You Don’t Have To Be A God(dess) To Visit Greece

With stunning white and blue buildings and mesmerizing Caldera views, visiting Greece is easily on the top of many people’s bucket list. Visiting Greece was unlike any other European country that I’ve visited. It’s rich in both culture and imagery, but depending on the time of year that you choose to go it could become quite pricey.

The months of May through September are considered “high-season” for Greece. That means the islands are overpopulated with tourists visiting from all over the world trying to get a taste of that lavish Greek lifestyle. So, during that time most flights and popular lodging preferences could triple in price. For instance, I overheard a couple saying that their tiny villa overlooking the blue sea in the famous town of Oia in Santorini cost them over $11,000 a night. Wow!

I was determined to make it out to Greece in August, but I was definitely not going to allow myself to go from riches to rags by doing so. So, I opted for an alternative route. From previous experience flying to Europe from the United States, I knew that the key to flying to my desired country on a budget is to design my own layovers. So that’s exactly what I did.

Breakdown of my itinerary:

1.) Atlanta → Chicago → Reykjavik
2.) Reykjavik → Vilnius → Athens
3.) Athens → Santorini
4.) Santorini → Paris
5.) Paris → NYC
6.) NYC → Atlanta

The first step is to find a flight deal directly to any country in Europe for a good price. Some major city airports in the United States, like JFK, FLL, ORD, BOS and more, allow flight routes from budget-friendly European airlines. Unfortunately, my home-base city, Atlanta, is not one of them.

By using the search tool on Skyscanner’s website, I was able to find a flight to Reykjavik, Iceland for $110 on the low-cost Icelandic airline, WowAir. The only catch was that the flight was out of ORD in Chicago. So I went back to Skyscanner and started looking up flights from ATL to ORD. I found one listed for $56 that flew direct. Wow, flying to Europe was only going to cost me $166. Amazing.

But what about getting to Greece?

That’s when I went back to the drawing board, and in my case that’s Skyscanner. I looked up flights to multiple cities in Greece from Reykjavik and everything was over $200.  That may sound like a reasonable price to most people, but I believe that I can find better for flights within Europe.

So again, I made my own layover.

The thought of layovers can sound stressful and inconvenient to some, but as a thrill-seeker I encourage everyone to make the of most them by exploring as much as possible without missing their next flight.

I decided to stay in Reykjavik for 9 hours, which was plenty of time to scratch “visiting the Blue Lagoon” off my bucket list. From there I flew on the budget-friendly Hungarian airline, WizzAir, to Vilnius, Lithuania for only $51. That layover was short and sweet, so I didn’t have enough time to explore the city, but I did have enough time to eat a meal and refuel.

..and then there was one. One more flight, that is, until I finally arrive in the magical country of Greece.

Flights into major cities are usually the best bang for your buck, and since Athens is the capital of Greece I knew that it would be the best city to fly into. After searching on the infamous Skyscanner once again, I purchased my final flight in this journey to Greece for only $32 on WizzAir.

I finally made it to Greece, and although Athens was not my final destination I still made it.

Having a layover or two is inevitable when flying from the U.S. to Greece, but by doing a little research and designing my own layovers I was able to not only cross off the Blue Lagoon from my bucket-list, but also get to my desired destination for less than $250. 

Greece is a country full of beauty that I believe everyone should experience. Making your own layovers may feel like an inconvenience to some, but for others it just may be exactly what is needed to be able to get a taste of everything this beautiful world has to offer.