flying help

With the Greek economy in the crapper and looking to go downhill from there I'd delay buying my tickets for awhile. Ugly things are on the Greek horizon according to the Wall St. Journal, Investor's Business Daily, the London Financial Times and, well you get the drift. I can feel the flak coming my way already....

In July there are 4 flights to Santorini offered each day on both Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air. A few months before July the discount ticket sales for July will be announced. Sign up for the email newsletters for these two Greek airlines and you will be receive the announcement to purchase domestic flights for as little as €39 per ticket, all taxes included. The trick is to have the patience to wait until they're released and not think you've missed them or the won't be offered. THEY WILL, BUT THEY WILL GO QUICKLY. I also make trial bookings around that same estimated time on both airlines' websites to check if these flights are available, not trusting the newsletter to be current with the published fares. I've always managed to get these cheap fares by waiting. One thing: You have to be flexible about which flight you take because not every flight will have seats at that low price.

What times do the flights tend to be or does that change month by month as well? As far as waiting because of the Greek economy...do you think it might be unsafe or not wise to travel there next summer?

If you take the time to do a trial booking for next week on both the Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air websites you will see their departure times. The departure times have remained the same for a long time and don't change as the months go by. The area around Syntagma Square and the Greek Pariliament Building, both in Central Athens, is where the demonstrations take place. Violence is very rare. If there is a demonstration when you're there it's easy enough to avoid that part of town. Travel to and from the islands is not affected by these demonstrations, except collaterally if there is an airline, taxi, bus, metro or ferry strike, none of which can't be predicted. Most of these strikes happen mid-week and are announced in advance so you should have plenty of warning, giving you time to make alternative transportation. These transportation options do not all strike at the same time. As for safety, I walked through Syntagma Square in May when it was full with demonstrators and it felt more like a street fair than a demonstration. There was music, there were kids running around and food booths were selling souvlaki.

I"d suggest you get on a Greek newspaper website and follow the news. US media tends, no, usually to always, overhypes the turmoils overseas. Oftentimes a London newspaper online reports the European turmoil much more accurately, since many Britions vacation in Greece. If you have your heart set on Greece, don't let them frighten you away. My rule is to book airline tickets as soon as they come available, usually 330 days in advance of travel for the US airlines with the best prices on Tuesday early morning for US airlines. Get on the Greek airline website and ask them how early you can book your ticket. Once booked, it removes that much stress and you'll have lots of that with a pending wedding. Don't let the Greek turmoil disrupt your planning.