A Beach in Athens: Limanakia

2015-07-27T19:57:00+02:00

The further you go from the city, the more beautiful the beaches are and the cleaner the water gets. We bring you a guide to a beach in Athens that might take some more time to reach, but is worth the effort, as you will see when you get there. You will probably want to go there the next day, as well. So, the name of the beach is Limanakia.

1. Take the metro to Elliniko station. It is the last station on the red metro line.

2. When you get out of the metro station, you will find yourself beside a big road that leads to Gilfada. Catch the bus 122. The ride takes about half an hour. You will leave the city behind you and go through some pine woods. Then, you will go though the city again for a short time. After it gets desolated and rocky and after a few huge bends, you will arrive there.

This is where you wait for the bus.

3. You should get off at the bus stop A Limanakia. Unless you are interested in going to a gay nudist beach, which is at the next stop, B Limanakia.

4. As soon as you get off the bus you will see the road to the beach. The beach is only a minute away on foot.

Notes:

Bring some food. Bring some water.

There’s shade later in the afternoon.

Watch out for the sea urchins. If you are clumsy, bring a needle to get the spines out.

There’s a little bar with very loud music at one part of the beach - the crowded one. We recommend that you go to the right, down the seashore and find a peaceful place.

Check the timetable of the bus line 122.

The rocks are great for diving for those who are into it.

Athens Beach Guide: Piraeus

2015-07-13T00:50:00+02:00

If you ask the locals to show you the way to a good beach in Athens, they will go into a tirade about the bad state of the beaches in the city, about how intolerable they are and how they wouldn’t be caught dead at any of those. After that comes a long explanation on how to get to the beach “that is not that good, but can do”, which usually means spending at least two hours on the bus in one direction. By the time they get to the half of their explanation, you will have already given up on going to the beach. But do not despair! The Travel Club brings you short and clear directions on how to get to the beach in Athens

1. Go to the metro station and take the Green Line to Faliro station. After you go out, go towards the Olympiacos stadium (you will recognize it by the red metal construction) and go down the stairs. The stadium should be on your right. Keep going straight ahead and past the run-down thread factory.

2. Go past the factory and continue down the same street until you see this:

Instead of continuing down the main road, turn left (past the blue graffiti) and go through a parking lot located under the road. Then cross both the railroad and the road using a metal overpass. That way you will get to the bus stop Afetiria Neo Faliro, which is also a bus terminus for line number 20.

In the middle of this picture you can see the metal overpass. The blue square marks the bus stop where you should catch the bus number 20.

3. You should count the bus stops and get off at the eighth one. The name is Navtikos Omilos. A couple of dozens of metres down the road is a supermarket Vasilopulos (buy some water here!). Across the road is a church. But you will only be able to see its top as it is on a lower level.

So, here you can see the church with only its roof showing. The beach and the island are behind it.

4. Cross the road towards the church. Then go a couple of meters down the street in the same direction the bus is going. After that, take a turn and go down the road which will take you to the beach. Soon afterwards, you will also see the island.

You need to walk 60-70 meters through the water to get to the island. The island itself is probably around 200 meters long.

5. There’s a shoal that leads to the island. If you can’t see it, ask somebody to show you the way. The depth of the water there is around a meter and a half. Take your sneakers off and use the laces to tie them to your bacpack. Put it all on your head and start walking. Be careful about the sea urchins.

What’s on top of the island? This.

Other useful information:

Once you get to the island, there’s a trail to your right that leads to the top of the island.

The island’s name is Kumunduru or Κουμουνδουρου in Greek.

There’s no shade.

The ticket price is the same for the metro and the bus and it lasts for 70 minutes. It costs 1.2 euros. So, to get to the beach and back will cost you only 2.4 euros.

Another view from the island.

