Islands

Disclosure: We may earn a commission from links on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we earn This article contains affiliate links. If you make a booking through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. About & Affiliate Disclosure ✅ Quick Answer The Greece etiquette mistakes visitors make most are rushing café culture, over-tipping and underdressing at churches. A frappé or freddo in Greece is meant to hold a table for an hour or more, and waiters will not bring the check until you ask with “To logariasmó, parakaló”. Tipping is light: round up or leave around 5-10% at tavernas, up to 10-15% for excellent service, and leave it in cash on the table rather than on a card. Every Greek Orthodox church and monastery, including Santorini village chapels, requires shoulders and knees covered for men and women alike, so carry a light scarf. Meals run late, with lunch around 2pm and dinner rarely before 9pm in summer. “Siga siga” (slowly, slowly) is the local rhythm, so build a buffer day into island-hopping, since the July-August meltemi wind can delay high-speed catamarans. The Acropolis ticket is around €30 flat in 2026, so verify it on hhticket.gr, and ETIAS is not required to enter Greece in 2026. Nobody Rushes a Frappé in Greece A freddo cappuccino at a café off Plaka’s back streets isn’t meant to be finished quickly. A visitor who drains it in fifteen minutes and starts looking around for the check gets nothing more than a water refill, because the table isn’t considered done until the person sitting at it says so. Settling in for a longer sit and watching the street go by is the actual local rhythm, and it is usually the best hour of the day. ...