Last visit for a while

[Andrew]

We have just come back from our eleventh successive year on Halki. I think this year has seen the biggest changes of all. For us, the ambience has gone and its charm has faded. We are actively looking elsewhere for 2010. Many of the problems are due to having to go in August and if we go back, it will be in June or September.

Firstly, it has become so expensive. Prices there have certainly increased as discussed on other posts and many meals are 7.5 to 8 Euros; more for fish dishes. We, and others, experienced poor and slow service in several tavernas. One example was waiting an hour for the main meal and then getting the wrong orders. I won’t name the taverna. Overall, the quality is down and the prices up. This is due to them trying to cater for too many people and failing in the most part to provide. I am sure this is the August effect. One exception is the excellent Grill House with great inexpensive food and charming service. 2 Euros for the chicken souvlaki twisted is a bargain. I have commented that Nick’s taverna at Pondamos was pricey last year and I withdraw that. This year it seemed on a par with the others and always knocks out good food. They open on Friday evenings and is a must visit.

I took £500 extra in travellers cheques more than last year in case of increases. I cashed the lot. Another family withdrew 700 Euros from the ATM to cope with the extra spend. We were also living more frugally than last year, for example taking Dimitri’s rolls to the beach some days rather than eating cooked meals at the tavernas.

We suspect that the powers on Halki have been advertising for yachties. There are usually double figures in every night; sixteen yachts on one occasion. There are plans to lengthen the jetty for more. There is now an expensive Gold shop with rude service, presumably trying to attract the yachties in. We met an English professional jeweller who said the shop’s stock was mostly mass produced and much too expensive, with a mark up over Rhodes prices. One friend went in to look and was quickly asked “are you buying or not?”

There were some badly behaved English teenagers around. They were making loud rude comments about their fellow travellers and rather disgracefully, started egg throwing at midnight on yoghurt throwing day. I believe this got nasty and was English v Greek kids. Parents of these – please take your surly, snide little sods to Faliraki next time where their behaviour is more appropriate.

The day before we left, huge numbers were arriving for the first festival and we heard that there were one thousand people on the island. I pity anyone trying to holiday with that number around.

Day trippers again are numerous and spoil the middle of the day. We do feel sorry for them as they pay 45 Euros for their trip and have no beds on the beach. (Not sorry enough to offer them our beds though!) Many arrive at the beach and just trudge back. Halki is wonderful to stay in but not an ideal day trip and I expect they are mis-sold in Rhodes.

I can’t see any improvements on the horizon. Prices never go down. There are more and more properties being restored resulting in more visitors and more pressure on the scarce water supply, which incidentally was off when we arrived and needed a shower! We were a little unlucky but for first time visitors, this would have been a little disappointing. Dafni turned up a few hours later.

Halki seems now to be as expensive as at home and as or more expensive as other islands. If it feels it can make a living out of the yachties, then fine and good luck. It was strange, but not sad, after eleven years to leave on the boat watching the lovely isle fade into the distance for the last time. Thanks for all the wonderful memories and we might look you up in about 2015. But never, ever in August!

[ermioni]

"Parents of these – please take your surly, snide little sods to Faliraki next time where their behaviour is more appropriate."

Take them to Faliraki??? They should stay home and not wreak havoc abroad!!!

Ermioni

[Deleted]

Very sorry to read all that Andrew but, Halki has been heading down this path for some time and those who cannot see it, be they Greek or otherwise, are burying their heads in the sand. Progress

[steven]

Andrew
You have answered you own question if you go to Greece in August it will be busy especially on the build up to the Panaghia, the whole of Greece is busy
The main course prices between 5 to 7 Euro is the same as last year, it is the exchange rate which makes the difference as it does in any country which has the Euro . if you had 1000 pounds last year just to stand still you would need 1330.00 pounds this year. That's not Halki fault, We have been to Spain this year and that was more expensive, than our holiday in Halki
If you had bad service complain at the time to the owner , don't just pay and then complain to others later , that is our problem (British) the Germans and Greek would shout and get served
There are far worst places to Holiday than Halki ;D

[Kinygos]

Return to "The Drachma Heresy"?

I was told that I had a biased view because I compared Halki to Rhodes.
If you are used to a devaluing "Telephone Number" currency, it takes a while to adjust to "Real" money; perhaps never if you are Greek.
Apparently, coins below 50c are worthless. Oh Yeh?
Couple that with the,”This is Greece” attitude to customer satisfaction and they are “Cruising for a bruising”
The problem is that if people do not go to establishment X it is because someone (the reps.) is telling them not to go. It has nothing to do with the prices and the service of X!

With respect, Andrew it is nothing to do with the Yachties and everything to do with greed.

Ok, now shoot me down in flames.

[carol]

Hi Andrew, I was quite sad reading your post, I suppose those of us that go every year have seen some of this coming for a while but it is a shame that it is going to stop you returning. We are fortunate to be able to go in September when the island is quieter but maybe the days of looking through rose tinted glasses have gone.

[Kinygos]

An anecdote:

A certain person who liked a bar on Halki, and a specific spirit asked in that bar for the spirit.
The reply along the lines of, “we don’t do that; this no good” it was obvious that the bar was never going to get it.
OK he bought a large bottle and donated it to the bar.
Now he could go, and ask, and get!
Of course, he had to pay the full going rate for his drink!

