33 guides, each rated 1 to 5 with the reason — and two lists per place, where you are comfortable and where to pay attention. Nowhere is called dangerous; the specific thing is what helps.
Extremely safe, with almost no crime against visitors. The risks are the roads — narrow, unfenced and shared with goats — and the sea on the south coast, where the wind gets up in the afternoon. Balos and Elafonissi are reached on dirt tracks that hire agreements often exclude.
Comfortable: Chania Old Town · Rethymno · Heraklion · Agios Nikolaos
- Mountain roads that are narrow, unfenced and shared with goats
- Balos Beach — and Elafonissi, reached on dirt tracks most hire agreements exclude
- The south coast in the afternoon, when the wind gets up and the swell with it
- Quad and buggy hire, which is unregulated and uninsured for most of what people do on it
Very safe, including the old town at night. Two practical things: the meltemi wind blows hard in July and August and closes some beaches and ferries, and the old town’s cobbles are polished slippery by five hundred years of feet. Scooter hire is common here and so are scooter injuries.
Comfortable: the walled old town · Rhodes New Town · Lindos · Ixia
- the old town cobbles in the wet — polished slippery by five hundred years of feet
- Orfanidou street late — the bar strip, loud rather than troubling
Safe and quiet. The hazards are the drops, which are unfenced in places along the walking paths, and the heat in July and August on rock with no shade. Dress codes are enforced at every monastery: shoulders and knees covered, and wraps are lent at the door. Each closes one day a week, on a different day.
Comfortable: Kalambaka · Kastraki · the monastery road · the old monk paths by day
- the unfenced edges along the walking paths — the drops are real and some viewpoints have no barrier
- the rock in July and August — no shade anywhere, on stone that holds the heat
Safe and easy, with Corfu town pleasant at any hour. Two real cautions: the west coast roads are narrow, unfenced and steep, and quad hire is heavily marketed to people who have never driven one. Some resorts in the north-east have a reputation for heavy drinking rather than for danger.
Comfortable: Corfu old town · Garitsa · Kanoni · Paleokastritsa
- the west coast roads at night — narrow, steep and unfenced, and quad hire is heavily marketed here
- some of the north-east resort strips in season — for heavy drinking rather than danger
Very safe. The sea on the western beaches is shallow and calm; the northern ones get the wind and the current with it. The mountain roads are narrow and unfenced.
Comfortable: Chora · Agios Prokopios · Plaka · the mountain villages
- the northern beaches in wind — the current runs with it
- the mountain roads — narrow, unfenced and with goats on them
- Mount Zas in the heat — it is a proper climb and there is no shade or water on it
Very comfortable and easy. The meltemi wind cancels ferries in summer, sometimes for a day or two — leave a spare day before a flight home. Scooters on gravel are how most visitors get hurt here. The sea is calm on the west and choppy on the east, which is the whole geography of the island.
Comfortable: Parikia · Naoussa · the beaches
- scooters on the gravel roads — how most visitors here get hurt
- the ferry schedule in a meltemi — boats are cancelled at a few hours’ notice
Very comfortable. The hazards are the island itself: Sarakiniko’s white rock reflects heat and light brutally at midday, Tsigrado is reached by a rope and a wooden ladder that is not for everyone, and several beaches need a car with clearance. The meltemi cancels the Kleftiko boats.
Comfortable: Adamas · Plaka · the main beaches
- Sarakiniko at midday — white rock reflecting the sun, with no shade at all
- the ladder down to Tsigrado — a rope and a wooden ladder, and not for everyone
- the tracks to the southern beaches — a small hire car will not make some of them
Very comfortable. The site is a steep climb on uneven ancient stone with little shade — that is what catches people, particularly in summer. The road from Athens is mountainous and can be icy in winter.
Comfortable: the village · the archaeological site
- the climb through the site in summer — steep, uneven ancient stone with almost no shade
- the mountain road in winter — it ices, and Arachova is a ski resort for a reason
Symi Very safe
Very comfortable. The steps are the hazard: five hundred of them, uneven, and unlit in places at night — a torch matters. There is very little shade in the harbour and the heat between the rock walls is fierce. The day boats leave at four, which is when the island becomes itself.
Comfortable: Gialos harbour · Chorio, the upper town
- the Kali Strata after dark — five hundred uneven steps, unlit in places
- the harbour at midday — a rock bowl with almost no shade
Very comfortable and quiet. The steps up to Agios Ioannis are steep with a drop and no rail at the top. The island road is winding. Nothing else.
Comfortable: Skopelos town · Glossa · the beaches
- the steps at Agios Ioannis — steep, with a drop and no rail at the top
Very comfortable, and the lack of cars is the whole character. The rocks people swim from have ladders and no beach; the coast path is stone and slippery in places. Donkeys have right of way and will take it.
