Greece Tourist Safety: Best Region for First-Time Visitors

Browse more guides: Greece travel | Europe destinations

People keep asking me whether Greece is safe to visit, usually after they have already booked the flights. The short answer is yes. So greece sits at 41st on the 2024 Global Peace Index, ahead of the United Kingdom and the United States. The longer answer matters, because "safe country" and "safe trip" aren't the same sentence. You can have a fine flight to Athens and still get lifted on the metro to the airport, or rent a small car in western Crete and end up nose-to-nose with a tour bus on a switchback.

I'm writing this for the first-time visitor . The family with kids, the couple planning island-hopping, the solo traveller who has heard mixed things about Athens after dark. I'll tell you which regions I would put a beginner in without hesitation, which ones need more attention, and which scams and risks come up over and over.

How safe is Greece, really?

Greece is one of the calmer corners of the Mediterranean for a tourist. Violent crime against visitors is rare. The gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece advisory is a fairly relaxed document compared with other regions, and travel.state.gov keeps Greece at its lowest standard advisory level. The Wikipedia entry on Crime in Greece backs that up , homicide rates are low by European standards, and most recorded incidents involving tourists fall into theft, fraud, and traffic.

The things most likely to ruin your trip are a pickpocketed wallet, a rigged taxi, a late-night bar scam, or a rental car scrape. None of those make Greece dangerous. They just mean you should travel awake, not paranoid.

For context on the islands, my piece on whether the Greek islands are worth visiting covers the experience side. This one focuses on safety.

Region-by-region safety ratings

Here's how I rank the places most beginners actually go.

Region	Overall safety	Scam risk	Driving risk	First-time rating
Athens (Plaka, Syntagma, Kolonaki)	High	Medium-High	Low (use metro)	9/10
Athens (Omonia, Exarcheia after dark)	Medium	High	Low	5/10
Crete (Heraklion, Chania, beaches)	Very High	Low	Medium-High	9/10
Santorini	Very High	Low-Medium	Medium	9/10
Mykonos	Very High	Low	Medium	8/10
Corfu	Very High	Low	Medium	9/10
Thessaloniki	Very High	Low	Low	9/10
Aegean islands near Turkey (Lesbos, Samos, Kos)	High	Low	Low	8/10
Mainland border zones (Evros, near Edirne)	Medium-High	Low	Medium	6/10
Mainland north toward North Macedonia	High	Low	Medium	8/10

If you only read the table, you already know where to point a first trip.

Athens: the two-Athens problem

Athens is two cities laid on top of each other. There's the Athens you came for - Plaka, the Acropolis, Monastiraki, Syntagma square, Kolonaki cafe streets, the Pnyx hill at sunset. That Athens is busy, well-policed into the evening, full of tourists and restaurant owners with everything to lose if something goes wrong outside their door. And i've walked Plaka at midnight after a long taverna dinner and felt nothing except slightly too full of wine.

Then there's the other Athens. Omonia square, especially the streets running west and south of it, gets rough after dark. It isn't violent crime so much as a concentration of drug use, sex work, and aggressive panhandling that makes it an unpleasant place for a first-time tourist with a phone out. Exarcheia , the old anarchist neighborhood , has gentrified, and during the day it's fine. Late at night it's still where the police occasionally get pelted, and you don't want to be the foreigner in the middle of that.

The metro is the other place where Athens earns its scam reputation. Line 3, the blue line that runs from the city center out to Eleftherios Venizelos airport, is the most pickpocketed stretch of public transit I know in southern Europe. Crews work the carriage between Syntagma and Monastiraki, and again on the airport approach when tourists are juggling luggage. Wear your daypack on your front, keep your wallet in your front pocket or a money belt, and treat anyone who jostles into you as suspect for the next thirty seconds.

I budget two nights in Athens at the start of a first trip and stay in Plaka or Koukaki near the Acropolis Museum. Both feel safe walking back at any hour.

