Holidays in Greece with children

A vacation by the sea, a touch of the ancient and mysterious, fascinating journey into a sunny and hospitable country. Such opportunities opens up for Russian families Greece. It is rightfully one of the best places in the world for family holidays.

Greece is located on the Balkan Peninsula and numerous neighboring islands. It is washed immediately by the five seas - the Aegean, Ionian, Mediterranean, Cretan and Libyan.

The capital of the state is Athens. Currency - Euro. The most famous Greek islands are Zakynthos, Rhodes, Crete, Lesbos.

There are several hundred islands, and each has its own beaches. Holidays in this country are not only lazy beach days, but also amazing excursions, incredible entertainment and adventures.

The most convincing advantage of Greece over other possible tourist destinations is the climate. It is sunny, mild, moderate. The sun is not aggressive, the winds are warm.

The local cuisine is very diverse, it does not have a deadly amount of spices, but there are a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, seafood, meat, cheese, olive oil. This is a great diet for both children and adults.

The disadvantage is the language barrier. If in large cities, indexes and price tags in stores, as well as menus in restaurants and cafes, are accompanied by an English-language translation, in small towns and villages in Greece, everything is written and spoken exclusively in Greek, and this is not the easiest to learn and understand.

To a certain inconvenience can be attributed, and a considerable distance of attractions both from each other and from the resort places. Therefore, if the purpose of your vacation is to see the country, then it is better not to take children with you to the age of 11-12, long bus journeys and cars will tire them. It's better to go here with the kids to enjoy the sea air.

Choosing the best season for a trip to Greece directly depends on the purpose of the trip. If you want a holiday in the full sense of the word, it is better to go on vacation in January and February. At this time, large-scale carnivals and processions everywhere take place here. This time is perfect for outdoor activities at ski resorts, as well as for shopping with crazy discounts, which starts in early January and lasts for several weeks.

Beach holidays are best scheduled for May and June. The weather is fine, the air warms up to + 30, and sea water to 20-22 degrees.

Those who love "hotter" in this country are happy to see in July and August.Here it becomes hot - up to 40 degrees, the temperature of the water is kept at 25 degrees.

With children these months it is better to go to the northern part of the country or to Corfu island, because there the light sea breeze makes the heat more portable. This is not the best time for excursions and long pedestrian crossings connected with them. But at the end of the summer you can catch the famous Wine Festival and the Grand Sailing Regatta.

The most expensive prices for a beach holiday are valid in the summer months, ski holidays are becoming more expensive by the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. If you book a ticket and book hotel rooms in advance, you can get discounts up to 30-40% in any season.

Choosing a resort in Greece is a daunting task, because there are a lot of resorts. We will tell about the most famous and popular.

The southernmost Greek island, whose history is most closely connected with the mythology of ancient Greece. Here is one of the seven wonders - the Colossus of Rhodes. The island has both mountainous terrain, luxurious eucalyptus forests, and cypress thickets, which makes the island’s air healing.

Special attention deserves the resort Ialyssos. The service here is close to high premium standards, the beaches are clean, mixed sand and pebbles, the water in the sea is clear.

For family holidays, the resorts of Kalithea, Afandou, Faliraki, Kolymbia are considered optimal, as the most comfortable and interesting conditions are created for children, there are beaches with white sand and with a very smooth gathering.

The second largest island, which is the most buoyant and picturesque among its "brothers". Family resorts are well suited to the beautiful resort towns with the bays of Kassiopi, Roda, Acharavi, Sidari, Agios Spiridon. In the center of Corfu resorts are concentrated, which offer plenty of opportunities for an active pastime, grand parties, round-the-clock youth gatherings. With children there will not be too comfortable. The best resorts in the center of the island for family holidays are Perama, Kanoni and Benitses.

The most famous and popular tourist island of Greece, washed by the three seas at once. Here is the longest swimming season in the country, and the sun shines here 310 days from 365.