Across the island and right next to the beach, there’s a dilapidated, deserted villa which you can reach by climbing over the rocks. There’s a shade there and it looks like you might be able to put up a tent there as well. We walked around and didn’t meet anybody. The other side of the villa is facing the street, but there’s a tall wall with pieces of glass at the top and the gate is locked.

The old villa across the island.

Time needed to get to the island: One hour from the Travel House.

Timetable of the bus line number 20: http://www.oasa.gr/xmap.php?id=p20

Athens Hills: Urban Hiking Guide

2015-08-15T14:32:36+02:00

Cities built on hills have one advantage: their vantage points let us observe vast panoramas. Deep underneath us, we can see the outlines of streets, parks, buildings and other topography otherwise imperceptible to us, and which on maps seems too distant and unreal. We bring you a guide for urban hiking from our Travel House in Athens. All of these hills are located in the center and you can reach them and climb them on foot.

1. Lycabettus

Towering 300 meters above sea level, it is one of the highest Athens hills. You get a 360 degrees panorama of the Attica Basin. There's a church and a restaurant at the top, and just a little below is a little amphitheater. It is scorching hot in summer, but fortunately somebody planted an olive tree that provides a good shade.

Photo: The view from Mount Lycabettus

You can take the main (asphalt) road which leads almost to the top of the hill or you can take one of the countless trails that lead through pine woods. Just keep going uphill and you can't miss it. The ascent is easier than it looks and it's about a half-an-hour hike from the foot to the summit. Bring water and some kind of head protection from the sun. We started the climb from Sarantapichou street. The nearest metro station is Panepistimio.

Photo: Lycabettus Hill: View from Pnyx Hill

2. Strefi

The hill on Exarcheia is named after a family that it belonged to. This hill used to be a stone quarry, but the Strefis gave it to the city mid-twentieth century. It rises some 150 meters above sea level. Unlike Lycabettus, this is a proper park with paths and benches; and, of course, a little amphithetre. It is significantly lower, but the view is equally good and some say it is even better. After you have reached the edge of the park, the highest peak will be only 15 minutes away. There are a couple of entrances to the park. From Omonia metro station, you can take either Themistokleus or Emanouil Mpenaki streets. Both lead straight to the park.

Photo: Strefi Hill, the highest point and the view on Mount Lycabettus

3. Areopagus

Areios pagos or Ares Rock is 114 meters above sea level. This is where the court used to be in ancient times. Aeropagus is right next to the Acropolis. You can take the metro to Thissio station. Then go down Apostle Paul Street all the way to the big widening and diverging. Then, go left (on the right side of the street there's a kiosk). This road leads to Acropolis. A few dozens of meters a way, you will see a huge rock with old stairs carved in stone, as well as with the new metal ones. This rock is especially bustling in the evening.

Aeropagus : Photo: The view from Aeropagus Hill

4. Philopappos

This hill is located not too far way from the Acropolis and is somewhat higher and a lot bigger than Aeropagus. Its height is 147 meters above sea level. From Thissio metro station, go down Apostle Paul Street (Apostolou Pavlou) all the way to the big widening and diverging. Turn right by the kiosk. When you get to a little church, across the road is a stone path with steps. Take that path straight to the top of the hill. There's an ancient monument dedicated to Philopappos, a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. The monument was built in the second century A.D. at the burial place of a mystical poet Musaeus (the hill is also called Mouseion). Philoppapos Hill is huge and if you want to see all of it - including the forest park on the slopes and bottom of the hill - it will take you around two hours.

Photo: on the top of Philoppapos Hill

5. Pnyx

It is 97 metres above sea level. The directions are the same as for Philopappos Hill. But instead of turning left at the church, right after you paas it you turn right and after a few dozens of metres, you turn right again. The path leads all the way to the top. In ancient times, Athenians would gather at the top of this hill to discuss important political matters. Pnyx Hill is located exactly one kilometer from Acropolis. There's a speaker's platform with carved steps facing a big auditorium. There are unrecognizable (but marked) remains of the Altar of Zeus, a sundial and some other things.