Crete: my default beginner answer

If someone says they have one week in Greece and asks where to put it, I usually answer Crete. The island is calm, the locals are some of the warmest I've met in the Mediterranean, and the safety profile is excellent. So pickpocketing in Heraklion exists at the level you would expect of any port city. Chania, on the western end, is one of the most relaxed old towns I know . You can walk the harbor at midnight in July with no real worry.

What you do need to be honest about is the driving. So crete stretches you across mountain roads that were not designed for the size of car most rental agencies hand out. The Samaria gorge approach, the road over the Lefka Ori, the coastal stretches between Plakias and Sougia - these are narrow, edged with drop-offs, and shared with tour buses that won't give way. None are technically difficult, but you'll be reversing into laybys to let buses past, and an aggressive pickup overtaking on a blind corner is a normal Tuesday.

Two specifics. Animals on the road, especially goats. So and fuel stations close earlier than you expect outside major towns , fill up at half a tank. For the beach side, my piece on the best beaches in Crete worth visiting covers which coves are worth the drive.

Santorini: cliffs, donkeys, and welfare

Santorini is one of the safest places I've spent time in Greece. Crime against visitors is uncommon, police presence in Fira and Oia is steady, and the small size of the island means everyone in hospitality more or less knows everyone else. I would put a solo traveller there without a second thought.

The risks are physical, not criminal. Caldera-edge paths in Oia and Imerovigli are unfenced in long stretches. Sunset crowds in Oia push hundreds of people onto narrow walkways, and a slip on smooth marble in the wrong spot has serious consequences. I keep my phone in my hand, not extended out for selfies, anywhere I can see a drop. The footpath between Fira and Oia is one of my favorite walks, but do it in the morning in proper shoes , not at 4 PM in flip-flops with a cocktail in you.

The other thing I'll say plainly is the donkey question. The donkey-and-mule rides up the steep steps between the old port and Fira are an animal welfare problem. The cable car runs every few minutes and costs almost nothing. Take it, and skip the photo. So for a comparison across islands, my write-up on the best Greek island between Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, or Corfu goes into the experience differences.

Mykonos: the luggage-grab nobody warns you about

Mykonos is safe in the way Santorini is safe . Low violent crime, professional hospitality industry, police visible in town. There's one specific scam that catches tourists more than I think people realise: luggage theft at the hotel transfer point.

Here's how it goes. So you arrive on the ferry. A driver from your hotel meets you, takes your luggage, loads the van, brings you to the lobby. Somewhere between van and lobby, a bag has either gone to a different vehicle or been lifted in the lobby chaos by someone who looks like staff but isn't. The hotel disclaims responsibility. The "driver" was real but the bag handlers were not.

Defense: keep eyes on your bags from ferry to room. If you've to step away, watch the van. A photo of each bag next to the driver before you get in is exactly the deterrent that makes a thief move on.

Outside that one risk, Mykonos is fine. Town is walkable, bars are well-staffed, and beaches are policed during peak season.

Corfu and the Ionian: low-stress beginner choice

Corfu rarely shows up in safety conversations because there isn't much to talk about. The island feels Italian as much as Greek, the old town is compact and well-lit, and the Achilleion and Kanoni areas are fine for any traveler. Petty theft is low even by Greek standards. Driving is easier than Crete because the mountain roads and distances between towns are shorter.

One thing to think about on Corfu is the rental scooter you sign for. Two-wheel rentals on the Ionian are sold to people who have never ridden, and road surfaces between villages can be patchy. If you've not ridden a scooter before, this isn't the trip to learn. Stick to a small car.

Thessaloniki: the calm second city

Thessaloniki is a place first-time visitors underrate. But it's calm, food-obsessed, more student-driven than Athens, and the seafront promenade walk from the White Tower is one of those things you do every evening of your stay without getting bored. Crime is low. Ladadika, the upper town around the old walls, and the area near the Rotunda are all safe at normal hours.

The mainland north is a different country tonally from the Aegean islands , greener, less touristed, more focused on its own life than on you. That's good news for safety. Meteora, Mount Olympus, the Vergina tombs, and the Halkidiki peninsula are all places where I've never felt I needed to watch my back.

