On most islands a daily per-person budget of ?3-27/US$32-38 will get you basic accommodation, breakfast, picnic lunch, a short ferry or bus ride and a simple evening meal, as one of a couple. Camping would cut costs marginally. On ?5-38/$49-54 a day you could be living quite well, plus sharing the cost of renting a large motorbike or small car.

Inter-island ferries , a main unavoidable expense, are reasonably priced, subsidized by the government in an effort to preserve remote island communities. To give you some idea of prices, the cheapest cabin for the overnight journey from Athens to Sámos, an eleven-hour trip, costs about €37, while a deck-class ticket for the four-hour trip from Rhodes to Kós costs about €11. For €4-7 you can catch a short-hop ferry to the numerous small islands that lie closer to Rhodes, Kós and Sámos, the most likely touchdown points if you're flying to the Dodecanese or east Aegean on a direct charter; a cheap cabin from Pireás to Rhodes, one of the longest single ferry journeys in Greece, will set you back €47. Local ferries in the Cyclades are a bit pricier for the sea miles travelled; Páros or Náxos to Thíra in the Cyclades runs at about €9.

The simplest double room generally costs around €20.50-26.50 a night, depending on the location and the plumbing arrangements. Bona fide single rooms are rare, and cost about seventy percent of double rates. Organized campsites are little more than €4 per person, with similar charges per tent and perhaps 25 percent more for a camper van. With discretion you can camp for free in the more remote, rural areas.

A basic taverna meal with local wine can be had for around €9-10 a head. Add a better bottle of wine, seafood or more careful cooking, and it could be up to €20 a head; you'll rarely pay more than that. Sharing seafood, Greek salads and dips is a good way to keep costs down in the better restaurants, and even in the most developed of resorts, with inflated "international" menus, you'll often be able to find a more earthy but decent taverna where the locals eat.

Back to Costs, Money And Banks