hi all we going out to greece on sat 24th and have heard so many storys that its really expensive now, an was thinking why not ask people who no an who have just been out there we normally stay in polichrono but stayin at pefkohori never been here so hope it a nice place also xx

We stayed in polichrono end of june and found prices no different from last yr

I would agree, it is about the same as last year. Eating out is still good value, what is expensive is alcohol, particularly spirits. People talk about price rises but it is still cheaper than the UK, the days of cheap bucket-shop holidays have gone. We spend about 50 Euros each per day, but that is eating every meal out, petrol and drinking every night!

Where in Pefkohori are you staying? It is my favourite village...

Wish we could have eaten well on 50 euros a day together with petrol and drinking out! And we ate at locals places not tourist places.

You have to be realistic and advise people of the truth, rose tinted spectacles are OK but are of no help once you are there and find your money disappearing into a black hole.

Prices are up from last year. Even the humble salad has gone up in price. Fruit and veg on the market and at Lidl are still cheaper than UK, but try to buy milk, butter, yoghurts, cereals, and you will find the price same or higher than here.

Fuel is expensive, it went up almost daily whilst we were there, and friends over there say it is not getting better. Spirits have gone up drastically, but I don't know why because comparatively the price of a bottle has not gone up in the same percentage.

You can get beer pretty cheaply, if you want to drink beer all the time. Ouzo and tsipouro are still pretty reasonable, and we found the Beer House in Hanioti had a huge glass of pretty decent wine for 3 euros which we were amazed at as the beer there is expensive. They are closing end of season for good though, poor George the owner died earlier this year.

Giros has gone up, used to be pretty cheap, still a cheap option but on average 2.80 euros. Tiropita and other pies are still good cheapish buys, and if you stay in Pefkohori there is a fantastic pie shop next to the chemist opposite the butchers, and next to the car hire place run by English people. Can't remember name, but he does really good pies at good prices.

However, you have to be prepared to spend more. Comparatively we went to rural Spain in June and the price of food there was very cheap, and the price of drinks. So it is not europe wide as such, the prices in Greece are going up daily to cope with the debt and the people are finding it difficult to live off their salaries.

Enjoy, but be prepared to spend.

Jane you have got it spot on, we were out there in June ( back nxet week) tried on a buget of 100 euros a day just came inside that were lucky to be able to do that.We had all we wanted but any increece will be hard to take, that after 19 years since our first visit and only missed a couple of years. Sorry to hear about George, but once Mario and Laura left it was never quite the same to us.

Marios is now working in their Moudanea Zytheon. We only went once last year to Hanioti one even though we were there all year, it was just so expensive and not the same without Marios. But Menia was coping OK, probably because she was busy, but she is closing Hanioti one and leaving Marios and his wife to carry on with the Moudanea one, another part of Halkidiki changed forever.

We were disappointed in the amount of Eastern Europeans taking over the roads with their cars, taking over Lidl with their shopping and not contributing to the local economy. The ones that did waves 500 euro notes around ! Just not the same, things change and sometimes not for the better.

Enjoy your next trip.

I don't think it helps to be so negative. There are less and less Brits in Halkidiki (and as you say, it is getting overrun with Eastern Europeans) but when Brits come on the forums to ask questions they get put off by some of the responses!

Yes I love Halkidiki, and maybe I do have rose tinted glasses towards the place (I am biased as I have a holiday home there and go out about 6 times per year) but I was not exaggerating about the prices. We budget 50 Euros each per day and this is what we spent, without having to be careful. Most days we had a snack for breakfast, although we had about 3 fry-ups in cafes! We would have a small-ish lunch and a 2 course dinner with alcohol.

We have an account out there so can keep tabs on our money very easily - over our 9 day holiday we spent 1,400 Euros but this included 250 on car hire and 130 on our water bill for the year, so that means we spent just over 1,000 Euros in 9 days, which is just over 50 Euros per day each (there are 2 of us).

Yes, petrol is stupidly expensive, but if you shop around you can find the best prices (not in the tourist villages). We usually fill up at the Aegean by Scholari on the way to the airport, but this time we went to a garage at Potidea and got it for 1.59 when they were charging 1.65+ in Pefkohori.

Sheena - don't be put off, yes the prices are higher than in the past and yes, there aren't many Brits in Halkidiki, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Halkidiki is a beautiful place and I always think a holiday is as good as you make it.... ENJOY!

ty all yh ill never be put off i love the place so much, we been there 5 times so far an i would love to have a place out therer one day also, just tryin to ask as not sure if it changed as not been for 3 years if prices same from then will be ok , we goin to ioli apartments, love polichrono best though as love georges restaurant so much an vassi at nemos cant wait to see them all again an got a new addition now which keepin a surprise till we get there xxx

Sheena, enjoy. Of course we don't want to put you off, but I have also lived there for many years only returning back to UK last year, so I do know what I am talking about, I should do after 35 years of visiting !

Carolinus, I would hate for someone to go and come back complaining that we had not told the whole truth. Prices are certainly NOT the same as from three years ago, and we have actually been resident there two of the last three years.

We look forward to your report Sheena. But from my visit last week I can only say I am astounded and shocked at prices and have been told for sure it will get more expensive.

Just to let you know it was 100 Euro per day for 2 of us so we are all about the same buget.

Hi, Alan lost your new e-mail can you please send it to us .Anyway going out Friday 23rd for one week so see you then.

I have just come back after a week in Hanioti. The food is excellent value for money however the drinks are more expensive than I can ever remember (after 9 years in the same resort).

I was self catering with 2 other adults. We did have a budget each and that was 40 euros a day. We managed without having to watch what we were spending!!

Hi All

I really do have to agree with Jane, we have been going to Kriopigi now for the last 6 years and this year when we were there at the end of June prices had soared from last year. Unleaded petrol was on average 1.65 euros a litre and seeing as its more or less a euro for a pound these days thats what I call expensive, local beers and wines were still pretty reasonable at average 2.50 a pint and around 4 to 5 euros for half litre of wine but spirts were on average 5 to 7 euros a drink, it is cheaper to drink in London these days. Average meal prices depending on where you go that is were still quite reasonable. We were there for a week this year and stayed half board at our usual hotel but ate out 3 of the seven nights we were there and we still managed to do £500 in a week. Halkidiki is still a beautiful place but days of cheap holidays there are over. I would say to have a good holiday you need to buget £100 a day for 2 people.

Greeting to Sakis and family at the Akropolis Kriopigi.

Steve....

I agree Steve, people must be aware that it is going to cost them more than before, otherwise it would ruin their holiday. I personally think 100 euros a day for a couple is damned expensive, we don't spend that when we tour the USA.

It is still a beautiful place, but with prices like this, then people must know beforehand and make a judgement.

We ate at local Greek places mostly Skioni way, as that is where we lived so we know the area and places better. But even at these local Kafenion they have to charge more than they did last year. We struggled to keep to our budget, and that sort of takes a bit of the fun out of the holiday constantly checking what you have left. It also depends on what people eat and where as to the budgets quoted.

I think, despite the fact I miss it terribly, we made the right decision last October to return to the UK and not live there anymore.

I can't understand the mentality either of charging so much for frappe (2.5 - 3.5 locally). They would get many more people drinking it if it was 1.5 to 2 euros which is more than enough. In Spain in June we paid a euro for a coffee. Lots of people paying less is better than very few paying a high price, something Greeks don't seem to understand.

Hi Sheila,
where did you stay this year?
Pegasus still doing business?
We're just back from Tenerife, can't get flights from Scotland to Thessalonika