# Why is Greece given bad reviews in travel guides? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768 "2004-08-14T00:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nonpolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@nonpolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonpolar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/21 "2004-08-16T16:59:38Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > When I was in Belgrade last month, I met a couple of Danish girls. They had been in Belgrade the previous week, left it to travel to Greece, but decided after only a day or two to go back to Belgrade. The reasons they gave were first, that Greece was much too expensive, and second, that the men were “disgusting”. > > I’m not sure what part of Greece they were in. In what sense men were disgusting?I think the men were coming on on those two girls.You know mediterranian men are much more temperamental and girls from up north are acustomed to the cool and quiet Nordic men.Plus Scandinavian women with their blond hair are always popular with guys down south. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/23 "2020-01-05T10:23:48Z")
Wow, what a zombie! And I still haven’t been to Greece. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/24 "2020-01-05T10:35:40Z")
FWIW, I didn’t find anything in Athens worse than in any other typical Mediterranean city, and the smog may be slowly getting better these days. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/25 "2020-01-05T10:44:21Z")
Greece is the closest friendly country Israelis can travel to, so I’ve been there five times in total: Athens, Crete, Rhodes, and Kos twice. Package deals to the islands are widely available and relatively cheap. Direct flights, great beaches, nice hotels, good food, what more do you want? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/26 "2020-01-05T10:47:22Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’ll also add that if someone were to visit the United States, I would not suggest either Salt Lake City or Atlanta as a place to visit. Since you’re still here, let me pipe in and say that while I definitely wouldn’t recommend Atlanta, I’d recommend Salt Lake City if the recommendees were a fan of both the antiseptic all-inclusive Caribbean resorts and also fans of mountains. Because I can’t think of another place in America that has the advantages of a metropolis so close to hiking. So instead of chilling on the beach and spending the night in the resort you can chill in the mountains and get whatever else you want in the city. Now they’re not the _best_ city or mountains, but it is a good combo IMO. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/27 "2020-01-05T13:59:42Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Since you’re still here, let me pipe in and say that while I definitely wouldn’t recommend Atlanta, I’d recommend Salt Lake City if the recommendees were a fan of both the antiseptic all-inclusive Caribbean resorts and also fans of mountains. Because I can’t think of another place in America that has the advantages of a metropolis so close to hiking. So instead of chilling on the beach and spending the night in the resort you can chill in the mountains and get whatever else you want in the city. Now they’re not the _best_ city or mountains, but it is a good combo IMO. Six words: [Utah Department of Alcohol Control](https://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html) Utah has some of the weirdest and strictest laws governing alcohol consumption I have ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/29 "2020-01-05T14:48:14Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > Six words: [Utah Department of Alcohol Control](https://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html) > > Utah has some of the weirdest and strictest laws governing alcohol consumption I have ever seen. Remind me to start giving a shit at about the time I start drinking anything more heavy than the occasional glass of hard cider. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/30 "2020-01-05T15:17:46Z")
Salt Lake City is as different from anything Caribbean as being stung by wasps is from having a nice nap. There is literally nothing the same, other than that they are both, like, places. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/31 "2020-01-05T15:20:20Z")
For whatever it’s worth, I feel like the Greek immigrants I know are far more likely to plan on retiring “back home” than immigrants from other countries. I think it’s a combination of affordability and well, they really like Greece better. It’s beautiful. They miss the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/32 "2020-01-05T16:25:36Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Wow, what a zombie! And I still haven’t been to Greece. Not a zombie–spam. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/33 "2020-01-05T16:42:42Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > Six words: [Utah Department of Alcohol Control](https://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html) > > Utah has some of the weirdest and strictest laws governing alcohol consumption I have ever seen. Tell me about it, I used to work for a company based in Salt Lake City and I had to travel there several times a year. I’ve had to buy a “membership” to a bar I only intended to go to once. I’ve had to get up from the table and buy mini-bottles from a little store in the back of the restaurant. And it seemed like the laws were either constantly misinterpreted or constantly changing, based on the wide variety of weird arrangements I encountered. But there were also some surprises. One evening at about 6PM, I was in my room at a major SLC hotel getting ready to attend some corporate dinner. The phone in my room rang. It was the bartender at the restaurant, wanting to know if I would like cocktails delivered to my room. This was during a period, pre-Olympic, when SLC was making a major effort not to be so Puritan. And I must say, the Mormons never do anything halfway. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen a bar engage in telemarketing. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/34 "2020-01-05T17:42:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Not a zombie–spam. I kinda thought it was spam but I saw that the poster had been in other threads. It was a shock to see my very old zombie pop up, I hadn’t been to Europe yet then and was going insane trying to figure out where to go. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768/35 "2020-01-05T17:47:03Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > Six words: [Utah Department of Alcohol Control](https://abc.utah.gov/laws/law_faqs.html) > > Utah has some of the weirdest and strictest laws governing alcohol consumption I have ever seen. I seem to remember you couldn’t have more than one drink in front of you. Can’t have a beer and a shot, for example nor can you get a second drink when you’re just about done with the one you’ve got. That’s not too bad sitting at a bar, but in a restaurant it’s real annoying since you have to time things with the server. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-greece-given-bad-reviews-in-travel-guides/259768.md?page=1)