Plakias Forums
Plakias => PlakChat => Topic started by: bigal on August 02, 2007, 02:02:37 PM
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Just a few enquiries about my wife and I trip to Plakias in mid Sept.
1. Any current views on good places to eat or more important the ones to avoid. Also any restaurant got speciality dishes?
2. Can anyone help with the name of the beach we used last year...driving along the dirt track from the closed hotel, opp. end from Plakias, past the very small cove, the next beach which was almost all naturist, with a girl selling drinks, etc. What is it called??
3. Any good bars for a few night time drinks?
4. Is it safe to walk back from Mirthos? after midnight?
5. Is there another naturist beach within 15mins drive from Plakias???
Hope someone can help.
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Just a few enquiries about my wife and I trip to Plakias in mid Sept.
1. Any current views on good places to eat or more important the ones to avoid. Also any restaurant got speciality dishes?
2. Can anyone help with the name of the beach we used last year...driving along the dirt track from the closed hotel, opp. end from Plakias, past the very small cove, the next beach which was almost all naturist, with a girl selling drinks, etc. What is it called??
3. Any good bars for a few night time drinks?
4. Is it safe to walk back from Mirthos? after midnight?
5. Is there another naturist beach within 15mins drive from Plakias???
Hope someone can help.
Hi bigal
I've said this to numerous newbies with the same questions:
1. Your best bet is trial and error when you get there, the most popular are Lyseous, Haraki, Medusa to name just a few, there are so many others.
2. I'm happy with Plakias 'Far End' and tend not to travel to any other beaches for sunbathing, but there are others who do, I'm sure they'll get back to you.
3. Ditto 1. above, my prefered is Levicon, good music and comfortable, there's also the Ostraco which seems popular but it's noisy. there are so many others,
4. Yes. I've only done it once, as long as you keep you eyes open for traffic, you should be ok. I wouldn't chance it through the groves though.
5. Ditto 2.
Have a good one!
george g...
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Just a few enquiries about my wife and I trip to Plakias in mid Sept.
4. Is it safe to walk back from Mirthos? after midnight?
I agree with all George says. Re walking after midnight from Mirthios then yes the roads may be more suitable (much longer) than through the olive groves if you are not familiar with the route. I would advise a torch either way and we would feel perfectly safe going through the groves late at night as we know the route well. I don't think that there is a "security" issue as such.
John R
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2) the beach is called micro-ammoudaki or ammoudaki
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1. ... more important the ones to avoid. ...
I'm likely to get some stick for this but I'd avoid Christos ... or, if you are tempted, write down all the prices off the menu when you order and work out what you expect to pay.
I'm in the process of writing an article on this and trying hard to find the right words to avoid repercussions.
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write down all the prices off the menu when you order and work out what you expect to pay.
Sensible advice anywhere but overcharging at tavernas in Plakias is very rare IMHO. The quality is high and everyone has their own favourites so I guess this means that none stands out from the pack.
Mike
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write down all the prices off the menu when you order and work out what you expect to pay.
Sensible advice anywhere but overcharging at tavernas in Plakias is very rare IMHO. The quality is high and everyone has their own favourites so I guess this means that none stands out from the pack.
Mike
I love Christos for the setting & the shrimp Saganaki but it's not the cheapest, fish though good especially the smoked is very pricey. I think this year the best meals we ate were in Platia in Mirthios the specials are always spot on as is the view but you need to get there early as they sell out quick. Also the Paligremnos at the end of the beach is great & they have music night on a Thursday with a young very talented band.
Rowena
P.S I would get a taxi down from Mirthios why spend all that time walking in the dark when you could be enjoying a beer in Plakias!
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1. ... more important the ones to avoid. ...
I'm likely to get some stick for this but I'd avoid Christos ... or, if you are tempted, write down all the prices off the menu when you order and work out what you expect to pay.
I'm in the process of writing an article on this and trying hard to find the right words to avoid repercussions.
