Internet, telephones & electricity

Internet & travel

Of course you may want to look at CreteTravel.com while you are in Crete. Or perhaps, you want to send the text of that thesis on Minoan Social Life to your publisher in New York or just check e-mail.

Greece has an internet universe and culture just like everywhere else and that means that unless you are staying in one of a few hotels which provide internet access, an Internet Cafe may be just the thing. If you do try to hook up to the telephone line in your Hotel or Domatia, you may need an adaptor. Voltage - see Electricity below.

TIP 1: Connect your laptop to the internet. An easy way to "connect" your own laptop computer in Greece and on all your travels worldwide, is to set up an account with Net Roamer. They give you an ISP account that you can use worldwide without changing settings on your laptop. No more configuration nightmares and struggles to find the local access number. Click to sign up now.

TIP 2: Local (greek) dial up at 1.86 euros/hour. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now in Greece offer dial-up "pay-as-you-go" connections. The number you are calling to connect is a local call number, so it is charged to the phone you are calling from at 0.031 euros/minute (1.86 euros/hour). If you have a direct phone connection in your room, all you have to do is setup a dial-up connection on your laptop. You can use one of these two ISPs:

Internet Cafes can be found in Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion, Hersonissos, Sitia, Plakias and Ierapetra to name a few.

Here is a selection in Heraklion:
Sportc@fe - 25th August St & Zotou (close to the bottom of 25th August street). Tel: 2810-288217.
Net Club - Mitsotaki Street (bottom of 25th August St, turn left - then take the turning angled off to the left -  Mitsotaki)
Metro internet cafe on Dimokratias - from Eleftherias Square walk past the large statue of E. Venizelos, continuing, follow the road round to the right and it's a short way up on the left. 
Net Cafe - 1878 Street No 4 - Tel: 2810-229569

In Chania:
Notos cafe - A.Koundourioti 31, at the waterfront (between the square and the Naval museum). Tel: 28210-98722.

Kathodon - Karaoli Dimitriou & Isodion 10, near the Archaeological museum on Halidon str.. Tel: 28210-23130.
 

Telephones
 

Mobile/Cell Phones
All GSM mobile phones (these are used in Europe and a few other countries) work in Greece. If you bring your own mobile phone with you, when you first switch it on in Greece you will be given a choice of which phone provider to use. Choose the one recommended by your home mobile phone service provider if, as is sometimes the case, this will give you better rates.
Certain companies provide a fixed charge per minute when "roaming" outside the country your phone service is from. Where this does not apply, you will pay fairly high rates for outgoing calls.
Incoming calls to your phone are expensive, because you pay for the international part of the call (from the country where your phone service is provided, to you, in Greece).
It is ADVISABLE to check on rates and services when using your mobile phone overseas, with your phone service provider, before you travel.

A better idea is to buy a local SIM card (meaning a local phone number which you slot into your phone) for about 15 Euros at a mobile phone or electronics store in Crete (even some kiosks) - there are many.
If you are coming from the US and do not have a tri-band phone (that works on the European GSM frequencies), you can buy a complete "package" of cell phone & sim card - for about 40 euros (includes 8 euros worth of call time). At electronic stores (look for Vodafone, TIM, Cosmote or e-germanos shops).
Currency converter

Card phones are the rule - coin accepting phones are rare. Telephone cards can be bought in mini markets and at all street kiosks in various denominations from 3 euros upward. Card phones are found on streets, some kiosks, at many squares, public buildings and some mini-markets.
OTE (the Greek telephone company) have a phone calling and fax-sending area at major offices.

To use a card phone:
Put the card in the slot.
Pick up the receiver - the display will show how much money is left (in credit) on your card.
Now you can dial your number (international access is "00" followed by the country code)
When you have finished your call, hang up, WAIT to remove the card until you hear beeping (you are charged more if you remove the card before this!)

(For instructions in English - pick up the phone and press the key marked with letter "i").
 

How telephone numbers are listed on this website:

All numbers in Crete and within Greece appear with the area code before the hyphen.
Example: 25550 - 44444 [25550 is the area code, 44444 is the local number - total 10 digits].

Within Greece, you dial all 10 digits.

From outside Greece, dial the international access code* followed by '30' and the area code and local number [the country code for Greece is 30]:
* International access code from most of Europe is "00" (0030 25550 44444)
* International access code from the USA is "011" (01130 25550 44444)

Mobile/Cell Phone numbers based in Greece begin with 693 / 694 / 697.
From overseas dial your international access code followed by  30 6945 xxx xxx.

Note: TELEPHONE CODES IN GREECE HAVE CHANGED (Since 3 November 2002)
If you find numbers in old guidebooks that don't seem to work...
For local calls and anywhere else in Crete (or Greece) all area codes have now "2" at the beginning (instead of nothing or "0" previously). So, in our example, you dial 25550 44444.

Mobile phone numbers all start with a 6 for example 6945 xxx xxx -  (this replaced the old numbering system  0945 xxx xxx in January 2003).

Electricity
 

Generally it works!

Voltage : 220V
Cycles (frequency): 50 Hz

Sockets/Outlets: 2 pin + earth/ground "Suku" or 2 pin lighting type.

Adapters and voltage converters are available from companies such as Magellans and Teledapt.
 

Time Differences

NEW: See our visual, easy to use World Time Zones map & time converter.

The time in Greece is 1 Hour ahead of Berlin, 2 hours ahead of the UK, 7 hours ahead of New York, 10 hours ahead of Los Angeles - but 7 hours behind Tokyo, 8 hours behind Sydney.