Instead, consider these five great ways for you to enjoy a budget-friendly stay in Greece while also giving back to the local communities.

Related: Athens — 5 budget travel tips for a Greek vacation

How to Save Money in Greece

Fortunately, you can put your tourist dollars to good use and still save money in your travel fund with these simple tips.

Taking in the views from the spa town Therma on the island of Ikaria. Photo: KayMaria Daskarolis

1. Consider Less Touristy Islands

You may be surprised to learn that Mykonos and Santorini are not the only Greek islands. It’s true. There are, in fact, more than 6,000 islands in Greece, 227 of which are inhabited. Skip Mykonos and Santorini. Go to one or more of the other equally glorious and unique islands to save on your Greek island vacation. Everything is less expensive on these lesser-known islands. Really, everything.

2. Make the Most of Markets

Eat one of your daily meals at a taverna to support the local economy. Share several mezedes (think: tapas) with your companions. Then go to an open-air market or grocery store to get food for your other meals. Here are our suggestions for your shopping list:

• feta
• Kalamata olives
• tomatoes
• bell peppers
• cucumbers
• a loaf of bread
• fresh oranges
• a small bottle of Kalamata olive oil

Regardless of which Greek island you visit, there will be benches, tops of walls, parks, boulders, and beaches available for you to sit and enjoy your meal outdoors. Another scrumptious option for a budget-, body-, and soul-nurturing meal is to go to a fourno. This is a bakery — a zaharoplasteio is also a bakery, but typically only sells sweet baked goods.

At the fourno, buy tiropites (cheese “pies” in filo dough), spanakopites (spinach “pies” in filo dough), and other savory pites, with varied fillings to tantalize your tastebuds. For us, a single one of these is enough for a meal — which is not to say that we only eat one — and lightens our wallet by a mere couple of euros.

Related: Cheap Eats in Athens: 4 spots for Greek cuisine on a budget

3. Walk

Walk as your primary form of transportation. You can even walk around Crete, Greek’s largest island, to take in the sights. Not only will this save help you save on your Greek island vacation, but you are guaranteed to encounter ancient archaeological sites or natural hot springs.

You may meet some grandmothers whose families have lived on the island for too many generations to count. Perhaps you come across a herd of goats, a field of poppies, a grandfather selling honey on the side of the road, or any number of other magical happenstances you would miss if you were not on foot.

In fact, whether you’re in Greece or traveling elsewhere in southern Europe, hoofing it is a great way to get around.

4. Share a Taxi As Needed

Share a taxi to get from the ferry port or airport to the town where you and your companion(s) are staying. This is also a good way to make new friends. Since it is the time of COVID-19, make sure to fit your N95 on your face. Offer N95 masks to others who will be sharing the taxi with you.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Explore

Say “yes” to the multitude of opportunities that await you outside of the trendy spots. Just because a place has not been written about ad nauseam does not mean that it has less to offer than more popular spots. Get a bit off the Internet-beaten path. By doing so, you are sure to save money while you delight in a piece of your Grecian adventure you couldn’t have planned.

Bonus Tip!

And remember: It costs nothing to show respect and kindness. Show them both. Often.

Ready for your adventure in Greece? Check out our hotel picks in Athens.

If you’ve already visited the Greek islands, be sure to share your favorite budget-friendly tips with us in the comments below!

The post 5 Ways to Save on Your Greek Island Vacation appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Germany shuns Greece

Yet over the past year, Greek hotel prices have generally drifted down. A key driver here has been the growing German antipathy to all things Greek. News reports last weekend suggest that German bookings for Greek destinations are down well over a third on this time last year.

The German voter has yet to fully appreciate that Germany has itself been one of the primary architects of the Greek tragedy. To many observers across Europe, the high-principled Teutonic zeal with which many ordinary Germans now seek to punish Greece is very unbecoming.

The absence of Germans this year creates a big dent in the Greek tourism market, but we should remember that the growing Russian affection for Greece will certainly help plug that gap. Tourism makes up about one fifth of Greece’s GDP, but that broad figure masks substantial regional variations. The islands are of course more conspicuously affected than the mainland by any dip in the tourist trade.

Incentive planners don’t like uncertainty, so corporate junkets to Greece for the 2012 season are well down. But what does all this mean for the average punter?

