Greece is the word… for hordes of tourists! Photos show the reality of a high-season vacation in one of the most popular travel destinations in the world
- Greece was the ninth most booked country in the world for British travelers in July and August 2022
- It was the third most booked country in the world in July and August, according to Skyscanner data
- In the first week of August alone, a million holidaymakers arrived at Greek airports
- Ted Thornhill visited this August – and his snaps show shocking crowds at the Acropolis and on a beach in Corfu
advertisement
Greece was the ninth most booked country in the world for British travelers and the third most booked country globally, according to Skyscanner in July and August 2022 – and the Greek Tourist Board said a million holidaymakers arrived at airports in the country in the first week of August alone.
But what do these dates mean for someone traveling to the country during the high season? These shocking photos – taken on a trip to Greece earlier this month and shown for contrast alongside brochure-style images – show that standing elbow-to-elbow with other visitors at major tourist attractions and struggling can mean Anything to find a fairly large piece of sand on the beach. Unless you get up very early.
Or unless, like Boris Johnson, who recently vacationed on the Greek island of Euboea, you have a security team clearing the way.
LEFT: Ted Thornhill snapped this image of the entrance to the Acropolis at the Temple of Athena Nike during his site visit in early August. RIGHT: What the entrance would look like if you got there early – or visited out of season
Ted reveals he was jammed at the entrance to the Acropolis (above) as staff yelled at visitors to stop hugging the marble columns
Crowds pour through the entrance to the top of the ancient Acropolis
A series of photos I took at the Acropolis – which 16,000 people visit each day – show hordes of tourists swarming over the revered landmark.
I got there with my family around noon – in the sweltering heat – and we had to queue to get through the majestic entrance at the Temple of Athena Nike.
We ran into a bottleneck when staff members yelled at visitors to stop hugging the marble columns.
Ted is looking for a spot to take a “clean” picture of the legendary Parthenon. At right is a booklet-style image of the structure
Ted says it felt like half of Athens was with him on the Acropolis (left). The image on the right shows the majesty of the Parthenon, untouched by tourists
Greece was the ninth most booked country in the world for British travelers and the third most booked country globally in July and August 2022. Here, visitors marvel at the Parthenon as the sun sets
When we got to the top, we weaved through crowds of tourists, desperate for a ‘clean’ picture of the legendary Parthenon.
It felt like half the city was doing the same.
We had visited Corfu a few days before and popular places were full of visitors as well.
Agios Spiridon Beach (brochure-style image on the left) is one of the prettiest in north-west Corfu, but Ted (his legs on the right) could just about squeeze into it
Ted said he enjoyed the delights of Unesco-listed Corfu Town, but it was crowded with other tourists (above) despite the mercury hitting 38C
Ted finds a moment for a selfie at the Acropolis
We had a wonderful time exploring the lanes and alleys of the UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Corfu, but some of them were crowded with other tourists despite the mercury reaching 38C.
And one of the best beaches on the northwest coast – Agios Spiridon – was a writhing mass of bodies.
We escaped by taking a boat tour of the local sea caves.
Between July 1 and August 23, there were 8,350 scheduled departures from the UK to Greece, according to Cirium.
Glad we were on one of them – but next time we’ll pack several alarm clocks…
