Inaccurate Information

Just a "heads up" for other cruisers. We found that the information you will see on the web regarding days/hours open/closed was consistently inaccurate. Examples: (1) while researching I saw many times that all the museums and churches in Corfu town are closed on Monday. We arrived on a Monday to find everything open. (2) the website for the Museum of Prehistoric Thira on Santorini advises that it is closed on Monday. Not so. We arrived on Tuesday only to find "Closed Tuesdays" right on the sign out front. This was obviously a permanent sign so it was not a fluke but the norm. (3) The official website for Achelon (sp?) Palace on Corfu is very frustrating. Blathers on and on about "Sisi" but contains not a hint as to their hours or days open. (4) Our ship did not get into Santorini until 1 PM. All of the information you will see on Akrotiri says it closes at 3:30. We did not go, assuming we did not have adequate time to get out there and tour it. Heard from others after the fact that it stayed open later. The difficulty in getting accurate information would make you think tourism was something new in these places!

Just a "heads up" for other cruisers. We found that the information you will see on the web regarding days/hours open/closed was consistently inaccurate. Examples: (1) while researching I saw many times that all the museums and churches in Corfu town are closed on Monday. We arrived on a Monday to find everything open. (2) the website for the Museum of Prehistoric Thira on Santorini advises that it is closed on Monday. Not so. We arrived on Tuesday only to find "Closed Tuesdays" right on the sign out front. This was obviously a permanent sign so it was not a fluke but the norm. (3) The official website for Achelon (sp?) Palace on Corfu is very frustrating. Blathers on and on about "Sisi" but contains not a hint as to their hours or days open. (4) Our ship did not get into Santorini until 1 PM. All of the information you will see on Akrotiri says it closes at 3:30. We did not go, assuming we did not have adequate time to get out there and tour it. Heard from others after the fact that it stayed open later. The difficulty in getting accurate information would make you think tourism was something new in these places!

Ha ! Welcome to Greece. With all of their financial woes and social upheavals - you never know :eek: They can (and do) change things on a whim and usually don't update the website. The best plan is to have 2 plans. Plan A and Plan B.

As for Akrotiri - one website clearly states that in the winter months it closes at 3:00 (not 3:30) and during the summer months it stays open till 8 pm.

And another says something completely different (open from 10 till 5)

AND even if the websites said the same thing, you could get there and it could be closed for just that day (no reason given)…….

Frustrating - yes. We have learned to travel and go with the flow ~~~~~:D

There are two points I'd like to make in regards to the inaccuracies:

First, keep in mind that Greece has been a country undergoing a huge economic upheaval in the last several years. Money is in short supply to pay for staffing at museums and cultural/archaeological sites. For those of us who have been following the changes over the last 4-5 years, hours have been shortened at many sites, sections closed off, services available for fewer months of the season. It's a matter of basic survival....

Second, it is difficult to tell how old the information is that you are finding online. Some websites are developed once and never seem to be updated. They may have a current date at the bottom, but the text may not have been updated since it was first launched.

However, I submit that it's not any worse than a couple of decades ago when all one had to go on were guidebooks that were out of date by the time they were printed and sold (having been written probably a year before publication).

I've said this before but I know people think I'm slightly OCD when it comes to researching things. :D I always like to find three sources that agree on a particular time (or closing day, or cost) before I would consider it to be accurate. When I can't find sources that agree, I just consider it a warning that things may not be as they seem.

If it is a site or place that is particularly important to me, I have also been known to email someone at the official location or even make a phone call to check the status.

There are two points I'd like to make in regards to the inaccuracies:

 

First, keep in mind that Greece has been a country undergoing a huge economic upheaval in the last several years. Money is in short supply to pay for staffing at museums and cultural/archaeological sites. For those of us who have been following the changes over the last 4-5 years, hours have been shortened at many sites, sections closed off, services available for fewer months of the season. It's a matter of basic survival....

 

Second, it is difficult to tell how old the information is that you are finding online. Some websites are developed once and never seem to be updated. They may have a current date at the bottom, but the text may not have been updated since it was first launched.

 

However, I submit that it's not any worse than a couple of decades ago when all one had to go on were guidebooks that were out of date by the time they were printed and sold (having been written probably a year before publication).

 

I've said this before but I know people think I'm slightly OCD when it comes to researching things. :D I always like to find three sources that agree on a particular time (or closing day, or cost) before I would consider it to be accurate. When I can't find sources that agree, I just consider it a warning that things may not be as they seem.

 

If it is a site or place that is particularly important to me, I have also been known to email someone at the official location or even make a phone call to check the status.

I agree with all the above. Back in the day we didn't have websites either,but somehow always managed to get info and one of the best ways was to write ahead of the time Tourist Bureau of said country,and I still do that now,but temail. Websites are not reliable as a one source,nad when I use Google or whichever I always check the dates the info was posted. It is hard to travle today I think with so much going on and sooo many choices, but good homework can save a lot of time,and troubles in most cases. Hope your next trip goes smoother for you.

the most reliable website: http://odysseus.culture.gr/index_en.html

find the museum or the archaeological site you want and next click on "Information".

check regularly because for some museums or archaeological sites are changes in the hours and days of opening.

The sole purpose of my original post was to give folks cruising after me some warning. I know I was watching this board in the weeks before I sailed and would have appreciated a "heads up". Had I known in advance I would have taken the boat directly to Oia instead of using valuable time coming up to Fira by cable car and walking over to the museum at the end of town. Not the end of the world, of course, but it did waste an hour of our time on Santorini. Yes, back in the day we didn't have this or that. That was then and this is now. In 2015 that's not much of an excuse.

