BEST APPS FOR GREECE TRAVEL

The best itinerary builder around. Keep track of your itinerary for Greece with this fantastic app!

I’ve been using Tripit for about 12 years now and don’t know how I possibly coped before! By using this you will have all your travel plans and details at your fingertips at any given time and eliminate the need to print almost everything.

Simply ‘add a trip’ by entering a destination ( the main one or the first one on your trip) and start and end dates that cover the entire trip. Then simply forward any email you get that has dates and booking confirmations on it – from airlines, hotels, booking sites, ticketing agents, restaurants, activities, etc- to plans@tripit.com and their bots scan the details and enter key information into your itinerary.

There is the ability to add notes and edit with as much detail as you like and you can add other people as travelers, planners, or observers ( we’ve included my parents in the past when they’ve looked after the kids, for example).

I have, in the past, used the paid version of this app as well. It then does things like monitor your reward points, gate changes, real-time alerts, check-in reminders, security wait times, and more. Several times it notified me of last-minute gate changes on international flights that neither the airport nor the airline had done and prevented me from missing the flight! I’m not using it right now but I would certainly consider it again on a big trip. 

Freenow has taken over TaxiBeat and works a bit like Uber but it finds and allows you to book your closest taxi rather than a private car. It works in ten European countries including the U.K. and Italy so it’s especially great if you are traveling multiple places.

You can select preferences such as driver language and smoking/non-smoking and it’s a great way to get around in areas not well services by public transport.

It’s especially fantastic if you encounter a language barrier as the driver will have located you via the app and know your destination too. Like Uber, you can track their approach on the app and know when and where to be ready and waiting. And you can rate your driver and leave a comment too.

Storing your payment information is also a huge advantage and does away with fumbling around with money and misunderstandings about price. 

ps. Uber does not exisit in Greece. You can still use the App in Athens, Santorini and Mykonos but, like FreeNow, it will connect you with a taxi. However there are for more taxi’s signed up to FreeNow than Uber, so it can be quicker.

Further reading: Airport and Port Transfers in Greece

Similar to the Oyster card you might use in London or Hong Kong the Ath.ena card covers all the major transport options – metro, bus, and tram, and offers great discounts on a reusable card you can buy from train stations at automatic machines that can also be used to top up and STASY’S bookstores.

You can also buy a 3-day tourist ticket which offers great value.

You may have heard that there is a strong wind that can blow in the Greek Islands from time to time. It’s called the Meltemi and it can be both a blessing and a curse.

Usually three or four times a year it blows so hard that ferries are cancelled, especially the smaller ones. It is simply too dangerous to try and dock them and too unpleasant for passengers aboard, especially those prone to seasickness.

Catamaran tours and sailing trips are of course also impacted.

Catching a ferry in Greece is a big part of the whole Greek Island experience but of course, no-one wants disruptions to their travel or a terrible experience. The ferry companies are very helpful when the Meltemi blows and do their best to schedule on the next available ferry or issue you with a credit or refund if required.

It’s very hard to predict the Meltemi well in advance but the app Windy does a great job of mapping the forecast 5 days out and is pretty accurate in predicting the severity of the wind and the locations affected.

Transport aside it can also be a great tool to use to help you plan your day. It shows the direction the wind will be blowing ( usually south or south/west) and you can head to the southern towns and beaches on whatever island you are from. 

A fantastic offline map app that covers over 70 million destinations. We have used this in Greece a few times now and quite frankly it was a lot more accurate than Google Maps! Google are fine on the big highways and open roads but they cannot send their camera cars into the many car-free old towns, so rely on satellite imaging for them which can be quite vague and confusing.

No need to rely on dodgy wifi or buy Greek Sim cards either.

There is a lot of detail on the maps including points of interest and gas stations etc… and you can select your route and/or mode of transport before you set out.

Translate between 103 languages, including Greek!

It’s always a good idea to learn a few words of Greek for your trip but sometimes you might need to know a lot more.

With this app you can copy and paste text or even use photo recognition. You can draw characters instead of using the keyboard and there is two-way instant speech translation as well.

You can even save translations and create your own phrasebook.

Want to know if your ferry is on time? Want to see how many cruise ships are heading for your next destination? Or just simply feel nostalgic for your favourite marine vessel and wonder where it now is?

Do you have time for one more Mythos and some Meze?

Track all marine traffic, even private yachts, with this app. Find out all about the amazing superyacht in the harbour tonight. I even used this a few years ago to track a luxury cruise ship I became quite enamoured with after a cruise from Venice to Athens ( Ponant).

The best currency converter around.

Check live foreign exchange rates for 170 currencies, make international money transfers and even set up alerts for currency fluctuations.

You can track up to 10 currencies at a time on the App.

ps. Further to this an international foreign currency account and fee free debit card with Wise is a great idea if you are juggling multiple currencies in one trip or looking to stay for an extended period. Even for families sending money overseas regularly – perhaps a foreign exchange student or gap year situation. Wise are a multi-award winning online service that really has the best exchange rates around. I know as I use it myself everyday! 

Powered by the ministry of transport and helps commuters stay on top of Athens’ busy bus system.
OASA Telematics uses GPS to pinpoint the location of the user showing nearby bus stops, their schedule and their route with an estimated arrival time. The cover all the KTel buses routes, the major bus company in Greece, as well as others too.

ps. Head to Hellenic Trains for Train timetables and tickets. 

While visitors and locals alike mostly eat out due to the plethora of fantastic tavernas and restaurants, sometimes you might want to stay in.

Perhaps everyone’s exhausted from exploring, someone’s unwell or you need to watch that football game back home, but you also want some delicious food delivered to your door.

Like many countries, there are some excellent delivery platforms.

efood and Wolt are the two that most Greeks use and that have the most coverage. efood has over 20,000 food and beverage places signed up and covers over 100 towns and cities in Greece. They even accept cash if you don’t want to link a card.

This last one is just a bit of fun but one I’ve become very fond of it, both home and away. It can turn your phone into a mobile conservatory where all the planets, constellations and celestial objects are identified and amplified. You can see comets and asteroids and even satellites moving across the night sky!

I especially love how it models the 12 Zodiac signs and other stars and constellations that are Greek such as Hercules, Scorpius, and Orion. You are surrounded by Greek Mythology just by looking up.

It’s lovely to use on those clear starry nights in Greece and kids, in particular, will love it! I’ve been stopped by so many strangers when using this and everyone then madly  downloads!