Ahhhh, I was wondering which restaurant was going to get a slating as you mentioned in the article thread. My money was on Medousa as it is so popular. I can sleep easy now
Haven't been to Christos since our first year. No real reason apart from at the time it didn't take credit cards and aslo i'm not a big seafood fan. May try it again this year if only for the location.
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P.S I would get a taxi down from Mirthios why spend all that time walking in the dark when you could be enjoying a beer in Plakias!
Now there is sound advice
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Ahhhh, I was wondering which restaurant was going to get a slating as you mentioned in the article thread. My money was on Medousa as it is so popular. I can sleep easy now
Haven't been to Christos since our first year. No real reason apart from at the time it didn't take credit cards and aslo i'm not a big seafood fan. May try it again this year if only for the location.
We've not eaten at Christos either. I'm sure the food is good but we were put off when we were standing there clearly waiting to be either given a menu or to be guided to a table and the staff just ignored us. However, rather than just go to our usual haunts maybe we will also try it this year.
Graham
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Just a few enquiries about my wife and I trip to Plakias in mid Sept.
4. Is it safe to walk back from Mirthos? after midnight?
I agree with all George says. Re walking after midnight from Mirthios then yes the roads may be more suitable (much longer) than through the olive groves if you are not familiar with the route. I would advise a torch either way and we would feel perfectly safe going through the groves late at night as we know the route well. I don't think that there is a "security" issue as such.
John R
Well said John. there aint no such thing as a security issue ! Biggest issue would be to fall over or step on donkey shit !
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P.S I would get a taxi down from Mirthios why spend all that time walking in the dark when you could be enjoying a beer in Plakias!
Now there is sound advice
ah!
no sense of adventure!!
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P.S I would get a taxi down from Mirthios why spend all that time walking in the dark when you could be enjoying a beer in Plakias!
Now there is sound advice
ah!
no sense of adventure!!
... and no bruises, either - olive trees are harder than they look :'(
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I'm likely to get some stick for this but I'd avoid Christos ...
I would second that: tried it for the 1st time this year in the light of all the recommendations, and was disappointed.
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I'm likely to get some stick for this but I'd avoid Christos ...
I would second that: tried it for the 1st time this year in the light of all the recommendations, and was disappointed.
In all the times I have been to Plakias, I don't think I've ever been to Christos.
Noopsy, welcome back to the forum. Was Plakias as good ever? how did you get on with the buses to the airport?
Greecemad
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we've been once.....
we sat there for 20 minutes and were ignored
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btw....
Bigal
are you the same Bigal from the thassos forum?
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btw....
Bigal
are you the same Bigal from the thassos forum?
No I am not. I am al from Glasgow
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Just want to say that we never made any bad experience with christos. Friendly staff, good food and one of the most beautyful locations to have the dinner. Not the cheapest, but they even created some specials for our little children that were not on the card. And if you were overcharged it may just have been a mistake and no intention?! In all the years I can only remember a single time when we were fooled by a staff-member and that was in a place at Frangocastello: 95DM [about 50€now] for two "sardines",chips,a poor salade and portokalada. But this Taverna is no longer there. Some of the other Tavernas at the seafront in Plakias give us the feeling to sit in an aquarium cause of the plasticwalls around. Except the tables in the first row.
Bon voyage
shinaria
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we've been once.....
we sat there for 20 minutes and were ignored
That happened to me once, we got up and left, and haven't been back since!
That was a long time ago though.
george g...
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we've been once.....
we sat there for 20 minutes and were ignored
That happened to me once, we got up and left, and haven't been back since!
That was a long time ago though.
george g...
I've had some good food at Christos - the Shrimp saganaki is popular with my frinds (tho a bit spicy for me)
so, I'd rate it about 6/10 - and as so many other places get 9 or 10 - why bother to return?
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Noopsy, welcome back to the forum. Was Plakias as good ever? how did you get on with the buses to the airport?
