We always have Athens… | THE DAILY
I don’t know who thought that Athens is nice in August, but they really need to think again. No, Athens is not nice at all in August, it never was, it makes me sad personally. Where I will agree, however, is that this summer Athens is not empty like other years.
Even in these days, just before the fifteenth of August, there are quite a few people in the center and the streets have some traffic, noticeably increased compared to the previous summers at the same time – I am not referring, of course, to the two, special circumstances, summers of the pandemic .
The fact that Athens has not been emptied is confirmed, above all, by the daily, live reportage with friends and acquaintances who remain within the walls, immersed in disappointment.
Even a week is a midsummer night’s dream. The family of four will have to spend a little less than a basic salary if they want to travel by boat to a popular tourist destination in the Cyclades, Naxos or Paros, quintessentially “family” islands.
The amount of 592 euros together with a medium class car will pay for the trip to the island and the return from there provided that one of the two children is under 10 years old. If not, the cost goes up and exceeds the base salary. “Coast ferry tickets for many islands, mainly in the Cyclades, have been repriced three times in 2022, with the result that compared to last year they are more than 30% more expensive”. This amount is for tickets only.
Let’s go to the accommodations now. And there the prices have caught fire. Friends who have been going to the same accommodation on a small island in the Cyclades for years, told me that this year the owner, with whom they had now become friends, doubled the price and her answer was “I’m sorry, there’s no other way”. A room does not move from 100-120 euros, and it is about something simple without extra decent ones, such as e.g. breakfast.
Now in all the previous years, if you take into account the daily expenses, and these significantly more than in the previous years, the holiday “budget” rises to the heights.
Unfortunately, this summer, which we were all looking forward to after the two pandemic years, coincided with the energy crisis and the price explosion. Many summer travel plans were revised or even cancelled. Of course, we always have Athens, which is beautiful in August. If we keep saying it, we might as well believe it.