Beach on a budget: Greeks settle for day trips, priced out of iconic
destinations
[August 26, 2025] By
DEREK GATOPOULOS
PORTO RAFTI, Greece (AP) — Bus coupon in hand, Diamantoula Vassiliou
headed for the sea, determined to make the most of her brief beach
excursion.
The Athens resident was among thousands who took a four-hour tour this
month to Avlaki Beach, one hour north of Greece's capital, many hauling
plastic coolers and homemade lunches — the accoutrements of summer
holidays in leaner times.
“We come here because there’s no money,” said Vassiliou, for whom day
trips have replaced weeklong vacations for four years.
Greece’s tourism industry is booming and the crystalline waters along
its vast, rugged coast have transformed the nation into a source of
envy-inducing Instagram posts. Foreign arrivals this year are expected
to be up to four times the country’s population of 10 million, according
to industry estimates, matching 2024 data. But many Greeks are watching
from the sidelines — the result of both surging prices and slow wage
growth.
According to European Union data, almost half of Greeks were unable to
afford a one-week holiday last year, the second-highest rate in the bloc
after Romania. This compares with about one in three for Italy and one
in five for France and represents only a modest improvement from 2019,
the year after Greece’s crippling financial crisis ended.
Luxury resorts have crowded out the budget guesthouses and campsites
that once made pricey destinations like Santorini, Mykonos and Paros
accessible to Greek families.
Tourism is the bedrock of Greece’s economy, directly supplying around
12% of the country’s output. But as businesses increasingly cater to
foreign visitors, many no longer close during the summer, preventing
local workers from taking a break.
Among them is Iosif Solanakis, who on a windless August afternoon waited
at the foot of Athens' Acropolis for customers to take a tour on his
electric buggy.
“The money I make in the summer has to keep me going in the months when
there isn’t much work," he said, laughing. “I only get to sample the sea
whenever I can grab a few hours off.”
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A family enjoys sunset in southern Athens, Greece, Monday, Aug. 11,
2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Concern about “holiday poverty,” a term coined by labor unions, is
spreading across Europe as rising costs sour summer plans.
Beachgoers in Italy have taken to social media to complain about soaring
prices for a standard umbrella and two lounge chairs, the centerpiece of
an Italian seaside holiday. A spot with a sun lounger at popular beaches
along the Italian Riviera can run up to 80 euros ($93) a day, while
luxury spots charge several hundred.
In Greece, many are packing their own umbrellas, carrying plastic
containers of homemade food — in scenes reminiscent of the 1980s — and
relying on buses instead of ferries or flights.
A six-day island trip for a family of four costs some 3,500 euros
($4,070) in a country where the average monthly income barely tops 1,000
euros ($1,160), according to Giorgos Lehouritis, head of Greece’s
Consumer Protection Institute. Rising rent and utility costs consume
almost all of that.
“You have to live on the rest — and that’s poverty," Lehouritis said.
Nikos Margaritis, a retiree, said on his way to Avlaki that holiday
accommodation is out of reach on his tight budget.
“Someone who has worked 35 or 40 years should receive more support,” he
said. “I have worked for 42 years. Do I deserve something better? I do.”
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AP writer Colleen Barry contributed from Milan.
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