Tips for Greece

[Capitain Mike]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

Best tip I can provide is to buy a dozen or so of those .88Euro stamps when you can find them --the stamps that should be posted to your transit log . These were not available in Pythagoria on Samos or at Piraeus when we visited, yet in Piraeus the official wanted us to have the stamp. He waived the stamp since these were not available for purchase, but told us to buy several at our next stop. Tried to purchase the stamps at Nikolaou on Kea but the officials there had never heard of these stamps. Cruised through Greece for 86 days and never did find a place to purchase these stamps, and never encountered a problem with the officials for the lack of the stamps. Seemed as though as long as you cleared in at the various ports and had the transit log entries by the various port police, then the required stamp was ignored.

S/V BeBe

The problem in obtaining these tax stamps (size A8 sheet ) is that in the past the port police use to collect them but due to the austerity measures that the Greek gov introduce the tax office took this responsibility back to protect jobs .

to obtain these tax stamps you must visit a tax office between the hrs of 09.00 to 14.00 you need to take along your passport as well

judy i will bring you some in november[/QUOTE]

So far I have never been asked for them or used them, I think a lot depends on the port Police they don't like paperwork!! and avoid it as much as possible

[swagman]

Best tip I can give is not to stay overnight in Lesbos Harbour on a still hot night. They open the sewers to run out though the harbour around 2 am, and if there is no rain and wind, you'll soon notice it.

Secondary tips by way of favourite locations in no particular order are:

Ermioni 37 23'06N 23 15'28E. Anchored off or in the harbour, good location to explore ashore and nearby amphitheatre.

Lindos 36 05'13N 28 05'18E. There is room for one or two in an almost perfectly sheltered bay below the high cliffs. Stunning and good cliffside restaurants in the town.

Amorgos 36 47'34N 25 44'43E. On the islands SW tip there is a round bay sheltered from S,W and E and nice beaches. Just round the headland is a wreck used on a fairly popular movie (but I can't remember its name). Great diving.

Rhodes Harbour 36 26'58N 28 13'35E. Your right in the heart of the town but this is the harbour that had the famous statue bridging its mouth - so real history to experience.

Kynthos 37 24'50N 24 22'41E. Super bolt hole if you are close and bad weather looks likely. The two bays adjacent to each other will give you a choice to suit wind direction. Typically deserted but a couple of shoreside tavernas.

Gios Georgis 37 28.22N 23 55'00E. Uninhabited and no bays, but stunning high red cliffs if you get close south side late arvo. You can anchor off south side in the typical N'ly winds but no protection if the wind changes.

Corinth Canal - if you've not transited this its worth the experience.

Hydra 37 20'57N 23 27'53E. Packed harbour but so pretty a town its worth putting up with the hassel.

Ithaki 38 22'52N 20 41'56E. Typically windy harbour but ok if you turn immediately to port after rounding the bend, and moor stern to the small jetties in the SW corner of the bay (directly opposite away from the town). Great island to explore by walking or on wheels.

And if you are nearby, ignore the jibes about Fiskardo on Kefallonia being like a Disney set. It is, and accordingly crowded with charters by early arvo. But get in before and you'll have an enjoyable night.

And finally Corfu. The multiple bays up it's east coast present a wide choice of anchorages, and Corfu town itself is well worth the visit.

Hope this is useful.

JOHN

[Frederik V]

Originally Posted by touchngo

Anybody have experience of anchoring overnight at Dilos/Delos? On GE it looks as if you could anchor and take a stern line ashore in the port area, but I can't find any info on depths (Navionics has the whole area at 10Mtrs and CM93V2 has zilch).

Appreciate any input you may have.

Cheers, PT.

Once you passed the very small Delos passage you can anchor not too far from the ruins (500 m). We have anchored there for some hours and just looked at the ruins from our dinghy, but I think it is not recommanded to stay overnight there. It doesn't look secure in that channel. There is no shelter for the Meltemi. I guess it is very dangerous there with the Meltemi. It is also not a very inviting surrounding. You better go through that channel and do what we did and stay there only for a very short time, and then go to Naxos which is a very pleasant place (go to the castro on top, and make a reservation for an evening concert on a very nice spot with a nice view over the city). You will surely love it. You don't have to pay for a nice place in the harbour. There is plenty of place, electricity and water. Hire a car and visit the island to the north, the island is worth a visit.

Frederik

[hoppy]

On the island of Maratho I found a taverna that was a pleasant surprise. Nice food and nice environment. They ave several laid moorings an so does the other taverna in the cove. Not sure what the taverna was called but it was started by an old Greek couple who moved back to Greece from Melbourne in the 70's and is now run by their son and his wife.

Latitude: 37° 22.039 N
Longitude: 26° 43.594 E





Nice saganaki

[Capitain Mike]

Originally Posted by swagman

Best tip I can give is not to stay overnight in Lesbos Harbour on a still hot night. They open the sewers to run out though the harbour around 2 am, and if there is no rain and wind, you'll soon notice it.