Photo: The speaker's platform on the Pnyx Hill

6. The Acropolis

The most famous Athens hill. It rises 156 meters above sea level and a pass for several archeological sites costs 12 euros. Considering that the Acropolis is quite impossible to miss, we won't give any special directions on how to get there. It is located right next to Aeropagus Hill and in a vicinity of Philopappos and Pnyx.

Photo: The Acropolis, the view from Pnyx

Athens: (un)hidden messages or why do you love me

2015-07-10T14:31:52+02:00

Contact, communication and the whole idea of touch has been a fascinating, almost obsessive subject for me. As I walk about the city I read the messages by its people, rebuses, codes, imaginary languages which they use to convey something to each other and I wonder who is hiding behind them (just as I watch rows of lit windows at night trying to imagine lives being lived behind them). Who has left the message? Why like that, why in that spot? To whom? What are they trying to break free from, what to penetrate, whom to reach, to what aim, out of what unrest and what need? A small gang of idealists or a political party, perturbed teenagers, street artists, disappointed eccentrics, avaricious corporations or weird loners? I find meaning even where it is completely accidental, imagining messages where there are none, until I start to believe that the whole city is a giant mind trying to talk to me. Then I allow myself to be lured, I submit myself, I accept the game.

These photos were made during a 10-day search for the apartment for the Travel House project, along the route defined by the logic of newspaper ads.

PS
Apologies to anyone expecting an essay on the Greek referendum.

Greek Islands Travel Guide

2015-07-22T10:28:19+02:00

The Greek archipelago has between 1200 and 6000 islands, depending on what counts as an island. There are no precise data on how many of them are inhabited: they say between 166 and 227. More than half a million people live on Crete, while some other small islands have only one or two inhabitants. Only goats live on some of the islands, there's vegetation on some of them, while others are just bare rocks in the sea.

The Greek islands are grouped in the clusters: Thracian, Aegean, Ionian, Saronic, the Sporades, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and Crete.

The guide to the Greek islands is a result of the joined forces of The Travel Club and their friends. Having in mind a large number of islands, this guide is inevitably incomplete; we'll be filling it as the information flow in. We invite you to contribute.

How to use the guide

All the important information are on the maps. The main map shows all the islands grouped in the belonging clusters, as well as the main ferry lines that are coloured red. The rest of the maps give a detailed display of individual cluster, including main and local ferry lines that are coloured yellow. Have in mind that almost all the inhabited islands are connected between each other by local ferries.

Use the legend to find out where are the ports, airports, touristic localities and inhabited places, which islands are suitable for wild camping, for partying and which ones have the organised camp sites. Click on any of them to see it enlarged.

1. Ferries
1.1. Where can you go by ferry
1.2. Ticket prices
1.3. Online shopping
1.4. Discounts
2. Accommodation
2.1. Rooms
2.2. Wild camping
2.3. Paid camping
2.4. Camping equipment
3. Tourist agencies
4. Transport
4.1. Car rental
4.2. Gas prices
4.3. Vehicle transport by ferry
4.4. Motorbike and bycicle
4.5. Hitchhiking
4.6. Airplanes
5. Several islands for camping
5.1. Crete
5.2. Gavdos
5.3. Donoussa
5.4. Angistri

1. Ferries

1.1. Where can you go by ferry?

Just mainland part of Greece has too many ports to count them all, but the most known and the most important ports are Piraeus in Athens, as well as Rafina and Lavrio (also the southernmost point on the peninsula Attica, near the Poseidon temple on Suni) that are about 50 km away from Athens. From these three ports you can reach about 80% of Greek islands. During summer, ferries go to the main islands on daily basis, even a few times a day. You can reach some remote islands, as well as to Turkey and Italy, three or more times a week. The names of the ports and cities they are in are often different, so while searching for ferries you can use this detailed map with port names.