Is this true?

Perhaps someone can confirm the story.

[Deleted]

The telling differs but it is a true story. Both parties still on Halki.

[Andrew]

I felt bad about posting this but these things needed saying.

Ermioni - you are right of course. Don't want to spoil Faliraki's reputation by sending these brats there.

Steven - It was busier than the same time last year. Believe it or not, I was well aware of the exchange rate fall. It was on telly and everything. I took more Euros than I did last year. We spent hundreds more Euros (forgetting pounds) this year than last. For example, main meals at Avra are 7.5 or 8 Euros. I agree that there are worse places than Halki. Many. I am commenting that the Halki of 2009 lacks the ambience and wonderful laid-back charm of 1999-2007 which attracted us again and again.

Progress as Sth said. We were unsure about returning this year. I am glad we did as it confirmed our fears without it actually being horrible.

Simon - I totally agree with all your comments. It isn't the yachties fault and I'm sure that Halki has been advertising for them. There seem to be many more moored up with resultant pressure on tables at restaurants. I can't imagine the gold shop would be there if he wasn't expecting supposedly high spending yachties. And, yes, many prices seem to have gone up by whole euros!

Carol - on the boat back, we weren't the only people who aren't going back. There are seventeen people that I know of who aren't. A great shame.

[steven]

Where is the problem, did the person use a glass from the bar, ice from the bar , sit on one of the chairs provided by the bar, and have the drink served to a table with nuts or crisps and then have the glass washed for next time

[Deleted]

The so called Gold Shop is on a hiding to nothing. It has as much chance of breaking even on Halki as the proverbial snowball in hell. The costs in setting up and running it will never be recovered. With this rather rocky starting point and bearing in mind that any "profit" they may expect, will have to be made in a season of less than six months, the shopkeeper should not treat his customers in such an offhand manner. He should be told a few home truths, not by tourists but by someone on the island holding some influence.
Andrew, don't run away with the impression that all the visiting yachties are high spenders. I can assure you those you refer to are in the minority. The impression of high spending frequently comes from large, jolly, booze fueled but, well shared tables. I suspect they walk right past the gold shop. I give it little chance of long tenure.
Simon is correct in that the old green eye plays a huge part in the aspirations of local patrons and it sometimes backfires. Watch this space

[steven]

Andrew
Everybody has a view, that's what makes life exciting, however when one makes a comment many others agree out of politeness ( its the British thing again) Were can you find a safe place in August to take children and let them run free and know there will be many eyes watching for their safety ,.
A young boy when we where in Halki got a fish hook stuck in his finger, within minutes Kiki sat the boy down and a local fisherman quickly took the hook out and the boy went of with a smile on his face, That's the good side of Halki in August.
When we are in Halki we eat a lot at Avra, as the food is generally very good and the portion are very large , we usually do not have a starter. Chicken in the oven , Moussaka, Stifado, Kleftiko and stuffed pepper/Tomatoes all 7 Euro this year which is very good value
It is a shame you did not enjoy your holiday in Halki but the Island does need to move on , the days of no lights , paving electricity / water off for hours and hours and sewage piped into the sea are long gone and hopefully will never return. The young people of Halki have to make a living there for themselves. I hope you find a place to holiday in August next year, perhaps you could post your experience on here next year
Happy hunting

[sunfun]

That is a shame Andrew.We are lucky to be able to go in early season.To be quite honest,i wouldn't want to go anywhere that is so crowded.Glad you liked the grill though.It was our favourite by far as the food and service was consistently good.They are serving good food ,are always nice...and definitely don't rip you off price-wise. We thought it was quite expensive as well,but i think everywhere is now with the euro.The drinks were expensive as well,actually dearer than at home,which is definitely not right. ::)Hope you find somewhere else that appeals.

[Kinygos]

Steven, the point of view you espouse concerning the bar and the bottle is perfectly valid, provided you accept that profit margin is all there is to running a business. In Star Trek DS9 there are the Ferengi, who live by “The Rules of Acquisition”. (Do you have big ears by any chance?) In the case of the gift of the bottle rule 11 applies. Even if it's free, you can always buy it cheaper.
There is an adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” A returning satisfied customer is better than a customer overcharged once who never returns. That is good business.

I have found that the harshest critics of the “Greek way” are Greeks who have lived abroad for a while and return. If one of them were to opine his views on this board, it would be censored!

Any capital expenditure on Halki comes from the EEC, so where all this profit goes is less than clear. I doubt much it goes into the infrastructure.

[fatcat]

Alas we are also thinking the same, we ‘knew’ Halki would change, but did not expect the changes to be so dramatic and in such a short time span, we hoped these changes would happen over a much longer time span and become almost ‘un-noticable’.
We are lucky as the day trippers and beach goers have virtually no effect on our day to day existence, but we did not expect to keep looking over our shoulders and keeping a beady eye on costs and seeing if we can afford a starter or one more beer.

Just a mixture of the economic climate and the inevitable direction that Halki is taking.

Quite sad for us as well, as we have made up (some months ago) our minds that next year we shall not be visiting Halki, we just hope that this year’s visit does not put us off to return in the future.

We set off in about 3 weeks time, so hopefully the August crush has come and gone and things will be as have been previously over the last few years.

Change is inevitable, but in Halki we found our own little paradise, made up of friends we have met and our very special place in the sun.