses bloomed - beauty! But the forest is littered, which is a pity, they could make a wonderful place for walking. But, on the other hand, it would be noisy under the windows, and so - silence.
There is no medicine nearby at all. No pharmacy, no doctors. The hotel guide said to call him if anything. Probably, the issue is somehow solved.
But when I “knocked off” my finger, in principle, it would not hurt to go to the doctor, but I didn’t want to lose half a day or even a day (to call the guide, go somewhere) for the sake of it. I had to endure. Take with you all the medicines you need, there is nowhere to buy it.
There are three roads to the beach. The shortest one is next to the reception. On the opposite side, there are 2 more: with steps (the heaviest in the heat) and smooth, more gentle.
On the beach, sunbeds and umbrellas are paid (2-3 euros) or you need to buy something in a tavern (any drink is still the same 2-3 euros) and use their sunbeds and umbrellas. The sea is clean, wonderful, however, it finally became warm on June 7th. Before that, they swam, but it was not possible to sit in the water for a long time. Although sometimes it was warm. The sand is dirty, everything that the sea throws ashore after a storm dangles for a long time both along the edge of the water and on the sand. Cleaned rarely and not very carefully.
And the sand is full of branches, some small prickly balls like our burdock, which regularly dig into the legs. The entrance to the sea is mostly good, only in some places there are large stones.
There is only one lifeguard booth for the whole beach, and what is called "water sports" looks very poor. The changing rooms are complete rubbish. Plywood, not all close (there are no doors at all, when I tried to enter one, I hurt my leg on the remains of the door hinge - be careful), there are no hooks or one flimsy, the booths are dirty and covered with snails. There are souls, in principle, but there is no path from them to the asphalt, and by the time you get there, your feet are again in the sand. And near the tavern, which is located closest to the short descent to the beach from the hotel (Alexander, it seems), the shower and foot rinse worked very rarely.
Therefore, do not hesitate to refuse what you did not order if you are limited in funds. Well, if money doesn’t matter to you, then enjoy it to your health! For the most part, the food is delicious. Tips are included in the bill automatically, so you don’t have to worry about this - they will charge you as much as they want (you can, of course, also demand payment strictly on the bill if you don’t like the service). Service is slow (but the Greeks do everything slowly). Although this is annoying only during excursions, when time is very limited. It's a pity to spend it waiting for a meal. In the cities you can find a "snack" in a quick way, but in the countryside, of course, not. On the first excursions, we went to the taverns recommended by the guides, but when we tried the main Greek dishes and realized that they were taking us to expensive taverns, we began to take a “snack” with us on the excursions.
Frappe coffee (cold coffee with cream and whipped, more ice will be added in the tavern) is also sold in a “semi-finished” form in stores in plastic shaker glasses, very convenient. Just be careful, sometimes it spills when whipping. Although you can order in the tavern, it is more expensive there, but the volume is larger.
About excursions - a separate song. They can only be taken on the spot at Beleon Tours. All excursions are expensive. There is also Ambotis and it is somewhat cheaper there, but it turned out at the end, when it was already too late. Look closely at the stands. By the way, there are free trips to Kastoria everywhere, and only Beleon Tours charges 25 euros for this, even from those who buy fur coats there. No matter how many excursions you take, there are no discounts. Tourists are taken from Kassandra, and those from Sithonia are attached to them. Accordingly, we always got the worst places. On the positive side, it should be noted that during the excursions quite frequent stops are made for hygienic purposes.
It's good, for sure. People are different and their needs are different too. Few firms take this into account. In this Beleon, of course, well done.
By the way, about Ambotis. Neighbors rode with them for a whole tour from St. Petersburg. When, for health reasons, they had to refuse one of the paid excursions, they were first promised to compensate for another. But then they refused to replace it even with a cheaper one and, of course, they did not return the money.
Beleon in buses is strictly forbidden to eat something, even if you take a candy, they look right into your mouth. Very unpleasant. It’s good that at least you can drink, but they also carefully look at what is written on the bottle.
A cruise along Mount Athos is not far and not tiring. Led Demis, interesting, meaningful. It was possible to talk to him on the ship, a literate young man. He just started it on Cassandra, so those who were put on Sithonia did not hear the beginning.
The only annoying thing is that the option to travel along Athos is only on a boat stylized as a pirate, with songs, dances, smoking, drinking, etc. Still, I would like to see such a place in a more reverent atmosphere. Somehow it is necessary to separate Athos from an entertaining boat trip, it seems to me. But women don't have a choice. Or they don't report it. In Ouranoupoli they took me to an expensive tavern. It was tasty, but in other places it was possible to eat cheaper. The hotel guide said that it would be possible to swim there, which was surprising. And in fact it turned out that it is not customary to swim in Ouranoupoli. There was not enough time to walk around the town itself. While they were serving in the tavern, while they ran for souvenirs, and it was already necessary to return to the ship. On the way back they were entertained with Greek songs and dances. I have to say, pretty much the same. The boy played and sang better than the couple danced. Very rudely invite the audience to dance.