Ports for the islands in Thracian sea are Kavala, Keramoti and Alexandroupoli.
Ports for the Aegean islands are Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Lavrio and Kavala.
Ports from which you can reach the Sporades are Volos and Agios Konstantinos.
To Ionian islands you can get from Patra, Kyllni and Igumenitsa.
To Saronic islands you can get from Piraeus and Monemvasia, located on Peloponnese.
To the Cyclades and Dodecanese islands you can get from Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina
The Crete can be reached exclusively from Piraeus.

1.2. Ticket prices

The ticket price depends on whether you travel by fast or slow ferry, is it a deck or a cabin ticket, during the high season (July and August) or low season. The cheapest ticket is a deck ticket for slow ferry. If an island is quite remote, it might be cheaper to buy separate tickets from one island to another than to buy a direct ticket. The prices are fixed so buying in advance isn't necessary. However, if you don't buy your ticket on time, they might be sold out and you can be left without transport. Peak day for travelling from Athens is Friday and for travelling to Athens is Sunday.

map of dodecanese: Astypalaia, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Leros, Leipsoi, Nisiros, Patmos, Rhodes, Symi, Tilos

1.3. Online shopping

The tickets can be bought in the ports as well as online. In the case of online shopping, there are a few possibilities to pick up the ticket, depending on the website you bought it through. If you don't receive a ticket by e-mail, you can ask for it to be sent via post service, and those two possibilities aren't available, then you have to go to the port and pick up your ticket there. In most of the cases, the tickets are cheaper on the websites of transport company than on the website that offer the search of all ferry lines in Greece.

The websites of a few ferry companies:

If you’re buying a round trip ticket via websites for the overall search of ferries, you have to choose the same company for both ways. Because of that, it’s cheaper to buy separate tickets for departure and return, unless there is a special discount for buying a round trip.

The website for an overall search:

1.4. Discounts

Ferry companies usually don’t have any special discounts apart from the standard discount for the students of Greek state universities. One of the rare companies that offers more kinds of discounts is Hellenic Seaways. Discounts available:

1. 15% discount if you buy a ticket in advance. Those ticket are coloured green on their website.
2. Free return ticket for all the users of Cosmote mobile network. Send an empty text message to 19019, priced €0.50. After you send a message, you’ll get a code that you will enter in the window on the right side of the website during the process of buying. For every ferry there is a limited amount of free tickets, usually up to 50; if you don’t have the option to enter the Cosmote code, that means all the free tickets are given away. More information you can find on their website or here, and Cosmote SIM card you can get for free or for €1 on metro stops all over Athens. You can recognise the promoters by their green shirts and caps at the metro entance.

2. Accommodation

2.1. Rooms

In the case that you want a paid accommodation, know there are many factors that affect the price. The rooms on Greek islands are the most expensive during the high season, and the price depends on the popularity of the islands and the accommodation capacities. For example, Mykonos is a popular island, but it offers a lot of accommodation which lowers the price a bit. Megalo Koyfonissi is, despite its name, a very small island, wild camping is out of the question because the local police is very prompt, which raises the price of accommodation.

Map of Saronic Islands: Salamina, Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Agkistri, Elafonisos, Kythira, Antikythira

You can look for rooms on Greek islands over the website booking.com or airbnb.com. Apart from that, there are big chances of locals offering you accommodation upon your arrival to the port. The prices are negotiable, so be ready for bargaining. If you’re staying more nights, use that to lower the price.

On average, the cheapest twin rooms on Greek islands cost between €25 and €50 per room per night. Of course, have in mind all the mentioned factors, and don’t ever count on just showing up there and finding a twin room for €25.

If you are wild camping, maybe it’s a good idea to interrupt you camping trip with a night or two in a room, just to have access to a normal bathroom.

