Greece this Summer?

"We forsee stikes this summer making getting around (city to airport and island to island) difficult or impossible, is that likely?" Happens every year, in every country in Europe, debt crisis or no debt crisis. Place your bets and roll with the punches as best you can.

I know people who have put things off and then never got a chance to do them. I say go! There is a small chance you may encounter some difficulties but I don't think "impossibilities" will happen. I would recommend flying into Athens and then directly to Santorini to start your trip, then visit Milos on your way back to Athens. Save your Athens sightseeing for the end of the trip. Strikes are usually announced at least a day ahead, so if you find out that taxis will be on strike on the day you need to return to the airport, you can plan to take the bus or metro, or vice versa. Your hotel will be well aware of the strike situation and will make sure you are taken care of. Flying into Athens can be expensive. You might try pricing your trip by flying from the US into some other European city (Paris? Munich? London) and then flying to Athens on Aegean or Olympic Airlines. If you do this, be sure to verify that your flights are coming into and leaving from the same airport, and that you allow plenty of time between flights to make the transfer. You'll love Greece!

I went this past summer and during a time when there were problems 'everywhere' according to the news. We never encountered anything.... and we stayed in Athens 3 days. The most we saw were a few posters in a student area. Hard to know when to believe the scare stories.... but I think most of the time there is nothing to worry about.... I would go.

Easy Jet also flies into Athens if you can get a cheap flight into Gatwick.

If you fly Easy Jet, be sure to pay close attention to the rules regarding carryons (extremely limited). If you're making a trip with just a carry-on suitcase, it will likely be too large to carry on for Easy Jet, so you'll need to pay to check it ... and most people pay this fee when they buy the ticket (cheaper than paying at the airport).

Carpe diem!

Even if they have some protests it will not shut down the whole country. Occupy Wall Street got a lot of press, but how many blocks in Manhattan did it impact? Greece is amazing, make it happen.

I agree, MAKE IT HAPPEN! Greece - mainland and the islands - is one of my favorite places on the planet and should not be missed. With the right kind of research and flexibility you can find decent flight deals. And as far as safety goes, there are always going to be issues in any major city. Last year I experienced a few protests while there, luckily none turned violent, but whether I was in a restaurant or store, the place just locked it's doors until the protest passed. And you will definitely know of their happening in advance either through the news or just by the amount of police that will show up before hand. Plus, once you get to the islands, you got nothing to worry about!

I agree with the other posters on this site. We were in Greece in May and feared the same thing. If you fly into Athens go directly to Santorini then Milos and do save Athens for last. If there is a strike you will know in advance and if it does happen you can hire a private car to take you to the airport. Also, don't know if you've been to Milos before but I absolutely LOVED it. We did Mykonos instead of Santorini, Mykonos was nice but Milos was so quaint and the people were like family. We even got to see a Greek wedding in the town while we were there. Its a great place to experience true Greek culture. Also we stayed in Pollonia and if you need a hotel reference I have a great one for you.
Good luck and don't worry too much!

There are some good fares out of LAX to Italy, then EasyJet for $59 from Rome to Athens. Alitalia has flights out of LAX, use the coupon code BENVENUTO2 until 3/31 for 10% discount. Do go, we are going back in June with four friends, Italy then Athens / Santorini / Istanbul. It is worth the trip.

We were in London last summer when the government workers struck. It was actually very interesting to see and didn't cause a bit of problem for us. Enjoy!