In front of us, the dancer grabbed the woman by the arm and abruptly dragged her along without looking. She fell and he dragged her across the floor. Another excursion told that in general they pulled a woman by the hair. Well, dear ladies, you need to have at least a little self-respect! Don't let yourself be treated like this! Every joke has some limits. A film about Athos was shown on the bus on the way back. True, those who were sitting in the back complained that their sound was very loud, but the picture was not visible, apparently, there was no second screen. In general, everything would be great if it were not for the "pirate" boat.
It’s good that it was possible to transfer notes and donations to Athos through the hotel guide with Demis, because in Ouranoupoli itself, despite the proximity to Athos, for some reason such a place was not found.
The remaining 4 excursions were led by one guide - Maria, well, very weak and generally living in her own world, not paying attention to the requests of tourists. She smiles always and well, but that's all.
I think that just for a smile they could take a little cheaper. She is sure that Russian tourists will find and see everything themselves, so there is nothing to “steam”.
Olympus-Dion-Vergina is a trip of medium duration, but in general also well tolerated. You just need comfortable shoes - there is a lot of walking around Dion along the old excavated stone roads. Interesting, beautiful. This is perhaps the only excursion for which Mary can be praised. Truth promised to show the three highest peaks of Olympus and forgot. It was possible to achieve this from her only on the fourth (! ) excursion conducted by her. In Dion, take pictures right away, then there is little time, you won’t have time to return, you will go quite far there. They climbed Olympus along a steep "serpentine" road, with adrenaline. Who is afraid of this - think. Delicious food was delivered to the tavern. In general, they were satisfied.
Thessaloniki is also not a tiring trip.
True, we had two stupid mothers with underage sons on the bus. The sons were seated together in another row, and they themselves decided to take a break from them. The sons, of course, were noisy and interfered with everyone sitting not far from them. The tour guide was almost inaudible. To the remarks of the mother, they said that they were children, so they would make noise and categorically refused to transplant them to their place in order to monitor the behavior of their offspring. To our three appeals to Mary with a request to call the mothers to order, there was no reaction at all. At least into the microphone, one could say that everyone was paid the same for the tour, and not for communicating with other people's children. And explain that parents are required to monitor children in public places. We had to throw a scandal so that they paid at least some attention to us. It's good that the second Maria was in the cabin, and finally calmed the children. The first Mary remained imperturbable and indifferent ...
As for the excursion itself, Maria showed us only the excavations and the Temple of Demetrius of Solun. Moreover, in the Temple, she first asked the local caretaker (I don’t know how to call it correctly), and then she translated for us. She didn’t take me to the Rotunda (and didn’t even warn me that everything works only until 15.00). She did not even mention the Cathedral, built according to the type of Constantinople. At the Tower, she said you wouldn't be interested. Didn't give me a city map. And she also said that if we have time and desire, we can then come on our own and see Thessaloniki better. But we have already arrived and what did we pay money for? ! We have limited time, we want to see more, there is no way to go to one place several times. Then gave a few hours of free time. Of course, we managed to run around 2 museums, the Arc de Triomphe, the Rotunda, the Byzantine Church, we visited several shops and looked at the embankment.
But it was possible to go on your own, cheaper and calmer. Maria said that people complained that they didn’t have enough free time in Athens, so in Thessaloniki she compensates them for this. So I decided not to show anything. Go by yourself wherever you want. But most have not yet been to Athens.
Meteora is, of course, a fairy tale! Something incredible and amazing! This is just a full day trip. Therefore, if you are a little over 20 ... , your legs swell, your back hurts, it will be hard! Correlate your health and desire to visit Meteora. Maybe it's better next time to rest somewhere closer to them and then look. Because there is a possibility that you will be taken in a minibus. The seats theoretically recline, but are very close to each other, so you lie down with the entire weight of the chair and yours on the knees of the person sitting behind. Which, of course, you won't do. Do not stretch your legs, do not turn around, in general - a nightmare!
And for those who are not lucky enough to be in the back seats - generally a "hanger". Then it will take a long time to recover. At least they reduced the price for a minibus or for the rear seats. In addition, when the driver turns on the music, only “boom-boom-boom” reaches the rear seats. In general, learn. If you are ready for Meteor - go ahead! Before visiting, Meteor is brought to the shop-workshop. Well, there, as usual, at first they say that almost everything is discounted, but at the checkout it turns out that not everything is at all. But this is your choice. At the end of the lottery, the winnings were good, but not everyone who made purchases got it. The tavern turned out to be very bad. They brought me to some fenced-off compartment of a completely garbage type. True, the entrance turned out to be on the other side, decently. But it is located in the middle of a busy intersection. Fence, of course, and fenced with greenery, but it saves little. Burnt moussaka for 9.50 euros and the like. Expensive and annoying.