2.2. Wild camping

Wild camping, that is, camping outside of organised camps, is officially forbidden in Greece, mainly due to the pollution of the environment and because of the possibility of a fier, due to the dray and windy climate. If they catch you wild camping, the penalty is €300, and the process can last up to 6 months. Luckily, this happens very rarely in the real life. In most cases, the police will only warn you and ask you to go away, but the next time they can take away your camping gear or make a bigger problem.

There are many islands, so the practice of the camping prohibition varies from one island to another. There are island on which the locals will call the police if they see the campers, because they think they damage their rental business and pollute the environment by leaving trash. On the other hand, there are islands where the locals approve wild camping because it helps the local businesses. Such islands are Gavdos and Donousa and the polices doesn't go there.

Besides these two, there are several alternative and hippie islands where locals approve or tolerate camping, and are very popular among the campers. Those islands are: Anafi, Amorgos, Astypalaia, Agkistri, Tilos, Nisiros, Schoinousa, Irakleia, as well as Chrisi near Crete and Ereikoussa near Corfu. Popular islands are Samothraki and Ikaria, but people planning to camp there are no longer welcome.

Map of Cyclades: Amorgos, Anafi, Andros, Ios, Kea, Kimolos, Kythinos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Sifnos, Sikinos, Syros, Tinos, Folegandilos, Kaufonisia, Schoinousa, Irakleia, Donoussa

If you're planning to camp like this, the best is to keep to the parts of the island which are suitable for that. Look for isolated parts, far from the busiest roads, avoid lighting a fire if you don’t want to have problems with firemen. Police sometimes go to the islands to check if there are campers so it’s best to camp in big groups - the news about police travel fast that way. Have in mind that if a place was safe for camping one year, it doesn’t mean it will be the same next year.

2.3. Paid campsites

Website to search for camps in Greece:

The camp price depends on the popularity of the island, high/low season, and the privileges the camp offers. The more popular the island and the more comfortable the camp, the price is higher. Camp price is paid per person and per tent a night. The cheapest camps are €2 - €4 per tent plus €5,5 - €8 per person per night. For example if there's two of you, and the price is €6 per person and €4 per tent, in the end it costs €8 per person a night. In some camps there is a possibility of renting a tent, which additionally raises the price.

2.4. Camping gear

In addition to regular camping gear which includes a tent, sleeping bag, lining, equipment for food storage, lamps, don't forget the mosquito repellent! There are repellents in the form of stickers you can put in your tent. They are odorless and last for 12, and can be found in almost every big supermarket in Athens. Also the mosquito net can be very useful. These nets you can buy in the majority of outdoor equipment stores in Athens.

Apart from that, it's desirable to have some sort of travel insurance because of possible alergies or other problems. Don't forget to bring enough cash money. On some less touristic islands, there are no cash mashines or they are located only in the port, and the payment in almost all of the island stores is in cash only.

Map of aegean islands: Lemnos, Agios Efstratios, Lesbos, Antipsara, Chios, Oinousses, Pasa Ada, Samos, Icaria, Agios Minas, Fournoi, Thymania

Tent with two entrances - front and back - or tent with multiple windows is certainly much better than a tent with only one entrance, that will turn into an oven at 6 a.m. On many Greek islands, the vegetation is scarce and so don't count on finding a tree that will shelter you from the sun.

When wild camping, one of the main problems is the lack of potable and shower water. Some of the campers solve that by going once a day to the nearest restaurant or monastery and filling the bottles

It's not a bad idea to bring a hat or a cap. Beware of sunstroke.

3. Tourist agencies

Almost all travel agencies on the territory of Serbia offer arrangements for Greek islands, which we wouldn't mention if they weren't extremely cheap. 10 days (9 nights), with a return bus ticket, you can find for €100, especially if you go there off season. During high season, the prices are doubled. The cheapest islands you can go to that way are Lefkada, Corfu, Thasos, Evia and Kavos.

Map of Thracian islands: Thasos, Samothrace

Agencies are going to Rhodes as well, but it's more expensive due to airplane tickets.