In order not to fall with children in the midst of the round-the-clock rampant noisy youthful fun, a resort in Crete should choose a quiet and specially designed for couples. For this, Anissaras, Analipsi, Gouves, Kokkini Hani, Ammoudara, Agios Pelagia are good. On the island there is a water park.

The incredible natural beauty of Zakynthos attracts and fascinates. On the island you can not only perfectly organize a beach holiday, but also admire the wildlife, because this is where the nature reserve is located. On Zakynthos all year round there are a lot of festivals, music awards, concerts. Connoisseurs of white sand and parents of young children should recommend the resort Tsilivi.

Great place for a family holiday. There are no big companies of surfers and fans of night clubs, because there are no night clubs and youth centers here. On the island there are about 50 beaches for every taste - from sandy to volcanic.

Washed by the waters of the Aegean Sea, it is a real place of pilgrimage for tourists from around the world, because here, in addition to the beautiful nature, a large number of Orthodox shrines and temples.

The neighboring peninsula Kassandra is the best place for children's recreation, because here is the cleanest beaches, the smoothest descent into the water, the largest number of amusement parks and attractions.

A great place for family holidays, especially with children who have already “grown” out of a multi-ton beach holiday and want new impressions.

Festivals and various events take place here all year round; there are a lot of parks, excursion programs, a large water park, museums, exhibitions, galleries.

It is located off the coast of Macedonia, washed by the waters of the Aegean Sea. It can rightly be called the most "wooded", forests occupy 90% of the area of ​​the island. Special attention here deserves a resort with the hotel of the same name Makriammos, here it will be interesting to children of any age.

Without exception, all the beaches in Greece belong to the state, there are no private ones here. Not all beaches are sandy. Pebble and mixed (sand and pebble) beaches are widespread, there are beaches with black and gray sand - volcanic, there are rocky beaches. It is clear that with children it is better to bask on the beach with clean white sand. For these purposes, it is worth choosing one of the beaches of this list:

• Faliraki Beach (Rhodes Island);
• Anthony Quinn Beach (Rhodes Island);
• Balos Bay Beach (Crete);
• Elafonisi beach (Crete);
• Paradise Beach (Kos Island);
• Tigaki Beaches (Kos Island);
• Kriopigi beach (Chalkidiki peninsula);
• Pefkohori Beach (Chalkidiki);
• Lindos Beach (Rhodes);
• Marmari Beach (Kos Island).

The choice of a particular island depends on many factors. The most significant is the season. If you have a vacation in April, any island will do, since the swimming season is not officially opened anywhere, the sea is quite cold, but excursions at this time on any of the Greek islands will bring a lot of pleasure.

At the beginning of autumn it is the warmest of all, oddly enough, on the northern islands, for example, Corfu and Zakynthos. In October, again, you can just return to the warmest island - Rhodes.

The second important factor is the financial side of the issue. The most optimal for budget holidays are the islands of Rhodes and Crete. They are completely self-sufficient, in local hotels with advance booking make the biggest discounts in Greece.

There are a great many of them, and in order not to be mistaken with the choice, you should familiarize yourself with the existing ratings, which included only those places that have all the conditions for accommodating children, including small ones, and also thought out children's leisure and entertainment on the territory. the hotel. The rating is very high, we took only the "leaders". The rating is based on the analysis of notes and reviews, the tourist experience of the Russians.

All listed hotels have children's clubs, mini clubs, playgrounds, some have nurseries for children from 4 months old, and babysitting services are provided everywhere (but for a fee).

Some hotels have their own water parks, almost all of them have special children's pools with water slides. The hotels have animators, in some of them even Russian-speaking.

Children's cafes are not presented everywhere, but everywhere there is a children's menu in restaurants, especially in hotels with all-inclusive meals.

