Question: "Do I need a visa to Greece?" - really idle. How else? After all, the country is a full member of the European Union, therefore all rules of stay and transit of foreigners that are introduced into the EU operate on its territory. Moreover, this state also belongs to the notorious Schengen zone, and therefore it is rather problematic to obtain a visa to Greece. But! Do not forget that the lion's share of income in the state budget of this country comes from international tourism. So, Greece itself is interested in increasing the flow of tourists. You need to know some subtleties, and access to the sandy beaches of Rhodes and Kos will be open to you.
If you go to the website of the embassy of the country and ask if you need a visa to Greece, you, of course, will answer "yes" unequivocally. And the problems with obtaining the treasured insert are not at all in price. It is standard - 35 or 70 Euros, and for children under twelve are generally free. No, many nerve cells burn the very procedure of issuing a visa. The weighty file that you have to collect, the interview record, the standing in the queues ... The purpose of providing some information that the embassy requires is difficult to comprehend: if you are going to rest (in fact, investing your money in the country), why do the consulate employees need to know the size of your Salaries? And also your position and date with which you occupy it?
But the rules are harsh, and you can simplify your task only by contacting a travel agency or one of the visa centers, which Greece opened for the convenience of Russians. Do you need a Schengen visa with such mediation? Of course, but the entire burden of processing and collecting papers will be transferred to the shoulders of the tour operator. True, the cost of a visa will increase at times, including for young children traveling with you.
Another question: "Do you need a visa to Greece, if you have a valid" Schengen "with multiple entry, received in the embassy of some other country?" The answer is no. You do not need to open a national Greek visa. However, it is worth considering the terms of stay in the EU countries. Even if you have a visa for three or five years, you can stay in the territory of the Schengen states for no more than 90 days in six months.
There are other equally interesting nuances. To save nerves and not suffer from the acquisition of "Schengen", you can open a visa to Cyprus or to Macedonia. This process is not so difficult and just doomed to a successful outcome of the case. And already having a sticker in one of these countries, you can proudly enter Greece and stay there for a holiday for up to fifteen days. But that's not all. It must be remembered that in this problem - whether a visa is needed to Greece - there is a downside. We also desperately need modern "Hellenes" (if not we, then our money). Therefore, as an experiment from 2012 on the island of Rhodes began to let foreign tourists arriving by ferry from Turkey. They issued visas directly at the port.
This experiment showed its consistency, and this was taken into account first of all by Greece itself. Do I need a visa for 2013? The list of Greek islands, where you could open an entry permit for up to 15 days, this year has expanded. In addition to Rhodes, this could be done on Lesbos, Samos, Kos and Chios. The rule of "conditionally visa-free entry" operated only during the tourist season - from 7.06 to 30.09.