The cheap transport and accommodation can be combined with camping, especially if the island in question is big and you want to explore it in details.

4. Transport

4.1. Rent a car

Renting a car costs between €25 an €40 per day. Multionational companies like Hertz and Avis rent cars at €35 per day. Smaller companies, like those on islands, charge it about €60 to €70 per day. Bargaining is welcome.

Even though the driving age in Greece is 18, no company will rent a car to a person under the age of 23 nor to a person without a vaild driving license. There is a possibility that the price goes up if your driving license was issued less than a year ago (for insurance purposes). When you rent a vehicle, don't forget to photograph the car from both outside and inside, to avoid being blamed for the damage you didn't do. If you go to a smaller island, it might be better to rent a motorcycle or a bicycle.

4.2. Gas prices

Oil prices in Athens is from €1,55 to €1,8 per liter, while prices of diesel start from €1,1 per liter. The cheapest oil is €1,5 per liter on a gas station in the street Pireos. The islands have higher prices because the oil is brought from the mainland, so the prices are abou €1,8 - €1,9 per liter.

Map of ionian islands: Ereikoussa, Corfu, Paxos, Antipaxos, Lefkada, Meganisi, Kastos, Kalmos, Ithaka, Kefalonia, Zakynthos

4.3. Transporting a car by ferry

Transporting a car by ferry costs almost as much as a passenger ticket, so it also depends on where are you travelling to and which ferry company. Prices can go up to €100 for a return ticket, and you can check on the websites of the ferry companies, as well as on viva.gr.

4.4. Motorcycle and bicycle

You can rent motorcycles and bicycles on the islands. For small islands, a bicycle is just enough.

4.5. Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking on Greek islands works far better than on the mainland. The islands have less crime than on mainland, so people trust more, are less scarend and therefore more willing to pick up hitchhikers. In addition, the distances are much shorter, so the people will take you because they know the trip won't last long.

4.6. Airplanes

Airlines that connect mainland Greece and the islands are RyanAir and Athens. Ryan Air connects Athens with Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Santorini and Crete, and it connects Thassaloniki with Athens and Crete. Round trip from Athens to some islands can be as cheap as €20, while Aegean Airlines is much more expensive.

Map of sporades: Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos, Peristera, Skantzoura, Skyros

5. Several islands for camping

5.1. Crete

Crete is the biggest Greek island and, in many way, a world unto itself. It has 623.000 inhabitants and it certainly deserves a special guide so we will provide only the basic info here.

The biggest cities on Crete are Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos. You can fly from Athens/Thessaloniki to Crete and back for only €20 if you buy the ticket in advance. Another option for arriving there is €65 euros round trip by slow ferry, deck ticket, but that ride can last for 8-9 hours. For moving around Crete, it is recommended to rent a car or a motorcycle, and the best locations for wild camping are on the southern coast of Crete. Avoid the proximitiy of big hotels and crowded beaches. The most of the campers decide to go even more to the south, to the island Gavdos.

5.2. Gavdos

Gavdos is a paradise for campers. It's the only island more south than Crete, which is also the southernmost point of Europe, and has about 40 inhabitants. The island has great conditions for those who want to try camping for the first time. The most popular camping spot is the beach Ai-Yiannis, and 10-15 minutes away you can find showers, toilets, small shops and taverns with WiFi. Also, the locals offer rooms for rent and it's possible to rent motorcycles and bicycles so you could move faster around the island. For those who prefer walking, the good news is that you can walk the whole island. Among other things, Gavdos is famous for its hippie spirit and nudist beaches.

Crete, gavdos and chrisi

5.3. Donoussa

Donoussa is a small, wild island that belongs to the Small Cyclades and has the accommodation capacity of about 100 rooms. The locals largely tolerate wild camping and the police consist of only 3 officers. If you don't want to camp on the beach near the café bar, you have to be ready to work hard to reach the suitable place for camping. One of those places can be a bay that can be approached only by boat, and only when the weather allows it.