Greecemad
Hallo Greecemad,
Yes, Plakias was lovely. I posted an update on the situation at the time in "Reporting In" but there was no reaction from anyone. Was it something I said?
I had your instructions with me but when the bus stopped at what appeared to be the place you described I chickened out and didn't get off. [Blushing with shame.] I waited until the bus reached its destination, and then, in more familiar surroundings, followed Stuart & Hilary's directions to Elefterias Square, and caught the airport bus from there. (Thank you Stuart. )
But next year I promise to be brave and try catching the airport bus earlier from the stop that you mentioned.
Noopsy
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Haven't been to Christos since our first year. No real reason apart from at the time it didn't take credit cards and aslo i'm not a big seafood fan. May try it again this year if only for the location.
Hello Paul,
I'm interested to hear you use your CC to pay for meals. A couple of questions. Is there resistance in the tavernas to this as they must pay commission to the CC company? Do you pay in € or do they convert to £ (at a disadvantageous exchange rate to you)? I find my CC exchange rate is much better than that obtained changing £ to € and with a Nationwide one there is no commission.
Mike
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Hi Mike,
We used credit cards in the first couple of years due to not taking enough cash and lack of cash machines.
Now use the CC less but it still gets a fair bashing
Yes it is billed in Euros and then then converted to sterling. Must admit I have never checked the exchange rates and compared CC Transaction vs Cash withdrawal (I do get charged £1.50 for a foreign Cash withdrawal). Might go back and check last years.
Not really noticed any resistance from the tavernas against paying with CC.
Cheers,
Paul
Haven't been to Christos since our first year. No real reason apart from at the time it didn't take credit cards and aslo i'm not a big seafood fan. May try it again this year if only for the location.
Hello Paul,
I'm interested to hear you use your CC to pay for meals. A couple of questions. Is there resistance in the tavernas to this as they must pay commission to the CC company? Do you pay in € or do they convert to £ (at a disadvantageous exchange rate to you)? I find my CC exchange rate is much better than that obtained changing £ to € and with a Nationwide one there is no commission.
Mike
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Haven't been to Christos since our first year. No real reason apart from at the time it didn't take credit cards and aslo i'm not a big seafood fan. May try it again this year if only for the location.
Hello Paul,
I'm interested to hear you use your CC to pay for meals. A couple of questions. Is there resistance in the tavernas to this as they must pay commission to the CC company? Do you pay in € or do they convert to £ (at a disadvantageous exchange rate to you)? I find my CC exchange rate is much better than that obtained changing £ to € and with a Nationwide one there is no commission.
Mike
We have a Nationwide account with Debit Card. We get money from ATMs at a good rate (1.47 last month) and no commission, then pay for meals with cash - that way everyone's happy.
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... Must admit I have never checked the exchange rates and compared CC Transaction vs Cash withdrawal (I do get charged £1.50 for a foreign Cash withdrawal). Might go back and check last years. ...
Hi, Ploppy,
I may have misunderstood that bit .... but NEVER use a CREDIT card to withdraw cash unless there is no other option!
First off, the card company will start charging interest from the date of withdrawal - no grace period (and depending on which card company, at a higher rate than normal).
Secondly (again, depending on which card company) any payments you then make into the account will be paid-off against purchases before cash withdrawals - so they give themselves a bigger bite of the cherry.
Last but not least, any business which accepts card payments will probably charge an extra premium, to cover their charge from the card company.
I would always try to draw cash on a DEBIT card and use that to pay - assuming I hadn't got enough cash to start with.
Next time you see that ad. that asks "What's in your wallet?", you'll know the answer is "You thieving b******s!".
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"Last but not least, any business which accepts card payments will probably charge an extra premium, to cover their charge from the card company."
As in this country we never tend to carry much cash. Even in places like Sougia more & more Tavernas are accepting cards. The exchange rate last year was 1.4826 on Nationwide. No taverna has charged a premium and its not all bad news from their point of view taking cards. It attracts extra business, from people like us, the money is in their account overnight (very important if they are operating on an overdraft). Its probably the same as in the UK that the banks don't like handling cash and charge for paying cash in anyway. Also cash can be mislaid and paying money in must be a headache in some of these villages such as Loutro.
