Greek Easter May 1 - 5, 2013

[Kenato]

Just a note to anyone who is scheduled to be in Greece next May, their Easter follows the Julian Calendar and in 2013 Easter Sunday will be May 5 and everywhere will be closed. There are also Easter related activities during the preceeding week.

 

We are scheduled on H-A to be in Athens May 5 & 6 so will have to join the celebrations on Easter Sunday with lambs being roasted on spits plus much wine and dancing. Sounds like a good compromise for not seeing ancient buildings.:)

[wantocruisemore]

WHEW, I got little panicky when I read the post since our April 27 cruise out of Venice goes to Greece. But I checked and thankfully we will be in Greece on April 29. But it may also explain why that cruise is so booked since it is a holiday for some.

[KirkNC]

Good heads up, thanks.

[margate26]

:(Thanks for the info re Greek Easter. We are on the same cruise.Not being into religion in a big way didnt even think about it but considering for me at least a visit to the acropolis and museum was going to be a highlight of this cruise you would have thought that the alterations to dates and ports to this cruise already, HAL would have at least considered changing the dates in Athens.

[Kenato]

I am still trying to get a definitive answer from H-A on tours on Easter Sunday in Greece. I have requested that they provide a response that they will stand behind. I will post further update if I hear anything.

[Kenato]

OK, I just received a response from H-A. To quote: "You are correct in what you have heard. Every archaeological area and museum are closed on Orthodox Easter of May 5th, 2013.......Some of our tours will go to these sights as part of sight seeing tours so there will still be excursions available on these days. However the tours that will be taking you just to the museums or archaeological sites would not be operating and we will add this date among the others to our website. Thanks again for bringing the issue to attention."

 

 

I am satisfied with this response and will monitor the website to ensure notification is added.

 

Best advice for the Sunday, see if you can find a tour that will take you to a town or village that is celebrating Easter Sunday. We would be happy to join with others on such a trip.

[zqvol]

OK, I just received a response from H-A. To quote: "You are correct in what you have heard. Every archaeological area and museum are closed on Orthodox Easter of May 5th, 2013.......Some of our tours will go to these sights as part of sight seeing tours so there will still be excursions available on these days. However the tours that will be taking you just to the museums or archaeological sites would not be operating and we will add this date among the others to our website. Thanks again for bringing the issue to attention."

 

 

I am satisfied with this response and will monitor the website to ensure notification is added.

 

Best advice for the Sunday, see if you can find a tour that will take you to a town or village that is celebrating Easter Sunday. We would be happy to join with others on such a trip.

 

You can also expect a lot of closures on Holy Friday (Good Friday to non Orthodox), and Monday of Bright week (the day after Pascha - Easter in Greece).

[SlyFox_TX]

We are in port on May 1st which also happens to be my wife's birthday. Will the holiday festivities significantly impact the typical DIY day in Athens?

[cruisemom42]

We are in port on May 1st which also happens to be my wife's birthday. Will the holiday festivities significantly impact the typical DIY day in Athens?

 

May 1 is a major holiday in most of Europe. The websites and guidebooks say that most archaeological sites and museums will be closed in Athens on that day.

 

I'm not sure for Athens, but in some other European capitals (like Rome), May 1 is also a day when they tend to have demonstrations. Perhaps someone with more local knowledge can suggest if this is true for Athens.

[zqvol]

We are in port on May 1st which also happens to be my wife's birthday. Will the holiday festivities significantly impact the typical DIY day in Athens?

 

 

That is during the middle of Holy Week. Even though it is May day do not expect any demonstrations as Church activities will trump any political activities that entire week. All of the churches will have two or three services that day, but there will not be any other impact unless the sites decide to close because of the secular holiday.

[SlyFox_TX]

OK, now I am in panic mode regarding May Day. Does anyone have experience in being in the city on a day when most of the key sites are closed? I'm not going to lie, this is crushing.

[Jeep61]

When the Istanbul extension for our Classic Greek Isle tour was cancelled we found ourselves with the task of filling three extra days in Athens - the challenge was that the three days were May 4 through 6, 2013 which happens to be Orthodox Easter weekend. The outlook seemed grim but with perseverance we found solutions. Kostas at Athens Walks Tours (http://www.athens-walks.com) was able to place us in two of his walking tours: Athens Hills and Food Tours. We are excited to have such great options! Kostas has been very responsive to my various questions and the reviews I read say we will delighted with the tours.

 

I also found these web sites helpful in deciphering what was available during Orthodox Easter weekend.

http://www.true-athens.com/wordpress/2011/02/easter-in-athens/

and

http://livingingreece.gr/2011/01/28/hours-sites-museums-greece/

 

However, I am also contacting each venue to confirm the hours each is open during the weekend since the web pages are possibly not up to date and I am not sure if the information is 100% correct.

 

The lesson I learned is to keep searching and searching... Being an optimist I knew something would work out. Now I know we will have a great weekend in Athens.

[Kenato]

We have a tour group, Athens by taxi/PK Travel who have said they will arrange the following on Easter Sunday May 6.

 

"well at the cities of Tripoli and Livadia there are Easter Festivals that take place every year (with free food lamb on the spit , wine, live music and dancing). Due to the economic crises, though, I do not know what will happen this yea. If you are interested please let me know so as to find out.

 

The pick up from your ship, the two way transfer to the festival and the drop off at the port will cost 900 Euros for up to 16 passengers with the minibus. Please note that Easter is one of our biggest holidays and that is why the price is higher.

Tolls and petrol are included in the price."

 

We are looking for anyone who may be interested in making up a group and being able to join in some of the traditional Easter Celebrations.

[LeslieA]

Thanks so much for posting this!

 

I am on the HAL Noordam leaving Athens on Monday, May 6th so we were going to fly in Saturday Night.

 

I guess it would be best to fly in on Friday night so we would have Saturday to do some touring.