Internet in Greece
Internet cafes can now be found almost everywhere. Usual prices are between 1.50 euros and 4 euros per hour. In many of them you can also use your own laptop. Around half of the cafes and hotels in Greece now have free WiFi access for customers with their own laptop or smartphone. Mobile internet is also available, and faster internet (3G or more) has been available almost everywhere in most smaller islands and towns for several years. If you use your cell phone or laptop and access the internet in Greece via roaming, you should definitely pay attention to the fees. From summer 2017, the EU wants to largely abolish roaming charges in Europe. If this actually happens, you will be able to surf the internet in Greece much more cheaply with a German cell phone or internet stick. Current information at the beginning of 2018: Roaming charges have actually been largely abolished. This will still apply in 2024.
You can also buy a Greek SIM card including a daily, weekly or monthly flat rate for the internet. With this you can then access the Internet using a stick and laptop or cell phone. The market is very confusing and constantly changing. You can get advice in one of the many telephone shops. Unfortunately, I feel that mobile Internet is a bit more expensive in Greece than in Germany. However, the networks are modern. At Cosmote, a stick costs around 30 euros in 2015, a daily flat rate (with 1GB of speed throttled) costs 5 euros, a 10-day flat rate costs 15 euros and a 30-day flat rate costs 40 euros (prepaid tariffs, usually cheaper with a contract). The companies Wind and Vodaphone have other, sometimes cheaper, offers. However, the network coverage is not the same for all three major providers. If roaming really does disappear from summer 2017, hardly any tourists will buy a SIM card in Greece. Even today, many German providers already offer cheap options for holidays in the EU.
Cell phone in Greece
The cell phone networks in Greece work pretty well for making phone calls. Even in remote regions (be careful when hiking, for example: not everywhere!) you often have sufficient reception. This even applies when you are on ferries between the islands close to land. The Greeks love their cell phones and use them very often. Many people make calls for hours every day thanks to flat rate offers. There are three major providers for cell phone networks in Greece: Vodaphone, Cosmote and Wind.
Tip: Hotels in Greece should be booked online. Prices are usually much cheaper and easier to compare. The best place to book is Booking.com.
As in Germany, there are also discount stores that use the networks of the major providers. Prepaid SIM cards are available in the widely available cell phone provider stores. You need an ID card to activate a SIM in Greece. However, this is largely unproblematic and can be done with an ID card or passport of any nationality.
German newspapers and magazines on the Greek islands
The “Griechenland Zeitung” is a weekly newspaper (every Wednesday) in German. It is available in newsagents, kiosks and in better hotels. Among other things, it contains many tips and information for holidaymakers from German-speaking countries.
If you have a good command of English, you can also get information from the “Athens News”. These are available at kiosks or newsagents. The best newsagent in Greece is the “News Stand”. This chain has branches on all the major islands, usually in the center of larger cities. German-language newspapers such as the “Frankfurter Allgemeine”, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and the “Bildzeitung”, as well as many German magazines such as “Spiegel”, “Focus” and “Stern”, can be bought on last-minute trips to all the larger islands. German newspapers are usually only available one day late. In winter, the delay can be 2-3 days.
Radio and television in Greece
German radio is almost impossible to receive. Even with shortwave you need a good receiver (world receiver). Of course you can also receive your favorite German local radio station on the Internet in Greece.
Many better hotels now have a satellite system for foreign guests. ASTRA is very difficult to receive in the south of Greece (Crete, Rhodes, etc.), as southern Greece in particular is geographically very far removed from Europe (dish diameter at least 1.5 m). Hotbird is the most commonly used satellite for Central European programs. With Hotbird you can receive several hundred European and Asian programs, including ARD, ZDF and RTL. A few Greek radio stations broadcast news in English once or twice a day.
The many Greek television stations show foreign films (mostly American) in English with subtitles. If you can speak English well you can watch the films. This also applies to cinemas in Greece. German films are rarely shown in German on Greek television. Greeks watch a lot of television. News, news shows and football are very popular. Bundesliga games are also broadcast on Greek pay TV and are shown in many bars in tourist areas. This is especially true for European Cup games and international matches. If you have an internet connection, you can watch current German news programs on the internet, for example at Tagesschau.de or Heute.de.
Medien in Griechenland ( German)
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