Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ROUGH GUIDES TRAVEL INSURANCE
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Gay and lesbian travellers
Internet
Greece is deeply ambivalent about
homosexuality
:
ghettoized as “to be expected” in the arts, theatre
and music scenes but apt to be closeted elsewhere.
“Out” gay Greeks are rare, and “out” local lesbians
rarer still; foreign same-sex couples will be regarded
in the provinces with some bemusement but
accorded the standard courtesy as foreigners - as
long as they refrain from public displays of
affection, taboo in rural areas. There is a sizeable gay
community in Athens, Thessaloníki and Pátra, plus a
fairly obvious scene at resorts like Ýdhra, Rhodes
and Mýkonos. Skála Eressoü on Lésvos, the birth-
place of Sappho, is (appropriately) an international
mecca for lesbians. Even in Athens, however, most
gay nightlife is underground (often literally so in the
siting of clubs), with no visible signage for nonde-
script premises.
Rates at
internet cafés
tend to be about €2-4 per
hour and any town or major resort will have at least
one. Most hotels and an increasing number of cafés
offer free wi-fi internet access to patrons.
Laundry
Laundries
or
Plindíria
, as they're known in Greek, are
available in the main resort towns; sometimes an
attended service wash is available for little or no extra
charge over the basic cost of €8-10 per wash and
dry. Self-catering villas will usually be furnished with
a drying line and a selection of plastic wash-tubs or a
bucket. Most hotels will charge for laundry services.
Living in Greece
EU (and EEA) nationals are allowed to stay indefi-
nitely in any EU state, but to ensure avoidance of
any problems - eg, in setting up a bank account -
you should, after the third month of stay, get a
certificate of registration
(
vevéosi engrafís
).
Residence/work permits for
non-EU/non-EEA
nationals
can only be obtained on application to a
Greek embassy or consulate outside of Greece; you
have a much better chance of securing one if you
are married to a Greek, are of Greek background by
birth or have permanent-resident status in another
EU state.
As for
work
, non-EU nationals of Greek descent
and EU/EEA native speakers of English (ie Brits and
Irish) have a much better chance than anyone else.
Teaching English at a private language school
(
frontistírio
) is still a relatively well-paid option but
almost impossible to get into these days without a
bona fide TEFL certificate.
Many people find
tourism-related work
,
especially on the islands most dominated by foreign
visitors, April and May being the best time to look
around. This is often as a rep for a package company,
Insurance
Despite EU healthcare privileges applying in Greece
(see p.43 for details), you should consider taking out
an
insurance policy
before travelling to cover
against theft, loss, illness or injury. Before paying for
a whole new policy, however, it's worth checking
whether you are already covered: some home
insurance policies may cover your possessions when
overseas, and many private medical schemes (such
as BUPA or WPA in the UK) offer coverage extensions
for abroad.
Students
will often find that their
student health coverage extends during the
vacations.
Make any claim as soon as possible. If you have
medical treatment, keep all receipts for medicines
and treatment. If you have anything stolen or lost,
you must obtain an
official statement
from
the police or the airline which lost your bags -
with numerous claims being fraudulent, most
insurers won't even consider one unless you have
a police report.