5.4. Angistri

The island Angistri belongs the group of Saronic islands and is located near the mainland, not far from Aegina and Salamina islands. It can be reached in about an hour by ferry from Piraeus, and is suitable even for day excursions. If you sleep in Athens, you can go to Angistri early in the morning and return in the evening. This island is perfect for wild camping and it's full of campers in July and August. Given that Angistri is a very small island, we recommend renting a bike.

—

Contributors: Natalia Kastravelli, Adrian Stavrakis, Christos Kabi, Anna Binietoglou, Eftychia Souti, Nassos Anagnostopoulos, Ana Ćasić Nedeljković, Lazar Pašćanović.

The maps were created during the workshop "Infographic: Data Storytelling", organized by Uros Krčadinac and the Youth Center Pančevo.

Greek Travel Dictionary

2021-03-22T14:31:40+01:00

Download our free Greek Travel Dictionary, print it out, make a booklet, stick the Greek phrasebook into your back pocket – and you're good to go. Enjoy traveling in Greek or Cyprus!

Greek dictionary was made by:
Natalia Kastravelli

House rules and application form

2015-06-17T00:05:00+02:00

Welcome to The Travel Club’s Travel House in Athens. Please read these basic house rules and notify us by filling out the form at the bottom of the page so that we know when to expect you!

List of contributors

2015-07-07T12:37:46+02:00

These are the people who have supported the Travel House in Athens and without whom it would not exist. We have collected 1,709 €, a big thank you to everyone!

Indiegogo backers

Antonin Borgnon
Dragana Vujinovic
Tamara Trifunovic
Milos Sipetic
Marijana Petrovic
Antonis Schwarz
Jiebing Li
Jelena Lukovic
Estefania Ruiz Galan
Christopher Tomaszewski
rugimantas
SUNCICA DRAGAS
Marina Ilijevic
filiprd
Dunja Lazic
QUILLIEN
Vladan Sarac
Bojana Devcic
Teo Gregov
Mastercard
lipegon
tuğçe yalçın
Alexander Zahn
Takahiro Sanui
Denis Salopek
Zlatko Stamenov
Nik Dennler
Michael Schoenhuber
Csaba Galyó
sakarkral
skywalkeer78
Pamela Konjevod
jasmina dobrilovic
Ignacio Jáuregui Ortún
Laura Adkins
Hrvoje Bubalo
Marina Ilijevic
kjutovski
Gonzalo Rodriguez Barrios
Krzysztof Kujawa
snezana011

+ 9 anonymous

Supporters through our website

{insertfile donatori.txt}

The Travel House 2015 has ended

2015-09-28T18:23:48+02:00

True, it ended four weeks ago. Part of the club staff was travelling to promote our book Bantustan, and the schedule was heavy, while the another part was taking part in acompetition to get the financial support for the Map of the Invisible Balkans projects.

The Travel House 2015 was particularly interesting because of the events outside the House (the controversial Greek referendum), but also because of the activities in the House. With traditional Greek dinners, city tours, lessons of Greek language, there were also occasional yoga and laughter yoga sessions and so on.

With almost five hundred travelers, this year's Travel House was by far the most visited in the history of the project. We collected enough money, but the costs were significantly higher than in previous years. In these four years, Travel House hosted a total of 1,269 passengers.

