I am traveling to Greece in May 2007? Need help.?

Question

I am traveling to Greece from the USA in May.
Do many people speak English there? We are wanting to talk to relatives and learn some family history since our family came to the US from there about 1900. We know they came from the island of CHIOS. Can anyone help or make suggestions on what to do and How do you get from Athens to Chios?

Answer 1

My husband's family comes from Chios (Volissos) and I know well than people under 40 should speak good English.
You can fly to Chios from Athens or you can go by boat; there are frequent itineraries per day especially in May.
Once on Chios, you can visit the island, which is very beautiful; you can find information through the following link, which is also available in English: http://www.chiosnet.gr/tourism/worth_gr.htm.
Have a nice trip!
.

Answer 2

Would you like to have a straight answer from a Greek ?.

The 40% of the Greeks are holding English as second language. They do not have a PhD degree but you can easily communicate. Remember that Tourism is the 1st Greek Industry.
Some other 25% are speaking 2 or 3 other Languages.
To go to Chios Island you can book your flight and travel by plane all the way from USA to Chios, (by means of transfer desk) or chek out at Athens Airport travel 50’ by the metro to Piraeus and get the boat.

See the link bellow for boat schedules and prices

Have a nice stay.

Answer 3

hey you can get to chios from boat or plane. you can even book ahead of time online. check out www.youtravel.com or the best www.yourgreece.gr. those are what i use. Not everyone you bump into on the street will speak english but most people that you deal with as tourists must to get the job. hotels, travel agents. not taxi drivers, those you have to be careful with. chios gets a lot of international travelers, english wont be an issue. and no matter where you are in greece you will always find someone who speaks english. and unlike US sdtudents learning english at a proficient level is a requirement here for college and most jobs.The only thing i can think of for help with your search is once you get to chios (if you know village even better) you go to mayors office dimarxio-- you are looking for any records of last name-- in the records office. grafeio pistopikon--greeks are required to have listed family name plots in area of family origin so if there were any other relatives there would be best place to start. good luck!

Answer 4

You can reach Chios by sea or air.Don't worry about it.It's far from Athens but easily reachable.
The idea of Greeks cannot speak english is laughable,but since you are claiming to be descended from Greece you should try to learn some greek.As the matter of fact , you should have already learned some.
Your relatives in Chios are going to act crazy from their joy.They are going to hug you and kiss you all the time but they will expect from you to understand them.It will be a funny and awkward situation but it will worth it.
I hope you'll have a great time!

Answer 5

it is very easy to go from athens to chios (fly or boat).

Your relatives may not speak english but you will surely find someone that can translate. Those working at tavernas and hotels surely speak english (and German-Italian-French). Yes most Greeks unsterstand greek so beware when you walk around Athens whisper people are listening. Also in chios you may find some greek Americans

PS First find the name of the village yourfamily came from

Answer 6

the majority of people in Athens speak fluent English and surprisingly, in the Islands and even in some of the villages, English is understood and spoken to a helpful degree almost everywhere you go. Greece has a huge tourism industry and lot's of people speak English because of this as well as they teach English in schools beginning with grade 3.
I moved to Greece from the USA a few years ago and have almost NEVER had to completely rely on my broken Greek to get by. It's very easy to get around as a English speaking person here and you shouldn't haver a problem at all unless you are in a very remote area.

Anyone who says Greeks don't speak English well or use such silly statistics as 5% only, etc have no clue and clearly have never been here.

Answer 7

I have to disagree on the views of those that say the Greeks can's speak English - they're probably expecting them to speak like British or Americans but that's silly. I'll tell you this, regarding Athens at least... I lived thre for a year, back in 1990/91 when I taught English in a frontistirio (it's a private school) and everytime I tried to speak in Greek people would always answer in English. That must give you an idea.

Answer 8

Statistically, 80% of Greek children ages 12-15 are currently enrolled in English classes. The numbers have been steady for the past 20 years or so, therefore you will have no problem communicating. Perhaps some of the older people not involved in the tourist trades do not speak any English, but your average 15 year old will do fairly well.

Answer 9

Its been my experience that many people speak English nowadays in Greece. They now have tourist police as well as regular police and of course the tourist police speak English. English is being widely accepted now especially in the market place. The average menus in the restaurant and the average advertisements on the billboards are in both English and Greek. If you need to talk English and no one there seems to speak English, just give it a few minutes because someone who is bilingual will almost always turn up. I found this to be the case quite often. 40 to 50% of my relatives speak very very good English.

Answer 10

The other people are answering are crazy. I travel to Greece every single summer since 1997, to Crete. Crete should be expected to be worse in terms of language because it's an island....but a lot of people can speak english! Especially if they own a business. Every other person knows english that I've met. Additionally, you can expect the Athenians to no doubt speak english, especially if you're in the heavily populated metropolitan area. Don't worry too much. Just walk into one of the many many little travel agency stores they have around and strict up a mini cruise deal since they're cheaper and more fun than flying! Have fun on you're trip!