Greece is a stunning country with kind, welcoming locals, an intriguing past, stunning landscapes, and a bounty of beautiful islands. Greece’s fantastic history, culture, and natural landscapes explain why the country attracts over 30 million tourists annually.

Before you visit Greece, you should familiarize yourself with Greek culture and social norms.

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Getting Ready to Visit Greece?

Matters such as how much to tip, whether or not to rent a car, and when to go are some of the details I will discuss throughout this post.

So read on to ensure you are prepared for your unforgettable vacation to Greece.

Consider Island Time 

Whether you’re on a Greek island or the mainland, you can expect everyone to be in a laid-back mood. That is to say, your expectations for timing may not be met.

The restaurant may not open precisely when the sign says it will, your cab may be a few minutes late, and the boat may not show up for an entire day…

The best way to deal with this way of thinking is to just let things happen as they will. Your transportation won’t get there any faster if you worry about when it will arrive.

Who can say? Maybe your delays will lead to an adventure you didn’t plan for.

Stores Close on Sundays 

In the same way as island time, make sure you know ahead of time when the places you want to visit are open. There’s a good chance that they won’t always be open when you think they will be.

Haggling is Expected

In many countries, including the US, the cost of an item is decided from the start. But one of the most crucial things to understand before visiting Greece is that haggling is commonplace there.

So it’s well worth learning how to get the best prices to get home as many souvenirs as possible! 

Knowing when to negotiate for a better price versus when not to is crucial. It’s actually relatively easy to tell when you can haggle.

Someone will always try to sell you something when you enter a store. If they expect you to pay the total price, that’s the price they’ll give. If they’re willing to make a deal, they’ll tell you the price and then offer a lower one if you buy it there and then (or something similar).

This is your signal to make a counteroffer. 

When it comes to the actual practice of negotiating, lowball offers are encouraged. Most likely, you’ll settle on a number somewhere in the middle.

Cash is King

While the rest of Europe has moved to use plastic, life in Greece is still based primarily on cash on some islands. You can learn more about money and budgeting your trip here.

Some Areas are not Wheelchair Accessible 

You can get a pretty good idea of how accessible Greece is for people with disabilities by watching any movie that takes place there. To forewarn: it’s not.

Greece is a Super-Friendly Place

Even though Greece isn’t the best place for people with disabilities, the Greek people are still very friendly. You’ll always feel like someone is looking out for you.

In fact, if you make friends with a local, they’ll probably feed you a lot of tasty food and give you a lot of shots of ouzo, which is a popular local drink (think of tsikoudia in Crete!)

Try Learning a Little Greek

A little bit of the Greek language is one of the most important things to know before going to Greece. People everywhere in the world love it when you speak a little bit of their language.