Protests in Athens

Strikes are usually announced in advance. You can keep a watch out here: http://livingingreece.gr Although the Hermes Hotel is not far from Syntagma Square it's on a backstreet and therefore it's unlikely that the location is one that will be affected by any demonstration. Chances are that when you're at the hotel you won't even be aware of anything going on at Syntagma. And in that regard, even though there is some violence from time to time started by a minority of protesters, the demonstrations are for the most part peaceful. Last May I walked through the crowds at Syntagma. It felt more like a street fair. There was music playing and food booths selling souvlaki.

Thanks for your response. In the past, I would not have concerned myself, but I've got a five year old now and my wife is concerned. (I've been in places where I ran a risk of getting killed everyday, this is not likely one of those.) best, Ed

Planning a visit 05-03 to 13-03. Staying near the Plaka. I feel reassured with the response. I will share my experience. I did want to visit Syntagma, but may save till next visit.

We were in Athens in October. I would worry a little about the civil unrest, just enough to make sure you stay clear of it. Worry a lot about the strikes. We were affected on three of the five days which we spent all or part of in Athens. Luckily no taxi strike on our day of arrival or departure. We reserved a $200 private car transfer for the day of departure, fearing a taxi and/or bus strike would cause us to miss our 7am flight. When it became clear that there would be no taxi strike that day, the hotel let us change to a much cheaper normal taxi. This was a major American chain hotel. We found that the more reasonably priced private car services were not able or willing to give reasonable assurance they could get to the airport in case of a taxi strike (the taxi drivers sometimes block the route to the airport when they are on strike, or so the car services told us.)

I agree with Lee, just check livingingreece.gr and make yourself aware of any possible protests and strikes. If there are no protests scheduled don't be afraid to pass through Syntagma. I took a walk through the square yesterday (after two days of protests/riots) and it was as if nothing had occurred over the weekend. People were going about their business, the square was cleaned up, glass in the store windows had been replaced, etc. If there is not a major vote scheduled in the parliament during your visit, chances are you won't have to worry about rioting. Strikes will be your biggest concern and livingingreece.gr will help you plan your days accordingly. Also, I just want to note also that there is a big difference between the protestors and the rioters. The vast majority of Greeks are peacefully marching to Syntagma to have their voices heard. It seems that only a small number of people are actually going to riot. Unfortunately, the media chooses to focus on the damage and destruction done by this small group. The headline "Athens is Burning" is absolutely ridiculous. I can assure you that Athens is very much still here. :)

If there is a general strike, would that likely affect our ability to rent a car? We are planning to drive to Delphi, Nafpoli, Mycanae etc. So, strikes may not affect us that much, unless of course you can't even rent a car or buy gas. I would expect that our flights to and from Rhodes on Olympic Air could be in jeopardy if the mechanics et al join the strike. Not sure what the typical scope of a strike in Greece is, if there is such as thing as a typical strike. Thanks for all of your responses. We will monitor the website you suggested. best, Ed

I doubt the car rental agencies would ever be on strike. It was either last year or the year before that there was a trucker's strike preventing fuel from reaching the petrol stations, so yes, it's possible that you could have trouble getting gas if they are striking when you're there. People come to these websites all the time looking for reassurances regarding strikes and safety in Greece, but the bottom line is: no one can tell you with any real degree of certainty that your vacation will not be affected by a strike. You just have to keep flexible and hope for the best.

Hi, Ed
Have you thought of buying some travel insurance, just in case you get delayed/miss your flight home due to strikes/riots?

If you do buy travel insurance for that purpose be VERY sure that any policy you purchase covers events such as delays and cancellations due to demonstrations and strikes. If they're announced in advance, as they usually are in Greece, they might (Correction edit: MIGHT NOT) be part of your stated coverage. Read the fine print of the travel insurance policy very carefully. Exclusions are not always clearly outlined.

(@chun& lee) Thanks for the travel insurance suggestions. We have three free roundtrip tickets using our Delta mileage to reach Athens. I believe those flights could be rescheduled with a modest penalty per flight for upwards of one year (Delta tickets, but flights on Air France). We paid for three round trip to Rhodes which may be more of a challenge (cost about $618 total). I could not understand Olympic Air's website as to the refund policy and restrictions. I called their 800 number before I booked and the representative had no idea and was unable to clarify the website. I suspect we would lose the value of those tickets. I'll look into the insurance coverage.

Actually, maybe you were presenting another issue. Now that I think about it, if the homeward bound flights get cancelled, we may be on the bottom of the rebooking list because we are on free (milage based) tickets. That could mean an extended time in a hotel I suppose. best,
Ed

I checked into travel insurance before our trip in October, and the company that I called (one of the ones in Rick's book, I think Travelguard) said they would not cover losses due to labor issues i.e. strikes in Greece. In talking to United and Lufthansa at the time, they said if the flight was cancelled, rebooking would not be an extra charge (we booked on miles too). If we missed the flight for reasons like a taxi strike, rebooking would likely cost us a pile of money. We did not even get into how long we might wait to get another flight, because I was more worried about paying a huge amount to rebook. Delta may be more user friendly, I don't know.

Just finished my 8 days in Athens and vicinity. The only threat I experienced, obnoxious Americans being their usual stupid selves oblivious to the world around them. The people I dealt with were as I expected, cordial Europeans.Syntagma was great and only one burnt building under ongoing repair near your hotel.

Thanks for the update Gary! We are looking forward to our trip. I hope my five year old remembers this one more fully. He's done Turkey, Croatia, Italy, France and Spain but I don't think he remembers much except for the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. (He recognized those while watcing Scubby Do and the news after those trips to Europe).