Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Time
Greece maintains one time zone throughout the country. It is two hours ahead of GMT/
UTC and three hours ahead on daylight-saving time - which begins on the last Sunday in
March, when clocks are put forward one hour.
Daylight saving ends on the last Sunday in October.
Toilets
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Most places in Greece have Western-style toilets, especially hotels and restaurants that
cater for tourists. You'll occasionally come across Asian-style squat toilets in older
houses,
kafeneia
(coffee houses) and public toilets.
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Public toilets are a rarity, except at airports and bus and train stations. Cafes are the
best option if you get caught short, but you'll be expected to buy something for the priv-
ilege.
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The Greek plumbing system can't handle toilet paper; apparently the pipes are too nar-
row and anything larger than a postage stamp seems to cause a problem. Toilet paper etc
should be placed in the small bin provided next to every toilet.
Tourist Information
Tourist information is handled by the Greek National Tourist Organisation, known by the
initials GNTO abroad and EOT within Greece. The quality of service from office to office
varies dramatically; in some you'll get information aplenty and in others you'll be hard
pressed to find anyone behind the desk. EOT offices can be found in major tourist loca-
tions, though they are increasingly being supplemented or even replaced by local muni-
cipality tourist offices (such as in the Peloponnese).
The tourist police also fulfil the same functions as the EOT and municipal tourist offices,
dispensing maps and brochures, and giving information on transport. If you're really stuck,
the tourist police can help to find accommodation.
Travellers with Disabilities
Access for travellers with disabilities has improved somewhat in recent years, largely
thanks to the Olympics. Improvements are mostly restricted to Athens, where there are
more accessible sights, hotels and restaurants. Much of the rest of Greece remains inac-
cessible to wheelchairs, and the abundance of stones, marble, slippery cobbles and