Border zones: the honest version

Two questions come up about border areas. First, the Evros region in the northeast, near the Edirne crossing into Turkey, has had migrant movement for years, and parts of it are restricted military zones. You should not be wandering the Evros river unaccompanied. As a normal tourist driving the Egnatia motorway, you'll not encounter any of this. Check the current gov.uk advisory before any trip touching the region.

Second, the Aegean islands closest to the Turkish coast - Lesbos, Samos, Kos, Chios , were the front line of the 2015-2017 migrant crisis. The situation is much calmer now. Reception facilities have been moved to dedicated sites away from tourist areas. You can holiday on Samos or Kos today without it being a topic of your trip. I would still favor Crete or Santorini for a first trip, but only because they offer more for a beginner, not because of safety.

The land border with North Macedonia is normal in both directions. The Wikivoyage Greece page is a good second opinion on any specific border or region.

Solo female travel in Greece

Greece scores well in solo female safety surveys, and my conversations with women travelling alone match that. Plaka in Athens, Chania in Crete, Fira in Santorini, Corfu old town, the Thessaloniki seafront , all comfortable solo, including in the evening. Staring isn't constant the way it can be in some Mediterranean countries, and harassment in restaurants or on public transit is rare.

Be more thoughtful around Mykonos late at night when the bars empty, the Athens metro late evening (especially line 3), and any deserted alley in any old town after about 1 AM. Standard cautions you would apply in any major European city apply here. For a regional comparison, my piece on safe places to travel solo in India for tourists uses a similar framing.

The scams I actually see

A tourist who reads about these once is essentially inoculated.

The bar girl bait. A well-dressed, English-speaking man strikes up a conversation near Syntagma or Plaka late evening and suggests a drink at a bar he knows. Two women join, drinks keep arriving, and the bill is three or four figures. The bar is in on it. Don't follow strangers to bars they choose.

The taxi meter. Drivers occasionally claim the meter is broken and quote a flat fare two or three times the going rate. Insist on the meter or use a ride-hail app. The official airport-to-center fare is fixed and posted at the taxi rank.

The bird-poop pickpocket. Something lands on your shoulder, a helpful stranger appears with tissues, and while you're looking down a second person lifts your wallet. The "poop" is mustard or yogurt. Don't let strangers clean anything off you - step away and sort it yourself.

ATM card skimmers. Plus standalone ATMs on tourist streets, especially in Plaka and around Monastiraki, are skimmed often. Use ATMs in actual bank branches . Eurobank, Alpha, Piraeus, National Bank , during opening hours, ideally inside the lobby.

Restaurant menu shuffles. A few Plaka tavernas hand tourists a menu without prices and bring out plates that were never ordered. Always confirm price and confirm what arrived. Walk away from any restaurant where the menu has no prices.

Driving in Greece: an honest brief

Greek driving is more aggressive than what most British, American, German, or Indian visitors are used to, and island roads aren't at Spain or Italy levels. Tailgating is normal. Overtaking on solid lines is normal. And mountain switchbacks have no shoulder.

For a first trip: rent the smallest car you're comfortable with - narrow roads punish wide vehicles. Pay for the full insurance; standard cover often has a multi-thousand-euro excess. Refuse the scooter unless you've ridden before. Drive slowly on Crete, particularly west of Chania. Don't drink and drive , Greece has zero tolerance. Use the toll motorways (Egnatia and Athens-Patras) rather than back roads.

Athens has bad traffic but you should not be renting in Athens anyway , use the metro and pick up the rental at the airport on the way out.

A first-timer itinerary that minimizes risk

Here's what I would book if a friend with no Greek experience asked me to plan their first trip.

Option A , one week. Two nights in Athens (Plaka, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, dinner in Anafiotika), then five nights in Crete (fly into Chania, three nights in the old town, two nights on the south coast). Avoids ferries, avoids Mykonos prices, and gives you the two strongest first-time anchors.