Richly furnished, leather chairs, but why do tourists need it? Moreover, it is located in such a way that there are no other options nearby. You are in a trap, do not go to another tavern. You should go to such a place in the evening, in appropriate clothes and mood, and even then, if it is not at a crossroads with heavy traffic around, and with more attractive-looking dishes. In general, the monasteries themselves are super, but the organization of the trip is no good.
After such torment, especially before the trip to Athens, she approached the hotel guide 3 times - she asked if it was possible that they would also be taken to Athens in a minibus? He swore that it was impossible to go all day long, only big buses go, and the guide would definitely be different, more competent. As a result, it turned out that he just wanted to sell more excursions. People's health is of no concern.
The hotel guide said that at 6.00 we will be on the Acropolis, but it opens only at 8.00! The impression was that Mary was in Athens for the second time in her life at most. On the Acropolis, she only translated what the second guide said. But, of course, in this mode, you can’t tell much. They did not even mention that there was a Christian church there for a very long time. She only said that the procession was going from there, going up here. What kind of procession, why it was going, they guessed with difficulty. And all her excursions are like this: well, you remember that, well, how do you know ...We don’t remember or know anything anymore. We paid you money to tell us all this. People with different levels of education travel. Handed out some wretched cards. The company cannot make a photocopy from a normal card? Strongly insisted that we buy maps of Athens from the Acropolis, although they are free at the crossroads for free! And there everything turned out to be so simple that it was possible to show everything by hand.
All around the Acropolis and close. Maria, instead, tried to dissuade us from going somewhere for a very long time, they say we went one stop on the metro (1.5 or 2 euros, I don’t remember), it turned out to be 10 minutes to go there, and sit near the square in a cafe until the guard was raised. Have we traveled so far to sit in a cafe? ! ! ! She showed only the Acropolis itself, she had to be tortured for a very long time, until she finally admitted that with a ticket to the Acropolis (12 euros) you can still visit everything around it. Turns out it's all included in the price. In general, having obtained at least some information with great difficulty, they themselves went around everything around. By the way, as it turned out, there are copies everywhere, and the originals are in the museum. Museums are usually closed on Mondays (although the hotel guide denied this and convinced us that the museum in Athens is open on Mondays). Why then carry groups to Athens on Mondays? Maria's answer to this question shocked: “Well, what difference does it make to you?
Copies of caryatids - they are made in full growth. » I note that this was the answer of an art critic! Does she take us for fools or did she learn the wrong thing herself? Sorry for the rudeness, of course, but there is no other way.
There is, of course, a lot to see in Athens. Just get ready in advance, read everything yourself and download the map. Although, maybe you will have better luck with a guide. But you will learn about this only on the way to Athens around 23.00. While we were enjoying the view of the ancient ruins and sculptures, we did not have time to go to the cafe and, accordingly, to the toilet. They asked Maria to stop on the way. They stopped… after 3.5 hours! I understand that they have an agreement with a cafe there, but really there was nothing before? At least the cafe where we were stopped in the morning. It's at least an hour away.
The view of the sea turned out to be beautiful from the cafe, I can’t say anything about food, because by that time we had already learned to take everything with us.
Yes, and the whole body ached already to such an extent that there was nothing to it. Despite the fact that there were 3 drivers, we made very long stops and, as a result, we hardly managed to return by the end of dinner. And distant hotels, probably, did not have time.
Conclusion: Athens is, of course, Athens! But you need to go to them from somewhere closer and not with Beleon Tours.
Well, it remains to tell about the departure. There are no complaints about Beleon Tours here. The plane was moved (both the time and the airport - be careful! ), but they warned about everything, picked it up, drove it, everything is wonderful here. Someone has already written unflattering reviews about Thessaloniki Airport. At check-in, everything was more or less normal. Indeed, in one queue you first stand to weigh your luggage, then in another to check it in (you can weigh it “for yourself” opposite, on an empty rack). But everything turned out politely for us, even the airport employees helped put the luggage on the belt. But then it took a long time to figure out where to go.
For some reason, in front of passport control, there was a long labyrinth fenced with ribbons (really, you just go to the right for a long time, then the same path to the left and so circle several times at a width of 5 meters - apparently, the ancient passion for labyrinths is affecting, the call of blood cannot be overcome! ). Why wasn't there a direct path to each booth? Mystery! But we will classify this as the final attraction for tourists.
The worst thing is the check of hand luggage (customs inspection)! I have never seen anything like this before! So rude, just awful! Things are thrown onto the tape, not paying attention to the fact that there may be something fragile there. While you are being felt, your things are literally gutted, everything scatters in different directions, is thrown with force. A heavy bag is thrown on a straw hat, and you can't break free to save it! They shout something loudly and rudely, everyone quits. And all this happens very quickly, you do not have time to figure anything out.
They don’t listen to any explanations at all, they yell and throw them! Although there was still a lot of time before the departure of the plane. It was possible to do everything calmly. Before entering, I tried to put the glasses in the bag, but the employee grabbed the bag and threw it onto the tape with such force and speed that the glasses fell separately, it’s good that they didn’t break at least. The hat also miraculously survived. In short, finally spoil the whole impression of Greece!