Stuart
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No I never use a CC to get cash out (can't remember the PIN for starters), thankfully these days with Cirrus and Maestro you can use a debit card pretty much anywhere in the world to get your wedge out.
I've never had a surcharge added by somewhere in Plakias. I think most retailers accept the charge. Indeed as proven by us some places like Christos were losing out because they did not accept CCs so it makes business sense to take the hit.
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I think cc are becoming more common over here and are being introduced into more tavernas all the time.
But it is still very much a cash economy over here, cheques are only issued through business accounts and people still like having the cash in their pockets. But as I say it is slowly changing.
I think the only time you get charged for using credit cards is buying cigarettes, because the government controls the price and the profit margin is so small, shops will usually charge up to 3% to cover the cc charges.
Ali
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cheques are only issued through business accounts
Ali,
Do you know what tavernas in Plakias are like for accepting euro travellers cheques in payment? I've never been brave enough to try offering them - after my experiences on Cyprus - and always convert them into cash first.
Noopsy
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Travellers cheques Noopsy?
Darling, they are so last year.
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Travellers cheques Noopsy?
Darling, they are so last year.
Take no notice Noops, I'm with you
Holes in the wall might be convienient, but they have been known to have an appetite.
You can't beat having cash/TC's in your pocket.
george g...
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Holes in the wall might be convienient, but they have been known to have an appetite.
george g...
That possibility adds a bit of excitement to the holiday
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Yes it is billed in Euros and then then converted to sterling. Must admit I have never checked the exchange rates and compared CC Transaction vs Cash withdrawal (I do get charged £1.50 for a foreign Cash withdrawal). Might go back and check last years.
The important thing when using a CC is for you to authorise the payment in € and then the CC company will convert to £. If the shopkeeper/taverna owner makes the conversion to £ he will (quite legally) use an exchange rate advantageous to himself and worse than the one the CC company would use. It's worth repeating that Nationwide is probably the only UK provider that doesn't charge commission for foreign use of the CC or DC and as has also been said, only use the DC (not the CC) to withdraw cash.
Mike
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I feel sorry for you Brits. If only you had said yes to the euro, you would not have had any exchange rate problems !
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We're still trying to get used to a decimal currency - not quite 40 years, yet.
In another century or two, maybe we'll start to think about it. (http://bestsmileys.com/lol/4.gif)
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I feel sorry for you Brits. If only you had said yes to the euro, you would not have had any exchange rate problems !
Please don't fell sorry for us Brits, most of us don't want the Euro.
Anyway part of the fun of travelling abroad is using the various currencies.
Lets have campaign (or at least a poll) to bring back the Drachma.
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I feel sorry for you Brits. If only you had said yes to the euro, you would not have had any exchange rate problems !
Please don't fell sorry for us Brits, most of us don't want the Euro.
Anyway part of the fun of travelling abroad is using the various currencies.
Lets have campaign (or at least a poll) to bring back the Drachma.
I don't know about the 'most of us'
Personally, I can't wait for the Euro. I've been to Fuertaventura this year, and will be able to spend the spare Euros in Plakias next month - would love to be able to use them at home - and if we all used to Euros all the time it would be much easier for us to compare prices!
Ah - sorry - you said 'us Brits' - I'm Cornish!
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I feel sorry for you Brits. If only you had said yes to the euro, you would not have had any exchange rate problems !
Please don't fell sorry for us Brits, most of us don't want the Euro.
Anyway part of the fun of travelling abroad is using the various currencies.
Lets have campaign (or at least a poll) to bring back the Drachma.
I don't know about the 'most of us'
Personally, I can't wait for the Euro. I've been to Fuertaventura this year, and will be able to spend the spare Euros in Plakias next month - would love to be able to use them at home - and if we all used to Euros all the time it would be much easier for us to compare prices!