Secondary tips by way of favourite locations in no particular order are:

Ermioni 37 23'06N 23 15'28E. Anchored off or in the harbour, good location to explore ashore and nearby amphitheatre.

Lindos 36 05'13N 28 05'18E. There is room for one or two in an almost perfectly sheltered bay below the high cliffs. Stunning and good cliffside restaurants in the town.

Amorgos 36 47'34N 25 44'43E. On the islands SW tip there is a round bay sheltered from S,W and E and nice beaches. Just round the headland is a wreck used on a fairly popular movie (but I can't remember its name). Great diving.

Rhodes Harbour 36 26'58N 28 13'35E. Your right in the heart of the town but this is the harbour that had the famous statue bridging its mouth - so real history to experience.

Kynthos 37 24'50N 24 22'41E. Super bolt hole if you are close and bad weather looks likely. The two bays adjacent to each other will give you a choice to suit wind direction. Typically deserted but a couple of shoreside tavernas.

Gios Georgis 37 28.22N 23 55'00E. Uninhabited and no bays, but stunning high red cliffs if you get close south side late arvo. You can anchor off south side in the typical N'ly winds but no protection if the wind changes.

Corinth Canal - if you've not transited this its worth the experience.

Hydra 37 20'57N 23 27'53E. Packed harbour but so pretty a town its worth putting up with the hassel.

Ithaki 38 22'52N 20 41'56E. Typically windy harbour but ok if you turn immediately to port after rounding the bend, and moor stern to the small jetties in the SW corner of the bay (directly opposite away from the town). Great island to explore by walking or on wheels.

And if you are nearby, ignore the jibes about Fiskardo on Kefallonia being like a Disney set. It is, and accordingly crowded with charters by early arvo. But get in before and you'll have an enjoyable night.

And finally Corfu. The multiple bays up it's east coast present a wide choice of anchorages, and Corfu town itself is well worth the visit.

Hope this is useful.

JOHN

Amorgos 1998 the film was called The Big Blue
Directed by Luc Besson. Starring Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette.

Fiskardo, Yes Very Busy I preferred Limani Sami further down the coast from Fiskardo on Kefalonia
Limani Sami 38*15',62N 20*38'47,82E

Korinth Canal a great excursion.
Corinth Canal

38*23'34.37N 21*49'38.95E
Navpaxos pretty to look at but no room to stay.

[Palarran]

One of the personal goals I have for sailing Greece is to learn how to cook decent Mediterranean food. I've found 5 one day cooking schools on islands we are going to visit.

Cretan traditional cooking lessons - Vamos Traditional Village
Aegean Dreams on Mykonos - One Day Cooking Class Vacation Details
Greek Cooking vacations , holidays and courses in Greece
Learning Holidays - Courses, Activities & Experiences
Sea Kayaking Kefalonia Greece - Greek Cooking Lessons
Greekalicious Food: Prices

I am dreaming the fun of it will be finding local markets for fresh ingredients and enjoying the success's and laughing about the failures. I've already tried moussaka, spanakopita, and a couple ground lamb dishes. The moussaka was inedible

Another fun adventure I've found is caving. There are a lot of caves on Crete. It would be nice to break up the day by getting a car and exploring some of them. The water caves look awesome also. I'd also try a little cliff diving with the right amount of courage.

We are beginning kite boarders also. Naxos looks like it's the kite boarding capital of the Aegean. I've found many other spots that look promising. The west tip of Rhodes, Astypalaia, and Karpathos.

The Vouraikos Canyon Railway would be fun for a day. Delphi, Meteora, and Olympia would be interesting. We would really like to be able to explore the islands and mainland as much as enjoying the ports proper.

Any suggestions I should add to my "hit list"?

[Capitain Mike]

Originally Posted by yeloya

I don't want to start a macoeconomical discussion about the Greek economy, but to point out couple of fact seems inevitable:
-yes, many countries including the USA have overspent. However, you cannot compare any of these countries by any standard to Greece. USA is one third of the world economy and has the privilege to stamp a USD banknotes as much as he wants (or almost..) Italy, Spain have a sizeable industry, Greece has nothing, but tourism, olive/olive oil; shipping, all in decline. To me, the default cannot be avoided.

Merkel has lost all recent local elections without exceptions, Sarkozy has even lost the majority in the Senate.

Said this, I have many friends living in the Dodocanese and I am visiting these islands frequently. The impact of what we said above will be minimal to us, cruisiers, It may even be positive; just don't rely their on their transport infrastructure. Long delays, cancelled flights, etc, are very likely.


One option I have is to reverse my trip. We had planned to cruise Croatia, Italy, and France in our second year (2013). Maybe I should do those areas first, see what develops, then head to Greece in 2013. It's hard to visualize this change after spending two years planning on Greece first, then the others.