Comfortable: the harbour · Kamini · the coast path
- the coast path in places — stone, and slippery when wet
- swimming off the rocks — there is no beach and no shallow end
Very comfortable. Cars are restricted but scooters and quads are not and they use the same narrow road as the cyclists, which is the one real hazard. The beaches are calm.
Comfortable: Dapia · the old harbour · the beaches
- the ring road — scooters, quads and cyclists on the same narrow strip
Very comfortable and one of the easiest towns in Greece to walk. The 900 steps to Palamidi are unshaded and people underestimate them in summer; the marble streets are slippery in rain. Nothing else.
Comfortable: the old town · the waterfront · Arvanitia
- the 900 steps to Palamidi in summer — no shade, and people underestimate them
- the marble streets in rain — polished, and they run
Very comfortable. The valley is genuinely hot — it has recorded some of Greece’s highest temperatures — and the site has little shade. Wildfires have come close in recent summers and the site was defended in 2021; the risk is real in August.
Comfortable: the village · the archaeological site
- the site at midday in summer — one of the hottest valleys in Greece, with little shade
- wildfire season — fires have reached the edge of the site in recent summers
Very comfortable. The streets are stone, steep and slippery, and the climb to the upper town is exposed with an unfenced cliff at the top. Luggage has to be carried or taken up by the little truck; wheels are useless on those stairs.
Comfortable: the lower town · Gefyra
- the climb to the upper town — exposed, and the cliff at the top is unfenced
- the streets in rain — stone stairs, polished by centuries
Very comfortable and quiet. The footpaths are well marked but have no shade and little water — carry it. The cliff at Chrysopigi is unfenced. Nothing else.
Comfortable: Apollonia · Kamares · Kastro
- the footpaths in summer — no shade and no water on them; carry both
- the rock at Chrysopigi — unfenced, and the sea below it is deep
Very comfortable. The cliff is the hazard and it is unfenced in places, including alongside the path up to the church. The beach paths are steep and stony, and there is no shade on them. Ferries are cancelled in a meltemi and the island is genuinely cut off when that happens.
Comfortable: Chora · Karavostasis · Ano Meria
- the cliff edge at Chora and on the church path — two hundred metres, and unfenced in places
- the beach paths — steep, stony and without shade
Very comfortable and quiet. Dress modestly for the monastery and the cave — shoulders and knees covered, and they will turn people away. The path up from Skala is steep and unshaded. Nothing else.
Comfortable: Skala · Chora · the beaches
- dress at the monastery and the cave — shoulders and knees, and they turn people away
- the path up from Skala at midday — steep, and no shade on it
Very safe, with a party economy attached. Drinks are priced beyond belief at the beach clubs and are worth asking about first, the meltemi wind cancels boats with no notice, and the roads at closing time are the real danger.
Comfortable: Chora · Ano Mera · the main beaches · the old port
- the beach club prices — ask before ordering; the bill is the island’s standing complaint
- quads and scooters — the commonest way a holiday here ends in hospital
- the meltemi wind — it cancels ferries and closes the north-facing beaches with no notice
- the roads at closing time — the clubs are outside town and everybody drives back
Comfortable. The famous airport approach draws crowds onto the road at the runway end, where jet blast has knocked people over — it is exactly as stupid as it sounds. The bus is crowded and the coast road is narrow. Otherwise ordinary island care.
Comfortable: Skiathos town · the south-coast beaches
- the road at the end of the runway — jet blast has knocked people over; it is as stupid as it sounds
- the coast road — narrow, and the buses take their share of it
Comfortable. The roads are mountainous, narrow and driven fast by people who know them; the descent to Myrtos is steep with a sheer drop; and Myrtos itself shelves suddenly and has a strong undertow — it is a beach for looking at as much as swimming. Nothing else.
Comfortable: Argostoli · Fiskardo · Sami
- Myrtos beach — it shelves suddenly and the undertow is strong
- the mountain roads — narrow, with drops, and the locals drive them quickly
Comfortable. The west-coast beaches sit under high cliffs and are reached by long staircases; when the wind is northerly the surf there is dangerous and the beaches empty for a reason. The 2015 earthquake collapsed part of the access to Egremni and the road has been rebuilt since. Otherwise ordinary island care.
Comfortable: Lefkada town · Agios Nikitas · Vasiliki
- the west-coast beaches in a north wind — the surf breaks hard onto steep shingle and the beach empties for a reason
- the cliff staircases — long, steep, and hot on the way back up
Comfortable and used to visitors. The bar street in Kos town is loud and young in August and has the usual problems of one. Cycling is the pleasure here but the coast road has fast traffic. The island is a landing point for migration and the reception centre is nothing a visitor encounters.