Here are the statistics for this year (2015):

Number of visitors: 485
Number of countries: 57
Duration of the Travel House: 2 months
Youngest visitor: 8 years
Oldest visitor: 66 years
Maximum number of people for one night: 47

Finances:

Donations (comission fees deducted):
Indiegogo: € 840.37
Via website + on tour: € 1,133.93
In the House: € 1,937.52
=
Total collected donations: € 3,911.82

Costs:

Direct costs of the house:
The rent for 2 months: 1200 €
Internet: 42 €
Building Maintenance: 150 €
Electricity for 2 months: € 614
Water for 2 months: € 325
Common things (initial equipment, food, hygiene): € 249
=
Total direct costs: € 2,580

Campaign Costs:
Magnets: 60 €
Badges: 50 €
Patches: 35 €
T shirts: 13 €
Postage: 27 €
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Total indirect costs: € 185

Total project cost: € 2,765

This year we decided to rely more on the help of local volunteers. So for the first month we had free Greek language lessons (until the volunteer had to leave in early August), and during the entire duration of the Travel House, we had common Greek dinners and city walks. These joint activities helped the visitors to get to know each other better, but also to get to know and experience the city with the help of the people who live there.

Instead of the traditional blogging, this time we have written down short travel stories, which we published in live stream. We interviewed and photographed more than seventy people and wrote down what they told us.

While the first Travel house, the one in Istanbul, cost only 1,500 euros, the one in Athens had almost twice as many expenses, but the number of visitors was almost twice as high. If we look at the travel houses in Granada and Tbilisi, we see that costs of Travel houses grow proportionately to the number of visitors. The same goes for donations. Travel house in Athens hosted more visitors than the Travel houses in Istanbul and Granada together.

Travel House is becoming more popular and better known in the travel world. In addition, the Travel Club is also growing. It is no surprise that the number of visitors of the Travel Houses is growing from year to year. However, there is also a growing logistical challenge. To illustrate this, imagine that five hundred people pass through your apartment during two months - who all take showers, use the toilet, cook lunch, celebrate birthdays....

This year we decided for the first time to tell the truth to the apartment owners - a part of the truth that we believed they will be able to handle. During the first phone call, we would say to the owners there would be a lot of people in the apartment. This had eliminated 99% of the available options. While this made it dramatically difficult to find an apartment (it took us ten days of intense search), last year's experience from Tbilisi indicated that it is better to say the truth to reduce the risk. Thanks to the rules it is possible to hide two hundred people to some extent – no loitering in front of the buildinng, leaving the house in small groups, total silence at night – but it is not possible to hide five hundred people in a building.

We tried not refuse anyone, but we still had to turn down some travelers because physically there was no more room. At first we had had an agreement that, given the size of the apartment, not to take more than thirty people per night. If you looked at statistics, you noted that the maximum number of people for the night was the 47.

After the first month, we received a letter from the management of the water supply company: "Your apartment has an abnormal water consumption. Check the pipes for any possible leaks."

Neighbours complained several times despite the fact that we were silent. No one complained about the noise, but they complained about, say, frequent closing the door of the apartment. This door closed nothing louder than usual, but simply they were opened and closed so many times during the day, that it started to bother other tenants. Since the closing of the doors could not be lesser, we taped a thin layer of rubber on the door edges. If you have fifty people in the apartment, it is sufficient that they just walk - nothing else - and those who live under have the impression that they are listening to a stampede.

Therefore, the future of the Travel House is now being questioned. How long it can grow and still be feasible? Those who were on duty in the house this year, feel that this is the final frontier, and that all over it just would not be physically possible to realize. Even this was on the verge of possible, and we should probably find a new model, if we want to continue with this project.

The Travel House revisits Athens this spring

2017-03-21T10:51:04+01:00

Inspired by The Travel House projects in 2012 through 2015, there will be an independently organized free place to stay in Athens, Greece, this spring in April and May. The concept is the same: they will rent an apartment for two months and make it available to everybody who is coming to Athens - as long as there is space. And there is a lot of space in a big apartment, when everybody is willing to reduce their private space and share. It's a place of solidarity, understanding and respect. A place to meet people and share stories, food and space to sleep. For free.

To see updates about when and where it will happen, check fb.com/afreeplaceathens. If you would like to contribute, there is a fundraising campaign running: https://www.generosity.com/fundraising/a-free-place-to-stay-in-athens.

So, get ready to come to Athens to experience things yourself!

See you there!

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