Option B - eight or nine nights. Two nights in Athens, two nights in Santorini, four nights in Crete. Adds the caldera and a ferry day, but keeps everything inside high-safety regions.

I would not put a first trip on Mykonos as a base unless the traveler has asked for that scene. I would not include the Evros border, the smaller Dodecanese, or the Pelion mountain roads unless someone in the group is a confident European driver. For when to go, the best time to visit Greece off-season piece walks through shoulder months - late April, May, and September are my favorites for safety reasons too, because crowds thin out and roads are quieter.

How Greece compares

South African tourist regions deal with a different risk profile, as I've documented in most dangerous tourist attractions in South Africa. Some Indian regions warrant a different approach again - see my most dangerous place in India travel warning. Greece is closer to Spain or Portugal: normal European holiday risk profile with a few specific scams and one raised category (island driving).

External references I keep coming back to: gov.uk Greece advisory for the best plain-English summary, travel.state.gov for the US perspective, Wikivoyage Greece for operational details (ferry strikes, seasonal closures), and the Wikipedia Crime in Greece article for the statistical baseline.

Frequently asked questions

Is Athens safe to walk around at night?
Plaka, Syntagma, Monastiraki, Kolonaki, Koukaki, and the area around the Acropolis are all comfortable at night. Omonia and the streets around Larissa station feel rough after dark, and Exarcheia can be unpredictable late at night. Stick to the central tourist core after midnight.

Are the Greek islands safer than the mainland?
Generally yes for petty crime. Island communities are small and a thief on a 30,000-person island has nowhere to disappear to. Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, and Rhodes all see less pickpocketing per tourist than central Athens. The trade-off is higher driving, water, and cliff risk.

Is Greece safe for solo female travelers?
Yes , it ranks well in European solo surveys, and my own conversations line up with that. Stick to well-known neighborhoods after dark, avoid the Athens metro very late when carriages are empty, and use the same situational awareness you would in Rome or Barcelona.

What about earthquakes and natural disasters?
Greece is seismically active. Most quakes are small and unfelt. Hotels in Santorini and Crete are built to local seismic codes. Wildfires during July and August are a real risk . Check local news before driving into pine-forest areas in heatwaves, and follow any evacuation order immediately.

Is the water safe to drink?
Athens and Thessaloniki tap water is fine. On the islands it varies , Crete is generally fine in towns, Santorini and Mykonos use desalinated water that's safe but tastes off, so most travelers buy bottled. Ask at your hotel.

How bad is pickpocketing on the Athens metro?
Bad enough that I treat it as a baseline risk, especially line 3 to the airport between Syntagma and Monastiraki. Wear your bag in front, keep your phone in your pocket, and if you can afford it, take a taxi or shuttle on departure day with luggage.

Are border areas with Turkey or North Macedonia dangerous for tourists?
Not on the routes a normal tourist takes. Road border crossings function normally. Risk is concentrated in remote Evros river tracks and military zones, which aren't on any tourist itinerary.

Should I worry about migrants on Lesbos, Samos, or Kos?
No, not in a safety sense. Reception sites are away from tourist zones and the islands run normal tourism in 2026. The reason first-timers skip them is they're less famous than Santorini or Crete, not safety.

The bottom line

Greece is a country I send first-time travelers to without hesitation. Low violent crime, a serious tourism economy that polices itself, and a culture that genuinely likes visitors give you a wide margin for the small mistakes everyone makes on a first trip. The risks are specific and learnable: Athens metro pickpockets, a handful of Plaka scams, cliff edges and donkey welfare in Santorini, and driving on Cretan mountain roads. Read those four sentences, plan around them, and your first Greek trip will feel like the easy holiday it actually is.

Pack the small things , a money belt, decent shoes, your hotel address written down - and the rest looks after itself. The Aegean has been hosting visitors for three thousand years. They have had time to figure out how to make it work.

Search This Blog

Your Local Guide to Visiting Places | visitingplacesin.com