1

The closer to the end of May you go the warmer and more stable the weather will be. Before Greek Easter weekend, which is May 4-5 in 2013, most shops, hotels, restaurants, galleries and cafes out on the islands will not be open. With the Greek economy in a downturn it's a good time to go. Many hotels are more willing to offer discounts than ever before. Greece is a very safe country for travel. If there's a protest happening in Athens when you're there, which is not very likely anyway, it's almost always in one central area (Syntagma Square) that's easy to avoid. If you're outside that area you probably wouldn't know anything was going on. And even if there is a protest, the chances are small that it would be violent. That's rare. I walked through Syntagma Square in 2011 during a protest and it felt more like a street fair than a political rally. There were people playing music and selling food, and there were children running around having fun.

2

The 'economic situation' is mainly an irrelevant issue for a tourist, particularly if you're not in a mainland city.

May is the start of the season so the weather should generally be OK, warm enough for laying out on the beach, etc. The sea temperature will be on the cool side for swimming. Any sightseeing you do will benefit from the relative lack of other tourists around.

3

We traveled this summer during and leading up to elections.

Tourism was a bit slow, but prices really weren't affected at all. Not a lot of deals or discounts despite tourist numbers being down. Lots of ATMs to get money from despite rumors they'd run out of currency. It was all fine from the tourism stand point.

We did meet a few people who had money stolen by pick pockets, especially in Athens. That is the biggest problem to look out for.

4

Dear

April is a transmitting month.Most tourist business and hotels in the Island starts at the end of April & Beginning of May,when the low cost company s starting operation from Europe to the Islands.
Rhodes is one of the island that i would suggest you.
is a nice island south of Greece, easily reaching,better climate.You can find a nice hotel in the city center,if you feel like going to the beach you can go by bus or rent a scooter,car.bike etc.
i hope is good solution for that period

regards

5

Thanks everyone for the insights. Puts my fears to rest.
My guy and I are drawing up our own must-map and wont deny we both went greedy for Greece! Our choice of the islands is undoubtedly Santorini. Yet since we both like a lil history to the place, a generous dose of culture(to us which is food, drinks, people) and soaking in the atmosphere, we went berserk over what to choose and what to leave for the next visit. However, after reading some of the well detailed posts here, we are now choosing Santorini, Athens and tuck in one or 2 small islands in between for our 10 days trip, starting say April 18.
What does delight me is the mention of Greek easter weekend. Are the celebrations tempting enough to extend it to May as well? :)

6

I just returned from a month-long European trip 2 days ago which was capped off in Greece. Many friends and co-workers asked before I left if I was nervous to visit Greece with the ongoing protests; to me, this was a complete non-issue and the question itself seemed rather close-minded.

We were on Santorini for 5 days and stayed over 1 night in Athens before catching our flight back to the US. I didn't notice signs of a struggling economy on Santorini at all but that could've been due to the droves of people that the cruise ships drop in on the island everyday. On our cab ride into Athens the driver pointed out the many store closures due to the suffering economy, but honestly, it wasn't noticeable until he pointed it out. Especially considering I see the same amount of "FOR LEASE" signs everywhere I turn in the US due to our poor economy right now.

I didn't notice any discounted deals like another poster above me mentioned. In fact, I was surprised by how expensive the food was on Santorini (more expensive than Italy and in line with Switzerland the other 2 countries we visited).

7

Easter is the big festival period in Greece. If you enjoy experiencing these sorts of things, then it might be worth adjusting the timing of the trip.

You just have to make sure you're not moving around much during that weekend. Have your accommodation booked between Friday and Monday. It will be worth enquiring locally what and where specific events are. They aren't merely tourist-show events so would not be advertized, even though visitors are welcomed.

8

It should be emphasized that Easter week is a Religious Observance -- altho on Easter Day itself, there is of course plenty of feasting, music and dancing. The observances during Holy Week mainly involve church-centered activities ... on Good Friday... and on Holy Saturday, when there are often processionals through the streets, and then the climactic Saturday night services. You should decide how meaningful this would be to you, if you are not co-religionists. Also, for Greeks, most of the Easter Day celebration takes place in homes, not in public restaurants or hotels. Therefore, a tourist may find few restaurants open, and may not be taking part in family festivities, unless invited to participate by some Greeks. I myself would not count on this happening, and might get left out, unless I were going to a hotel that anncouned in advance that it was having Easter Day festivities for guests.