Accommodation/Single Room Booking

In order to guarantee a memorable overall experience throughout your adventure with Bearing True South, we have carefully handpicked a mix of family-run, traditional hotels and guesthouses for your accommodation.
In all our trips, accommodation is operated on a twin share basis. This means that travelling as an individual, you will be sharing accommodation and room facilities with another person of the same sex or your partner, spouse, family, friend etc. There is also the option of booking a single room for an additional cost depending on availability at the time of booking. Our usual accommodation as described on the extra info of our tour may alter due to lack of availability. On such an occasion accommodation of similar standard will be arranged.

Meals

When travelling with Bearing True south, you will experience a great variety of delicious food, based on traditional Greek cuisine. Emphasizing on the regional cuisine of our destinations, we have carefully selected local, family run, restaurants for our groups.

Generally all breakfasts, picnic lunches as well as some lunches and dinners are included in the standard tour price. This gives our groups the opportunity to enjoy their meals all together and taste a larger variety of local dishes in each destination we visit. When a lunch or dinner on a specific day is not included, you are free to explore at your own expense, the food options in the town or village we are staying. Feel free to ask your tour leader to suggest a local restaurant. On a camping day or when we have a picnic lunch, we usually buy local cheeses, vegetables, meat and bread from local markets so you don't miss out on the specialities of the region.

For the meal plan of the tour please refer to the day to day itinerary and the extra info of the tour. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, have any food allergies or any special requests when it comes to food, please let us know at the time of booking.

The style of travel in our adventures provides a great deal of excitement, however it is dependent on several factors, such as weather, terrain conditions and technical problems of our transportation. These may create unexpected circumstances throughout our tours that we have to deal with by making minor changes to the tour itinerary or the activities included in a particular day. For that reason the described day to day itinerary is used as a guideline which gives us the flexibility to make changes when needed.

Some of the activities listed in the day to day itinerary are included in the standard tour price, while there are also optional activities at your own expense. When a guided tour at a historical/cultural site is mentioned, the cost of a professional guide is included in the standard tour price. In every outdoor activity we work with fully qualified operators whose safety track has been extensively assessed personally by us. The necessary equipment needed for every outdoor activity is always provided by the local activity operators. For your personal gear please refer to prepare for your trip below. Please note that all activities are subject to availability, while due to the time limit in each destination, it may not be possible to do all the optional activities listed in the itinerary. In the following list you can find the tour activities, included or optional as well as the approximate prices of the optional ones:

All outdoor activities, the relevant necessary equipment as described in the day to day itinerary as well as fully qualified activity instructors are included in the standard tour price.

2 day mountaineering on Mount Tymfi

Day tour to the Central Zagori village

Trekking crossing the Vikos Gorge

Rafting and river trekking in the Voidomatis River

Horseback riding in Papingo

Optional activities:

Half day Thessaloniki guided walking tour

Please refer to What's included/What's not included section for the services that are included or not in the standard price of your tour. For the optional activities of our tour, outdoor activities and cultural sites? entrance fees, take a look at the Tour Activities.

Tipping Your Tour Leader/Local Guides

In appreciation to the outstanding quality of services provided throughout your adventure, you may also consider tipping your Tour Leader and Local guides. Although tipping is not compulsory and it may not be customary to you, it works as a kind voluntary gesture to the people who will guide you throughout your adventure.

Spending Money

Each traveller is different when it comes to spending money while travelling. Take your spending habits and requirements into account and prepare your tour budget allowing for food, drinks, souvenirs and participation in activities not included in the tour price.
The Euro (EUR) is the official currency in Greece. You can exchange your currency for Euros at the airports or in major towns. Cash may also be drawn for ATMs available in most of our destinations. Credit cards are widely accepted in Greece. However, you should always have some cash on you, as in some remote villages no ATMs may be available.

At Bearing True South, we operate 'Land Only' based adventures. This means that flights to the Thessaloniki International Airport (SKG) are not included in the tour price. Travellers are responsible to make their own travel arrangements and make sure that they will be able to join the group at the joining point and time announced when booking, as described at the overview of the tour. Please note that the finishing point of the tour is always the same as the joining point. If you want post tour accommodation for Thessaloniki let us know and we can arrange it for you.

Our 'Land Only' adventures provide you the flexibility to join one of our tours as part of longer holiday in Greece. You may spend a couple of days before or after your tour in Thessaloniki or even visit another Greek region, combining adventure, leisure and rest.

Health Information/ Travel Insurance

Bearing true South travellers are required to be in good physical health in order to be able to participate in one of our adventures. Please read through the day to day itinerary carefully and take into account the 'Level of Difficulty' icon that appears on each one of our adventures, before booking your place.

If for any reason you are not able to participate in activities included in the tour itinerary, please inform us before booking. For any other important health issue please don't hesitate to contact your tour leader.

Travellers with Bearing True South are required to hold valid travel insurance, covering a minimum medical expenses due to accident or sickness and 3rd party liability. We strongly advise you to ensure that your insurance covers you for all outdoor activities you intend to participate in during your adventure. There might be an additional charge for certain ones. Your travel insurance needs to be evident when you join our tours.

 Visa Information

 Holding a valid passport and visa in order to visit Greece is your responsibility. Generally EU citizens or citizens of Member-States of the Schengen Agreement do not need to display a visa in order to travel to Greece.

Visas are not required by holders of valid passports from the following non-E.U. countries if they want to visit Greece and remain in the country for up to 3 months (90 days): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay,  Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Israel, Monaco, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein

For travellers not coming from the above countries, please contact your local Greek embassy/consulate for visa information. Please also note that most countries expect you to have at least 6 months validity on your passport in order to be issued a visa.

Before you travel, we encourage you to learn about the region you'll explore while on a tour. From local weather conditions to information on geography, local history and culture, all are essential in order to make the most out of you tour, while minimizing the possibility to face unexpected, unpleasant circumstances.

Weather Information

Greece in general has warm and humid summers lasting from May till October while temperatures reach mid thirties Celsius especially between June and August and the possibility of rain is generally low. In May and October weather can be less predictable with some rain and chilly temperatures being possible especially in Greek mainland. Greek winters are generally mild, with temperatures rarely getting lower than 5 degrees Celsius in most of our destinations. In the mountains, weather can be tough to predict all year round. Generally, cool temperatures and occasional rainfalls occur especially at night, a fact that you have to take into account when packing for your adventure.

Packing for your tour

When touring with us, you are expected to bring with you a backpack or suitcase that you should keep as light as possible, as well as a daypack for your personal items and valuables (for the times when long outdoor activities are part of the tour).

Travel documents: Passport, visa if required, valid travel insurance,valid international driving license (for self-driving tours), diving certificates (for diving tours)

Personal health care items: personal medication, sunscreen, insect repellent, travel sickness tablets, sunglasses, insect bite gel

Clothing/walking/camping gear (depending on the season and tour): fleece/soft-shell jacket, waterproof & windproof jacket, thermal underwear, waterproof trousers, wool hat, gloves, sun hat, long trousers (wearing shorts is not permitted in monasteries), shorts, swimming costume, t-shirts, hooded tops, waterproof hiking shoes/boots, trainers/walking shoes, wool socks, personal mattress and a 3-4 seasons warm sleeping bag (when camping is included in the itinerary), torch, umbrella.