Camping in Greece in October

I can only speak to what I saw on the island of Agistri, which is not far from Athens. There's a national park at the edge of the tourist resort area, and young Athenians illegally camp there and enjoy one one of the most stunning beaches I've ever seen. The entire forest (this is June) was filled with tents, hammocks, etc. At night I could hear the sounds of fires on the beach.

I'm not endorsing this illegal camping, but it seemed quite accepted on this particular part of this particular island.

Online resources include www.greececamping.gr, www.campingreece.gr, and www.eurocampings.co.uk and those that I glanced at were open in October. The Lonely Planet guidebook suggests that you can get by with a light sleeping bag and no tent through mid-September and maybe you'd be willing to chance it a little later with a warmer sleeping bag. Are you also used to backpacking with this much equipment? You definitely don't want to carry extra gear if you won't use it regularly.

Thank you both. I rather not do illegal camping, (because it's illegal). I haven't camped since I was 14 years old but, I would like to get back into it. I recently purchased a summer tent and sleeping bag that fit inside my backpack. Online I have only came across a couple of campgrounds near where I plan on going, and I could only find out that one was open until November. I wasn't able to find out any costs to rent a camp sight in the offseason. I did learn that some camp sights can rent you hostel type rooms. I will look into your links that you posted.

Thank you for the links. I did come across these links on my own researching of camp sights. I can't find the cost for offseason and I can't get much information about renting hostel like / cabin like buildings at camp sights where you might have to share a room. Do you know anything about that? Usually when I travel overseas I get an airbnb and use it as a home base and do day trips from it or in the pre-airbnb days I would get a motel room as a home base and do day trips. This trip will be different for me since I will be covering almost all of mainland Greece, like a tour without the tour company. I only plan on being in one place for a couple of days at a time, and I'm branching out and trying hostels. Since I will be on the road I am more concerned with weight on my backpack, especially since I will be traveling by bus. That's my big conundrum about whether I should bring my tent and sleeping bag and do some camping for lodging or if I should just stick to hostels and skip the camping lodging, especially since I just ruled out going to the Olympus National Park due to the difficulty of getting there by bus or train. I was considering camping at that National Park for a night or two.

While I've enjoyed camping cabins and hostels in an expensive region like Scandinavia, I haven't been in a Greek campground or hostel. Other types of Greek accommodation are relatively cheap. For instance, the Delphi chapter of Rick's Athens & Peloponnese guidebook reflects 25 euros/night for a single room with bath and balcony at a couple of different hotels there, and that's the high-season price. Lonely Planet will also include budget listings. If rooms aren't booked, owners are ready to deal and may wait at the bus stations.

If you're even a little concerned about hauling around the extra gear, and you seem to be, then I would leave it at home. Even if you used it early in the trip, you'd still be carrying it for the whole month.

Thank you for your advice.

NEMO EQUIPMENT makes a great light-weight 2-Person tent (DRAGGER 2P ?) its 3lbs and maybe twice the size of a Nalgene water bottle. not cheap but super light 3-season.

Hello,

So how was your trip? Did you go camping after all?
I'll just leave my suggestions for the newcomers...

Some of the best camping sites out there are:
Tartaruga – Zakynthos, Lichnos – Parga, Simos – Elafonisos, Triton II – Nafplio, Agia Anna – Evia, Thalatta – Chalkidiki, Armenistis – Chalkidiki, Coralli – Serifos, Antiparos – Cyclades, Camping Aegiali – Amorgos, Surf Club Keros, Lemnos, Gythion Bay Camping, Peloponnese, Akti Oneirou, Halkidiki, Mithimna Camp, Crete, Santa Maria Surfing Beach, Paros

You may like to check this https://en.camping.info/greece for dates, prices, reviews and more info.
Some camping sites state if they work offseason. You could always contact them.

Thank you for your question. I decided not to go camping in Greece and I was correct to do so. I only saw camping in Olympia, otherwise I only saw hotels everywhere I went. Plus the camping gear would have made my already heavy backpack only heavier. Now I’m thinking of going to India and Nepal in October but, I’m not sure if I should wait six month before I go to buy my airfare or buy it now, and I have to learn about getting a visa. I think I might start a post about that.

You say that you are from Washington State -- I think you would have been disappointed with camping in Greece.

Camping, from how I know it in the U.S., is a very family and nature/ outdoor oriented activity. We have done it ourselves many times and loved the American campgrounds. We have also done a lot of camping in Germany, France, and Spain.

We have not done camping in Greece, but those campgrounds we saw looked like mere partying places to us, with loud music going on at all times of day and night.

If that's what someone is looking for - fine with me. But I would not have wanted to stay even in a hotel within a one mile radius of those campgrounds. And I am not exaggerating.

Thanks for replying. Your new travel idea sounds very interesting! I've never been there... The only family-friendly style camping I've done in Greece was on Mt. Olympus during the 90s with my folks. In the 80s and 90s people in Greece went on free camping. Now they won't let free campers easily. Another organised family-friendly camping site I've seen was in Kato Gatzea, I think there are too sites one called Fig Tree and another Camping Hellas maybe. It's been years.. I can hardly remember. Another one if the best I've seen and I like to go with family or friends in Mt. Pelion at Agios Ioannis.