Comfortable: Kos town · Zia · the north-coast beaches
- the bar street in August — loud and young, with what that brings
- the coast road on a bicycle — fast traffic and no shoulder in places
Comfortable and family-oriented. Mount Athos is a self-governing monastic state: men need a permit issued in advance and women may not land at all, which is law rather than custom — the boat cruise is how everybody else sees it. The coast roads are winding and the August traffic is heavy.
Comfortable: Kassandra · Sithonia · Ouranoupoli
- Mount Athos — a monastic state: men need a permit and women may not land
- the coast roads in August — winding, and full
Comfortable, and remoter than it looks. The road to Olympos is long, narrow and cut into cliffs — hire cars are regularly damaged on it and some agreements exclude it. The meltemi is fierce here: beaches on the east coast are calm and the west coast can be unswimmable. Ferries are cancelled for days at a time.
Comfortable: Pigadia · Olympos · the east-coast beaches
- the road north to Olympos — narrow and cut into cliffs; some hire agreements exclude it
- the west coast in a meltemi — unswimmable, while the east coast is flat
Comfortable in the villages and serious in the mountains. The Vikos gorge traverse is a full day on rough ground with no signal and no water source you should trust; people are helicoptered out of it most summers. The mountain roads are narrow with drops and ice from autumn to spring.
Comfortable: the villages · the viewpoints
- the full Vikos traverse — a long day on rough ground with no signal; people are lifted out most summers
- the mountain roads in winter — narrow, with drops, and they ice
Comfortable. The roads are the hazard: hairpins, narrow, and often with a drop and no barrier, and the descents to the beaches are steep. The kalderimia are slippery when wet. Nothing else.
Comfortable: the villages · the beaches
- the mountain roads — hairpins with drops and no barrier in places
- the stone paths in rain — polished by centuries of hooves
Comfortable. The island sits on the migration route from Turkey and there is a reception centre near Vathy; it is not something a visitor encounters and the island is calm. The mountain roads are narrow and the 2020 earthquake damaged some buildings that are still shored. Meltemi affects the ferries.
Comfortable: Pythagoreio · Kokkari · Vathy
- the mountain roads — narrow, with drops and blind bends
- buildings still shored after the 2020 earthquake — the barriers are there for a reason
Very safe. The real risks are practical — cliff paths without railings, ATV accidents on gravel, and severe crowding in Oia at sunset. Donkey rides up the cliff are best avoided on welfare grounds.
Comfortable: Santorini
- Fira to Oia caldera path — in the dark — unlit, uneven and above a drop
- Quad bikes, which are how almost every visitor here gets hurt
Comfortable. Two real cautions: the Navagio viewpoint is an unfenced cliff that has killed people who climbed the barrier for a photograph, and the cove itself has had rockfalls that closed it. Laganas is a young drinking resort in August with what that brings. The turtle rules on the nesting beaches are law, not guidance.
Comfortable: Zakynthos town · Tsilivi · Keri
- the Navagio viewpoint — an unfenced cliff, and people have died climbing past the barrier
- Laganas in August — a young drinking resort, with what that brings
- the roped turtle nests — the rules are law here
Comfortable, and the risk here is the drinking: the village bars are dense, the crowd is very young in August, and drink spiking and falls on the steep steps are what the clinic sees. Quad bikes on gravel are the other one. Outside the two months, none of this applies.
Comfortable: Mylopotas · the port · Chora in daylight
- the village bars late in August — a very young crowd, spiked drinks and steep steps
- quad bikes — gravel roads and no experience is the usual combination
Comfortable, and a real city rather than a resort: pickpockets in the markets and on the busy buses, the area around the old railway station is unlovely at night, and demonstrations happen around the university and are best walked away from. The waterfront is busy until very late and feels it.
Comfortable: the waterfront · Ladadika · Ano Poli · the university quarter in daylight
- the old railway station area at night — unlovely, and not a route anybody needs
- the markets and the busy buses — pickpockets
Low violent crime, but persistent pickpocketing — the metro line from the airport and the crowd at Monastiraki are where it happens. Omonia and parts of Exarchia feel rough after dark and are worth avoiding rather than exploring. Keep bags in front of you on the metro.
Comfortable: Kolonaki · Plaka · Koukaki · Pangrati
- Omonia Square — and Vathi, and the streets between them, especially after dark
- Exarcheia — politically active, and occasionally sees clashes with police
- Metro line 3 from the airport, worked by pickpockets on arriving flights
- Monastiraki Flea Market — in the crowd
The ratings are this site's own, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in; they are not an index. Read the general advice in travel safety tips.