With all this magnificence, many hotels are fairly inexpensive and available for a variety of family budgets:

• Grecotel Corfu Imperial 5 *
• MarBella Corfu 5 *
• Grecotel Daphnila Bay Thalasso 4 *
• Mitsis Roda Beach Resort & Spa 4 *

• Grecotel Kos Imperial Thalasso 5 *
• Blue Lagoon Village 5 *
• Lakitira Resort 4 *
• Gaia Village 3 *

• Pilot Beach Resort and Spa 5 *
• Domes Of Elounda Autograph Collection Hotels 5 * -

• Atrium Palace Resort Thalasso Spa Villas 5 *
• Mitsis Faliraki Beach Resort 4 *

Be sure to check the availability of the children's menu. You should not save on food, the best option - ALL - "all inclusive" (All inclusive).

If the child is already big enough to demand entertainment, but still small to make long crossings, in Greece it is better to choose hotels with its own water park, so as not to go far. It is also better to give preference to hotels with children's animation, with a children's mini-club.

Even if the hotel is positioning itself as a family, you should clarify exactly what services are available for families with small children - a cot, high chairs in a cafe and restaurant, a pot in the room, a bath for a baby’s bathing, a rental of wheelchairs, etc.

Rental of private housing in Greece has recently become quite profitable for Russians due to the economic difficulties of the country. Property prices fell significantly. For the selection of an acceptable option, you can contact the real estate agency (they are on each island), but it is better to choose apartments in advance, since there are enough offers on the Internet without intermediaries.

A room in a townhouse on the third coastline in Chalkidiki can be found for 70 euros per month. On the island of Crete, housing is a bit more expensive - a three-room townhouse, on average, costs from 500 euros per month.

On Rhodes, you can find villas that are rented out and for 20 thousand euros per month.

If there is no valid Schengen visa, accommodation must be booked in advance, otherwise you can get a waiver at the embassy. The quick-witted Greeks know about it, and therefore are often asked to transfer an advance payment. We should agree to this only on condition that the prepayment does not exceed 15-20% of the cost of the entire lease.

If you can’t go to Greece with the whole family, you can send one child there. In this country, there are excellent children's camps, including language camps. The most famous are Only English Land, Fantasy Land.

If the child is not interested in learning foreign languages, you can choose one of several dozen international themed camps. The average cost of living in a children's camp in Greece is 50-60 thousand rubles (for 2 weeks of the sea, sun, and excellent food). For comparison, the change in the Moscow or Vologda camp, which recently wore the prefix "pioneer", costs an average of 23-25 ​​thousand for a rest in the woods, without a pool, in old wooden buildings).

About entertainment you can write for a long time, a lot and interesting. But it's better to see everything with your own eyes.

Here is a list of places where you should definitely go with your child:

• Park "Labyrinth" (Crete);
• Stone Park ASKOS (Zakynthos Island);
• Rhodes Aquarium (Rhodes Island);
• Peacock Grove (Kos Island);
• Waterpark WATERLAND (Thessaloniki);
• MAGIC PARK amusement park (Thessaloniki);
• Museum of Technology NOESIS (Thessaloniki);
• ALLOU FUN PARK (Athens);
• New Acropolis Museum (Athens);
• Tour of the island of Kefalonia;
• Blue Caves (Zakynthos);
• Knights Street (Rhodes);
• Ostrich farm (island of Rhodes);
• Butterfly Valley (Fr. Rhodes);
• Karting Center (Marmari);
• Attic Zoological Park (Athens);
• Military Museum (Athens);
• Athens Planetarium (Athens).

Acclimatization in Greece proceeds quite easily and gently - the Mediterranean climate is not too different from the climate of our Sochi, and therefore there should not be big problems even among infants. The exception is oh. Crete, where, as already mentioned, weather-sensitive people do not feel too comfortable.

Parents of babies, however, are advised to bring along a bottle of drinking water from an area native to the child. The reason is in the composition of the Greek water - it is unusual for Russians.

Then on vacation it is worth buying bottled water in stores.

Baby food, diapers and baby care products are sold freely in all more or less large stores.

Reviews about holidays with children in Greece are generally quite positive. Among the shortcomings, parents point to a relatively small number of pharmacies, and therefore recommend to collect a travel first aid kit in advance and take it with you.

It is difficult to communicate in stores and in markets where the locals almost do not understand Russian and do not speak English at all.