Islands elusive for many Greeks as prices rise
Many Greeks lament the carefree days when they could travel to the Cycladic islands having secured affordable lodgings, just a few weeks in advance.
“You can’t do anything spontaneously anymore,” says Mika Germanou, a private employee looking for a room for August on Anafi for the past two weeks. “If we can’t get a room, we’ll camp or go to a bigger island,” she adds, remembering how she never booked ahead for her favorite island up to four years ago.
Businessman Ektoras Seilopoulos started looking for a triple room on Sifnos a month ago for the last weekend in July. “Even the bad rooms are around 150 euros a night,” he says, decrying “exorbitantly” high prices.
Another man, who asked not to be named, scrapped holiday plans for Milos after calculating that it would cost his family of four around 2,500 euros for a week. “I’m afraid that very soon we’ll only be able to see the Cycladic islands on a map.”