Practical Information

Passport

Remember to check the expiration date of your passport if travelling internationally. Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months after the date of your scheduled return.

Visa

Greece

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Greece. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/greece
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/greece
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Greece.html

Vaccinations and Health

Greece

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

If you’re a UK citizen, please note that your UK-issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) are still valid and offer the same cover as the Global Health Insurance Cards (GHIC) in the EU. This gives you medical care at a reduced cost, and in some cases for free, in many European countries, but should not be considered a substitute for adequate insurance. Once your EHIC has expired, replace it with a GHIC.

Local Time

Greece's time zone: Europe/Athens (UTC +03:00)

Electricity

Greece's electricity: Plug types C (two round pins, European standard) and F (two round pins) – 230V, 50Hz

Money

Greece's currency: Euros (EUR)

ATM Availability

Cash points are available in Athens and all major towns visited. Major credit cards are accepted in most places, however cash is usually easier for smaller purchases.

Extra Expenses & Spending Money

For lunches, you should budget approximately €5‐€10 according to whether we buy a picnic lunch or sit in a cafe. Approximately €20‐€30 should be enough for an evening meal including drinks.

Optional excursions (approximate costs, depending on group sizes)

• Epidaurus ancient site: entrance fee €12
• Mycenae ancient site: entrance fee €12

Tourist tax, €21 per room for the week to be paid locally (subject to change).

Tipping

Our local staff are paid well and fairly for their work with Exodus, however most of our clients wish to give a tip to their guides in appreciation of their help and friendliness. This, of course, is in no way compulsory and depends on the service received. If you feel you would like to leave a tip, as a guide we would suggest a total of approximately €30 per person in total to be broken down as follows:

• €20 for the leader
• €10 for the driver

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible. Family owned accommodation is used throughout.
• We visit the Palivos estate winery in Nemea which contributes to the local economy.
• As this is a cycling trip we have picnic lunches with the food being purchased in local markets and shops along the route.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re–usable bottles.
• We use washable or recyclable containers on the picnics to reduce single use plastic.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income which is used for upkeep and development of these important sites.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• A public bus and ferry are used for two journeys on this trip thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
• Our local partners are members of the Adventure Travel conservation fund whose membership is dedicated to protecting threatened communities, cultures, and wild places to preserve their cultural and recreational integrity.
• Cycling trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and the locals, as it is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re–usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Important Information

Water safety

This trip includes time by a lake, river or sea, where there may be opportunities to swim. You should always seek local advice before deciding whether to swim. Open-water or wild swim spots should be treated with extreme caution. Information on how to keep yourself safe while swimming is shown here.