Appreciate the warning but have found 2 things:

1. hours of service are sometimes dependent on a ship being in port so have learned to always ask a local in town, at the tourist office, at the pier, etc. especially on a Sunday or a regularly closed day.

Example: Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is closed on Mondays - unless a ship is in port that day so it opens for the ship's passengers

2. Greece is 'special' - okay, it is weird

Appreciate the warning but have found 2 things:

1. hours of service are sometimes dependent on a ship being in port so have learned to always ask a local in town, at the tourist office, at the pier, etc. especially on a Sunday or a regularly closed day.

Example: Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is closed on Mondays - unless a ship is in port that day so it opens for the ship's passengers

2. Greece is 'special' - okay, it is weird

You think Greece is weird? Try spending time driving around Italy. Now that is weird....but also wonderful. One example is when we spent a couple of days (and nights) in Tivoli, Italy. One morning we walked over to the Villa d'Este entrance only to find the gates locked (right next to the sign that said it was Open). So we walked about 20 feet to the local Tourist Office and asked when the Villa would be open. The Tourist Official said it was open now! We suggested they look out their front window (which they did) and everyone laughed. So they called the Villa office who explained that they were not opening until later because they were having a Staff Meeting. Tis life.

Hank

Just a "heads up" for other cruisers. We found that the information you will see on the web regarding days/hours open/closed was consistently inaccurate. Examples: (1) while researching I saw many times that all the museums and churches in Corfu town are closed on Monday. We arrived on a Monday to find everything open. (2) the website for the Museum of Prehistoric Thira on Santorini advises that it is closed on Monday. Not so. We arrived on Tuesday only to find "Closed Tuesdays" right on the sign out front. This was obviously a permanent sign so it was not a fluke but the norm. (3) The official website for Achelon (sp?) Palace on Corfu is very frustrating. Blathers on and on about "Sisi" but contains not a hint as to their hours or days open. (4) Our ship did not get into Santorini until 1 PM. All of the information you will see on Akrotiri says it closes at 3:30. We did not go, assuming we did not have adequate time to get out there and tour it. Heard from others after the fact that it stayed open later. The difficulty in getting accurate information would make you think tourism was something new in these places!

Here, here, this is what we've found as well! This will prove useful to the less well traveled I'm sure. I know it would have saved me several rants if I had known ahead of time!

I found this true also of guide books, even the most popular and "up-to-date." A couple summers ago I uncharacteristically didn't double check the train schedules to Pisa (I wanted to go to Lucca), but relied on the best-known guide book's information. Missed the train by a couple minutes and it was another hour before the next one came. Same guide book gave info about the bus to Lucca, never found it.

As the old saying goes, "Trust, but verify!"

Happy Travels!

You think Greece is weird? Try spending time driving around Italy. Now that is weird....but also wonderful. One example is when we spent a couple of days (and nights) in Tivoli, Italy. One morning we walked over to the Villa d'Este entrance only to find the gates locked (right next to the sign that said it was Open). So we walked about 20 feet to the local Tourist Office and asked when the Villa would be open. The Tourist Official said it was open now! We suggested they look out their front window (which they did) and everyone laughed. So they called the Villa office who explained that they were not opening until later because they were having a Staff Meeting. Tis life.

 

Hank

I can easily imagine it!

Once when I was in Naples, I timed my arrival to the Archaeological Museum to be there a few minutes ahead of opening. There were maybe 20 others waiting in front of me -- no big deal. The opening time passed by with no sign of the ticket window opening, and it soon became clear something was wrong.

It turned out that whoever had the only set of keys to the ticket kiosk had misplaced them (left at home maybe?) and no one could get inside to start selling tickets. About 20 minutes later someone got the bright idea to climb up over and inside the (roofless) kiosk and voila, we were in business.

Over the years we have found that flexibility is the key to travel. Nor do we expect the same norms in other countries as we enjoy in our own.

We do our research but we also check when we arrive in a city/town/country and we never take any data that we read in a guide book or on line as the final word.

Things change-most especially in countries that are experiencing economic or political turmoil. The second part is customs. We can remember a group of people making fools of themselves for loudly criticizing a restaurant server for delivering the salads after the entre. They did not bother to find out that this was the custom in this particular area. It was embarrassing for us to listen to them.

Over the years we have found that flexibility is the key to travel. Nor do we expect the same norms in other countries as we enjoy in our own.

 

We do our research but we also check when we arrive in a city/town/country and we never take any data that we read in a guide book or on line as the final word.

 

Things change-most especially in countries that are experiencing economic or political turmoil. The second part is customs. We can remember a group of people making fools of themselves for loudly criticizing a restaurant server for delivering the salads after the entre. They did not bother to find out that this was the custom in this particular area. It was embarrassing for us to listen to them.

Wise words from a fellow independent traveler :). In many of our posts on CC (over a lot of years) where we try to help folks who have specific itinerary ideas we usually like to include something like this: "Do your pre trip homework, no all your options, be flexible and willing to change your plans as the day unfolds." Most of the best travel experiences we have had is when we stumble onto something not even planned. At that point, we might change our entire day without hesitation.

The big mistake we see many inexperienced travelers make is to try and cram too much into a short time. In the end they can tell you they went to point A, B, C, D, etc.....but they have little idea what was even at those points. The old saying "stop and smell the Roses" does apply to travel. For example, rushing through Paris from site to site can be fun, but the thought of being in Paris without stopping for a nice lunch (or dinner) would leave me with an empty feeling (on several levels).

Hank