Hello all, I am definately traveling to Athens for the 2004 summer games. I have signed up as a volunteer, but I am going regardless for a full month. It is my intention to hit all the US Nats games, and the gold metal match. I want to get started as soon as possible in figuring out travel plans. anyone else here going?? any thoughts on chartered flights? and groups going? lets get the ball rolling. I am planning on staying in one of the Cruise ships they are bringing into town. Just because you dont know what will be finished in time, and they are guarenteed to have everything I will need for a month on board. I am kind of sceptacle of what athens will be like at that time, and want a sure thing. anyone else have ideas, or info on travel to Athens for the games??
I am not ignorant to travel, and i am not afraid of other cultures. Why would I not go the the Olympics?? Terrorism? Anti-Americanism? Should I be afraid of the Greek affection for Anal sex? whats up?
The Greek idea of security is to put all the police around the hotel containing Juan Antonio.... Everything will be way OVER PRICED, so be prepared for long lines everywhere... Try Antonio Paz at soccervacations.com, he should have a group going... http://www.soccervacations.com/events_by_date.htm#AUGUST 2004
it should be an interesting olympics... athens is an amazing city with some beautiful architecture, but when i went 3 years ago i kept telling myself that they had a crap load of work to do in athens before they were going to be able host the olympics and the mass amounts of people and traffic it is going to bring. if done right it should be amazing, but doing it right could be a big problems for the greeks...they have been struggling with organization since the beginning. enjoy the country, try to get out of athens if you can for a few days and enjoy one of the small coastal towns maybe an hour outside of athens... have fun.
OVERPRICED is relative. I live in the Hamptons when I went to Park City for the winter games Everything was "overpriced" but even at those inflated prices, it was much cheaper that my every day cost of living. as far as getting out of Athens, not a Problem. My little Cousin is almost a lock for being on the US Sailing team, so I am deffinately going to watch her if she qualifies. You just dont miss something like having family in the Olympics. I have to say that supporting her is a higher priority than Soccer, but if one of her races conflicted with the gold metal match... well umm, my Granny might dis-own me for my decision . anyone else going??
I spent a month in Greece back in 1997, and if you can get to places like Delphii and Olympia and Santorini then do so. However, Athens itself hasn't sufficient infrastructure to host anything the magnitude of the Olympic Games. Poor transportation along with limited housing will make it tedious. And the notoriously poor Greek security is a major factor. From what I hear telemundo will be doing the soccer coverage for NBC, and that's how I'll watch it.