Vacation Home Rentals

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Apr 18

So many adventure holidays in Egypt, Turkey or Greece are available, so why not bring out the adventurer in you? There are lots of extreme sport options. You can dive through old shipwrecks and ruins, bungee jump and sky dive over the picturesque Mediterranean or (if you’re up for it) have a spot of wingsuit flying.

Book a sky diving trip over Athens and view the breathtaking sights of Greece’s capital. This is only rewarded to those who have the nerve to jump out of the plane. If you fancy airborne activities such as bungee jumping, skydiving or wingsuit flying, look at holidays in Greece. Wingsuit flying is a much more adventurous option as an extreme sport, which is best done away from the city along the coast, so head to the beach for the best places in Greece. The fact that this sport is performed close to the cliff lines make it an even more exciting experience.

The copious amounts of deserts filling up Egypt are perfect for trying sandboarding, which involves riding down or across a sand dune or desert with both feet strapped to a board. Windsurfing, desert safari expeditions, archaeological artefact diving and eco-tours are just a few of the amazing extreme sports you can do in the desert. Egypt is also perfect for scuba diving (mainly because of the Red Sea), and lots of people come here every year to check out the seas. This is one of the most interesting places to explore due to the large amount of underwater wreckages. Some diving courses qualify you for the PADI and there are other courses that will simply guide you through the sea, making sure you don’t miss any spectacular sights.

Holidays in Turkey offer various activities to choose from, including trekking and kite boarding. Kite boarding is a eclectic experience that is not for the fainthearted. This sport involves balancing on a board while essentially flying a kite to pull you along the warm Turkish sea. The Antalya region is famous for having great trekking conditions, and this is a very popular activity in the area.

So, head to the Mediterranean for you next thrilling adventure. You’ll be amazed at the sheer amount of fun that can be had here, and you won’t want to leave for days. For the ultimate holiday why not try and arrange one that incorporates all these fantastic sports? You could start in Greece and then make your way to Turkey and finally Egypt. That would be one incredible holiday experience.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Jul 30

In this part of our guide to holidays in Greece we focus on how you can get around the country…

It is inexpensive and easy to hire a car or moped in Greece. All you need is an internationally recognized driving license and a passport. Prices per day start at about $40 for a car and $15 for a moped – but make sure the quoted price includes all insurance and taxes. Hiring a vehicle offers the freedom to travel where you please. Most roads are good, but be careful in some parts of rural Greece or on the islands as some roads in these areas can be narrow and poorly maintained.

Greece’s superb ‘KTEL’ (intercity) bus system lets you travel easily anywhere on the mainland. It’s great value for money and lets you visit parts of Greece that you would otherwise never get to see. But the system was designed for locals, not tourists, so you might run into some language problems. However, most young Greeks have a little English and you will probably find one is willing to assist you.

Taxis are readily available and reasonably priced, and by law every cab must have a meter. Tipping isn’t customary, but continuing to pick up passengers until the taxi is full is a local custom. So you can flag cab that already has passengers as long as they are going in the same direction that you want to travel. On the islands and in the cities, most – but not all – drivers will speak some English.

Getting to the islands requires either a boat ride or a short flight. For islands close to the mainland, ferries are the best option; they run regularly throughout the day, but keep in mind that they might take longer than you expect because of making several stops on different islands en route to their final destination. For islands further away, you can fly to them (many islands have airports) from Athens or Thessaloniki; the distances within Greece are small, so even the furthest destination is less than an hour flight.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Jul 30

This part of our guide to holidays in Greece sees us covering shopping and money…

While Greece isn’t known as a great shopping destination, it does offer some fine and unique local products. The country produces good handicrafts, pottery, jewelry, metalwork, knitwear, lace, rugs and leather goods. In addition, its local wines and spirits make distinctive purchases.

Large international style shopping malls can be found in nearly all of its cities, and you’ll recognize many of the retailers and brands stocked within them. Prices are similar to elsewhere in Europe for such goods though so don’t expect to find any real bargains unless shopping during the sales.

Tourist souvenir shops and some family-owned arts and crafts stores tolerate haggling, but otherwise it is frowned upon. In places where bargaining is accepted, you can reduce the price by at least 10-20%, and being able to speak some Greek can help you get price as low as possible.

Most items incur Value Added Tax (VAT) and this is generally but not always included in price tags. However, some shops do provide tax-free shopping for non-European Union residents. Under this system, people who do not live in the EU can seek a VAT refund when departing the EU. To do this, ask for a VAT voucher when buying an item and show a customs officer all such vouchers and the related items upon leaving the EU.

Greece’s official currency is the Euro, and other currencies won‘t be accepted at all. You can easily exchange currency can easily in larger cities and in any touristed area though.  Banks tend to offer the best exchange rates, followed by specialist shops, and then automated currency exchange machines. When changing money, it’s a good idea to get mostly smaller notes, and nothing larger than a €50, as many businesses will be reluctant to accept them.

ATM machines are ubiquitous. Visa, Mastercard and Eurocard are widely accepted in hotels, retail outlets and travel agencies, but some restaurants and local souvenir shops will not accept them.