Palaran, I would just do the opposite. I don't think Greece will improve over years to come. You'd better go as early as possible. Meanwhile, I may catch you in the BVI's on my way back to Med, my timing is very close to yours..

Cheers

Yeloya

I agree with you entirely. Go as soon as possible. Otherwise it will look like UK when you visit Greece

[GreekWaters]

Originally Posted by DoubleWhisky

The season in Med is closer and closer, so I'm starting this thread for exchange of tips for summer cruise in Greece.

For the begenning my first tip:

LEVITHA ISLAND (NISIDA LEVITHA)

Here is the link for GoogleMaps:

Levitha


It is just a tiny piece of rock in the middle of nowhere (really between the Dodecanese and Cyclades - formally belongs to Dodecanese, as part of Leros community, but actually it is closer to Amorgos in Cyclades).

The island is unspoilt place, without water tap or electricity, but it has a fine anchorage, completely protected from Meltemi. Only one family of four or five live there and they run small tavern. Fantastic grilled fish and - if You were lucky - You will find there the best, probably, grilled lobster in Aegean.

Definitely worth a visit

Hello Double Whiskey,

although your messages are old (since early 2011) I can suggest also Kyparrisi bay, in eastern Peloponnese. It's not as far from Athens as Levitha island but it's certainly worth visiting as it's not as busy as it seems. Berth is safe from all winds, food is good, and there are big trees till the coast line.

Best,

Greekwaters

[fishtail]

This has been a very informative thread but there has been no mention of pilot books etc.
The most well known book used in Greece is the "Greek waters pilot "by Rod Heikell,which gives a fairly comprehensive guide to the area. However there is an excellent guide written by Nicholas Elias "Greece Sea Guide"
There are three books in this series,covering all of Greece,they are expensive but include very detailed charts for all the area so you don't need to buy any more charts. The information is much more detailed than the Heikell book and is invaluable in planning any trip.
They are not on sale everywhere,but I believe that an e mail to the author will
get them by post.

[jckb]

There are some really good tips on this thread. I've cruised Greece for many years, and agree with most of the recommendations. See this Greece page, and the links in its right hand menu for more detail about Greek cruising areas.

However, this topic does include some misconceptions about the cruising regulations in Greece. Not surprising, since the port police don't tell visitors what the regulations are!

So another tip is to check out the links above and see if they're useful. If there are mistakes on them, post comments to the pages to correct them - if you subscribe to the site.

JimB

[Rumba]

Hi Double Whiskey,
My boat is in Preveza at present, I was planning on returning back to sail the Corinth Cut and across to Mamaris Turkey to haul out for 6 months. Know I will be working through till about mid October, can easily shoot back to the boat and do that trip through say end of November. Just wondering if that famous Meltami winds hold through till about when? Have heard the wind will swing to the south after that. Any knowledge would be great for a late Oct-Nov run to Turkey from Preveza. RUMB

[yeloya]

Hi Rumba,

Generally speaking Meltemi dies by the end of October latest mid november. Then, it's generally quite. After November but rather in December southerly may come but the wind is still predominantly from north/northeast and they may be quite strong. Southerlies are more dangereous because they make lot of swells and most of the anchorage on yr way are not sheltered to southerlies.
November in general is not a bad month though.
Cheers
Yeloya

[Rumba]

Thanks Yeloya,
For the info of the Nov weather, if those southerlies look to be in from Coritn cut/Poros might stay a little more from there and cut down on the Turkey side.
Cheers RUMBA>

[jckb]

Originally Posted by Rumba

Hi Double Whiskey,
My boat is in Preveza at present, I was planning on returning back to sail the Corinth Cut and across to Mamaris Turkey to haul out for 6 months. Know I will be working through till about mid October, can easily shoot back to the boat and do that trip through say end of November. Just wondering if that famous Meltami winds hold through till about when? Have heard the wind will swing to the south after that. Any knowledge would be great for a late Oct-Nov run to Turkey from Preveza. RUMB

The first of the autumn unsettled weather periods (batches of thunderstorms) start around mid or late September, and this is also the period when the meltemi becomes much less frequent. By late October, periods of unsettled weather are more frequent, occupying a day or three once every week or two. Sometimes the associated thunderstorms are big enough to generate tornados.

This is your main autumn threat. And yes, as a thunderous low approaches, strong southerlies may blow.

These periods of unsettled weather are well forecast. If you look at the Europe cloud cover pages on ncmr.gr ("animate")you can see the lows rolling westwards through the Mediterranean. Avoid sailing in the low cloud and heavy precipitation periods! Weather patterns are described on my site.

[jckb]

Originally Posted by jckb

These periods of unsettled weather are well forecast. If you look at the Europe cloud cover pages on ncmr.gr ("animate")you can see the lows rolling westwards through the Mediterranean. Avoid sailing in the low cloud and heavy precipitation periods! Weather patterns are described on my site.

Sorry, the link got scrambled, it should have been:
Poseidon System