Ah - sorry - you said 'us Brits' - I'm Cornish!
I used to live in Cornwall so appreciate the locals think they are not part of the UK
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I feel sorry for you Brits. If only you had said yes to the euro, you would not have had any exchange rate problems !
Please don't fell sorry for us Brits, most of us don't want the Euro.
Anyway part of the fun of travelling abroad is using the various currencies.
Lets have campaign (or at least a poll) to bring back the Drachma.
I don't know about the 'most of us'
Personally, I can't wait for the Euro. I've been to Fuertaventura this year, and will be able to spend the spare Euros in Plakias next month - would love to be able to use them at home - and if we all used to Euros all the time it would be much easier for us to compare prices!
Ah - sorry - you said 'us Brits' - I'm Cornish!
Switching to the Euro would make things slightly easier but so long as the ATMs work, it's no hassle using the Nationwide Debit Card. As for the Drachma - I'm all for that. Prices were significantly lower before the Euro. I remember the first year after Euroisation :'( we saw some Ouzo in a petrol station shop still priced in drachmas - under 500 for 1/2 litre. The attendent converted it to Euro and we got a bargain (two actually).
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I think our biggest problem in this country (UK) is that we are cynical towards change, and the Euro especially has us all sceptical about the hidden price rises that might (probably will, cynical, me? OK) occur.
Me, I'm all for the common currency, it will make travelling a lot less hassle and the comparison of prices throughout Europe will make interesting reading, but it's not going to happen while there is distrust for the bureaucracy in this country.
george g...
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Come to Scotland.
We will be in the Euro very soon.
watp
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Come to Scotland.
We will be in the Euro very soon.
watp
For peace and quiet maybe, are there any Scots left up there, they all seem to be down here, ie the bureaucracy .
george g...
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Not many left. Most voices you hear are english!!. I think they come for the weather?
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Not many left. Most voices you hear are english!!. I think they come for the weather?
I heard that you have Drier rain
george g...
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Switching to the Euro would make things slightly easier but so long as the ATMs work, it's no hassle using the Nationwide Debit Card. As for the Drachma - I'm all for that. Prices were significantly lower before the Euro. I remember the first year after Euroisation :'( we saw some Ouzo in a petrol station shop still priced in drachmas - under 500 for 1/2 litre. The attendent converted it to Euro and we got a bargain (two actually).
Of course it would be more convenient for foreign travel if the UK adopted the € but the main point is that there seem to be sound economic reasons to keep the £. I'm sure the majority in the UK would vote to keep it.
In the resorts I went to in 2002, when I think the € currency went into circulation, there wasn't a noticeable increase in prices from the previous year. However, when the Greeks were using drachma I remember how much prices went up year on year. So the € has introduced financial discipline into Greece.
Mike
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In the resorts I went to in 2002, when I think the € currency went into circulation, there wasn't a noticeable increase in prices from the previous year. However, when the Greeks were using drachma I remember how much prices went up year on year. So the € has introduced financial discipline into Greece.
Mike
I'm sure you are correct about financial dicipline and that inflation was higher when Greece had the Drachma but the exchange rate also got more favourable , year on year so costs for tourists didn't rise much. Mind you - I've no complaints about the prices - still cheaper than the most other Mediterranean destinations.
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Mind you - I've no complaints about the prices - still cheaper than the most other Mediterranean destinations.
Yes, things like taverna meals are extremely reasonably priced. This is in marked contrast to food in supermarkets where most people's weekly shop would be much cheaper in the UK. There are some exceptions; alcoholic drinks spring to mind.
Mike
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I remember the pension/taverna owner in Lesvos whilst complaining about the Euro and inflation telling us
'For example when I used to buy a bunch of parsley it was 10 drach - now the greengrocer says 'give me a Euro' - I tell him to %$&$&^'
(ie Greek word which we assumed converted to 'sex and travel')
LOL