Crucial Tips for the Independent Traveller - Part 2

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Greece Travel

Crucial Tips for the Independent Traveller - Part 2

By popular demand, and the pressure of a few additional thoughts on the subject, here is Part Two of "Crucial Tips for the Independent Traveller". Part one resides here, if you'd care to check it out.

I should define one term - independent travel is a state of mind, not necessarily related to how large a group the traveller finds around them. It's a matter of learning to see what you need to see at a given location, of being perceptive to your needs as a traveller. Are the words "traveller" and "tourist" incompatible? Well, travel, like life, makes for strange bedfellows and it is possible for one individual to be both at different times, even in the same trip or location. As I've confessed, I have a very un-"Traveller" like affection for cheap curios. But I also have the very "traveller" trait of yearning simultaneously for the next horizon while contemplating what life would bring if I were to simply stay on that small island forever.

So, tourist or traveller, these tips may make life a bit richer or more manageable on the road to the next place, physical or mental!

First, a note on cruises. I've been receiving cruise catalogs lately, notably a nice one from Zeus Tours, and I applaud the fact that on each of the Royal Olympic and Sun Cruises destinations, they note when disembarkation is by tender, pointing out that getting off the ship may be impossible in rough weather. If you are taking a cruise, this means that some of the most enchanting destinations may be off-limits on the day of your arrival. It happens relatively rarely, but bear it in mind when planning your must-see itinerary.

The second point about destinations reached by tender (note: these are the little boats of varying vintage that pull up to the cruise ship and take off the passengers) is that these are meant for the spry. During a short, 4-day cruise, I personally witnessed three injuries -one of them serious- to senior individuals attempting to get on or off of a tender. Please be cautious. They may not be worth the risk, especially in rough weather, which makes the tenders bob up and down or approach and then retreat from the gangway or pier. A sense of timing and adventure is necessary to hurl yourself on or off of these vessels. (I've discussed this subject in another article, Island of the Week - Patmos.) Wheelchair-bound travellers may find disembarkation by tender a nightmare. Women may also find it easier to get on and off the tenders in slacks rather than skirts, especially flowing ones.

One of the enduring delights of Greece is the cheapness of one of the other forms of transportation, the taxi. While there may be a few brigands among the drivers, they are rare. Tipping is not generally expected, which makes the low prices even lower. On a rainy night in Ioaninna, the taxi we took from a restaurant just outside the old city wall was better than cheap - it was free. Because of the rain, we took a cab the six or seven blocks back to the hotel. On arrival, we discovered that we had nothing smaller than a thousand drachma note, at that time worth about four dollars. Alas, our taxi fare was a mere 150 drachmas (about seventy-five cents). The driver, very irritated with us for not having anything small enough to pay the bill, waved us out of the taxi when we told him we had to step into the lobby for change. We offered him the thousand-drachma note, but he refused it.

Generally, the only downside to taxi travel is that if you want to go to an unusual destination, it is very wise to have someone write it out for you in Greek, or use a map to show the driver your ultimate goal. However, be warned that if you order a taxi by phone, the fare will be doubled, at least in the major cities.

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