Greece deserves a visit

Our view is that 2012 is most definitely a year when Greece deserves a look. The mid-June elections are likely to produce a government (though it may not be one that is willing to dance to Germany’s tune). Greeks are famously tolerant and traditionally give any incoming government a decent period of grace. All the prospects are that the upcoming peak tourism season will be peaceful.

Yes, Greece may slip quietly out of the euro, but we must recall that the majority of Greeks still seem keen to remain members of Europe’s premier currency. If you happen to be on vacation in Greece on the day (if it ever comes) when Greece leaves the euro, don’t immediately invest all your assets in the New Drachma. Just go back to the beach and remember that Greek hospitality is among the best in Europe. Greek smiles don’t easily fade. So all the more reason why one of Europe’s liveliest and most enriching countries should not be shunned just because Greece is having a tough time.

The islands may well be a better bet for this summer than overheated Athens. Fortunately, a new edition of Frewin Poffley’s book Greek Island Hopping has just been published. This excellent guide will help you on your way.

The post To Visit or Stay Away: The Greece Question appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

France has no low-cost airlines of note, but there are several budget airlines that serve Paris. Here is an airport-by-airport examination of which low-cost airlines serve which destinations from the three airports of Paris.

This list of destinations reachable by budget airlines from Paris is notable for its geographic range. For many tourists, these links facilitate travel between Paris and other corners of Europe at a price point far lower than anticipated.

1. Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle, the big daddy (Grande Dame?) of airports in France, sees traffic from several budget airlines (Air Baltic, Blue1, Bmibaby, easyJet, Flybe, Iceland Express, Jet2, Niki, and Vueling) to over four dozen destinations across Europe and northern Africa.

* Air Baltic flies to Riga and Tallinn.

* Blue1 flies to Helsinki.

* Bmibaby flies to East Midlands.

* EasyJet flies to Agadir, Ajaccio, Barcelona, Bastia, Belfast, Biarritz, Brest, Bristol, Casablanca, Catania, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Helsinki, Ibiza, Krakow, Lisbon, Liverpool, Ljubljana, London Luton, Madrid, Mallorca, Malaga, Marrakech, Milan Malpensa, Newcastle, Nice, Porto, Prague, Split, Tangier, Toulouse, Venice, and Zagreb.

* Flybe flies to Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Jersey, and Manchester.

* Iceland Express connects Charles de Gaulle to Reykjavík.

* Jet2 flies to Leeds Bradford.

* Niki flies to Vienna.

* Vueling connects Charles de Gaulle to Alicante, Granada, Lleida, Madrid, and Santiago de Compostela.

2. Orly

Five budget airlines (Air Berlin, easyJet, Norwegian, Transavia, and Vueling) connect Orly to around 50 destinations.

* Air Berlin flies to Berlin and Dusseldorf.

* EasyJet flies to Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Milan Linate, Mykonos, Naples, Nice, Olbia, Palermo, Pisa, Rome Ciampino, Toulouse, and Venice.

* Norwegian connects Paris-Orly to Aalborg, Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stavanger.

* Transavia France flies to Agadir, Antalya, Arrecife, Catania, Djerba, Féz, Funchal, Heraklion, Hurgada, Izmir, Krakow, Las Palmas, Luxor, Marrakech, Monastir, Oujda, Palermo, Porto, Reykjavík, Rhodes, Seville, Tenerife South, and Tozeur.

* Veuling connects Paris-Orly to Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Rome Fiumicino, Seville, and Valencia.

3. Beauvais

To and from the all-budget airport of Beauvais, three airlines (Blue Air, Ryanair, and Wizzair) connect to over 40 destinations.

* Blue Air flies to Bacau and Bucharest.

* Ryanair flies to Alicante, Barcelona, Bari, Bologna, Bratislava, Cagliari, Dublin, Edinburgh, Faro, Girona, Glasgow Prestwick, Kaunas, Madrid, Malaga, Marseille, Milan Bergamo, Oslo Rygge, Pau, Pisa, Porto, Reus, Rome Ciampino, Shannon, Stockholm Skavsta, Trapani, Treviso, Valencia, and Zaragoza.

* Wizzair connects Beauvais to Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Prague, Sofia, Timosoara, Warsaw, and Wroclaw.

More information

For more information about airports in Paris, including ground transportation into Paris’ city center, please see the profiles of Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais Tille in our flights section.

The post Finding budget flights to and from Paris appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.