Last updated: 27 October 2026.
How I know this: I planned our own Greek Orthodox wedding in Chania, Crete, in May 2024, from abroad, for 96 guests from six continents. Now I help couples plan theirs through Big Fat Greek Day, which is on track for around 45,000 visits a year.
Traveling to a wedding in Greece in 2027 is easy, and there are four things to know: fingerprints at the border the first time, ETIAS (not running yet), a small per-night hotel fee, and a choice between island airports and ferries.
If your couple sent you this link, it’s written for you. Think of the trip as a holiday with a wedding in the middle, and everything below is what makes that holiday go smoothly.
Hi, I’m Christina. I’m Greek, my husband isn’t, and even being Greek, I needed a whole website to explain the trip, so we wrote it all down for our people, with an FAQ, a what-to-wear section and maps of our favorite spots, plus a printed weekend schedule waiting in every hotel room. I’ve turned that website into this article for 2027 guests.
The one-minute version
- At the border: first-time fingerprints and a photo for UK, US and Australian visitors. Allow extra time.
- ETIAS: a new €20 travel authorization is coming, but as of October 2026 it isn’t running yet. Check before you fly.
- At checkout: hotels and holiday rentals charge a small per-room, per-night tourist tax, the climate fee.
- Getting there: new direct routes for summer 2027, and a real choice between island airports and ferries.
- The weather: summer can hit 40°C, and spring and autumn evenings can be cool.
Table of Contents
What happens at the border with the Entry/Exit System (EES)?
If it’s your first trip into Europe’s Schengen area since April 2026, a machine at the border will scan your fingerprints and take your photo. The EU’s Entry/Exit System has been live at every external Schengen border since 10 April 2026. If you’re visiting from the UK, the US or Australia, it replaces the passport stamp. After that first time, later trips should be quicker.
What that means for you, in plain terms: the first crossing takes longer. If you’re connecting through another Schengen-area airport on your way to Greece, that first border may be where it happens, not Athens. Build some slack into any tight connection, and don’t book the last ferry of the day straight off a long-haul flight.
ETIAS: not running yet
As of October 2026, ETIAS isn’t running and there’s no official start date. ETIAS is the new travel authorization for visitors who don’t need a visa, and here’s where it stands:
- It will cost €20 per traveler (free for under-18s and over-70s).
- Once approved, it will last three years, or until your passport expires if that comes first.
- The EU says it will announce the start date several months before launch.
And if you’re wondering about a visa: UK, US and Australian passport holders don’t need one for a short visit (up to 90 days in any 180), though it’s worth checking your own government’s travel advice before you book.
So you don’t need to do anything today. Just check the official EU travel site a few weeks before you fly. And please don’t pay a website that offers to “get your ETIAS” for you while the system isn’t running.
What is the Greece tourist tax (the climate fee)?
Greece has a tourist tax, officially the climate crisis resilience fee, that hotels and holiday rentals add per room, per night, on top of the room rate. The amount depends on the hotel’s stars or the type of rental, and the rates can change from year to year, so check it with your hotel when you book. It’s the one that surprises people at checkout, because it’s charged at the end of your stay, so keep a little aside for it.
How do you get to the wedding: island airport, ferry or a drive?
Most guests fly into Athens or straight into an island airport, and for some islands the last part of the trip is a ferry. This is the question that shapes your whole trip, so ask the couple which applies to you.
New direct flights for summer 2027
Delta flies from Detroit to Athens from 8 June 2027, three times a week. Jet2 adds Kavala, the airport for the island of Thassos, from London Stansted and Manchester from 11 May 2027 and from Birmingham from 12 May. If your wedding is in northern Greece, that second one is good news.
Island airport or ferry?
| If the wedding is on… | How most guests get there |
|---|---|
| Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Rhodes | Their own international airports |
| Crete | Two international airports: Heraklion and Chania |
| Naxos, Paros | A domestic flight, or a ferry (both islands are major ferry hubs) |
| The mainland or Athens | Athens airport, then a drive |
| Smaller islands | Usually a ferry, often via Athens |
If you’re taking a ferry from Athens, there are two main ports. Piraeus is the big one, for the Cyclades and Crete. Rafina sits closer to the airport and serves Mykonos and some other Cyclades islands. Check which port your boat leaves from before you book a hotel near the wrong one.
A ferry is part of the holiday, but it’s not a commuter train. If you can, arrive on the island a day early instead of planning a same-day flight-to-ferry-to-welcome-drinks sprint.
Getting around once you’re there
Don’t assume ride apps work everywhere. As of October 2026 there’s no Uber on Crete, for example, though the taxi app FREE NOW works in some busy cities. Save a local taxi number in your phone on day one, and use the shuttles if your couple has arranged them.
How hot is Greece for a summer wedding?
In July and August, very: peak summer in Greece can reach 40°C. In the July heatwaves of 2024 and 2025, Greece closed the Acropolis in the middle of the day and ordered builders and delivery riders in the hottest regions to stop work in the afternoon.
That’s exactly why many summer ceremonies start in the early evening, often around 19:00 to 20:00. If you’re coming in July or August:
- Plan sightseeing for the morning and the evening, not the middle of the day.
- Carry water everywhere, and actually drink it.
- Rest in the afternoon before the ceremony. Nobody will think less of you.
On the islands in July and August, Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Ios get the meltemi, a strong northerly wind, and Crete gets it too, a little less strongly, so pack for wind as well as heat.
If the wedding is in May, June, September or October, you get the lovely version: warm days, and evenings that can drop to around 12 to 16°C in spring and autumn. The sea is still fresh in May and early June, and still warm in September, just after its August peak. (Couples still choosing a month: my article on the best time to get married in Greece is for you.)
For what to bring for the heat, the wind and those cooler evenings, read my article on what to wear to a Greek wedding as a guest, then add a phone charger with an adapter to your bag.
How do you make the most of a Greek wedding weekend?
Treat it as a few days, not one: guests at a destination wedding in Greece typically stay around four nights.
Here’s what made ours work for our guests, and what you can lean into at yours:
- Arrive early if you can. Our guests trickled in from Thursday, kept bumping into each other around the hotels, and by Saturday had made real friends and knew their tablemates.
- Join the WhatsApp group. Ours carried announcements, arrival tips and live locations. It also filled up with the best candid photos and videos of the whole weekend.
- Read the schedule. Welcome drinks, a dinner, the wedding and a goodbye brunch is a common shape. The details matter: shuttle times, where to meet, what to wear to each.
- Use the shuttle. If the couple has arranged one, it’s so everyone can relax. Ours ran every 30 minutes late into the night.
- Eat at a taverna. Family-run, homemade, and usually far better value than the fancy restaurant. Some of the best meals of your trip will be there.
There’s more about our welcome drinks and the WhatsApp group in how we made guests feel at home at our wedding in Greece.
However you get here, by plane, ferry or a long sunny drive, the moment you sit down at that first dinner with people from every corner of the couple’s life, the travel stops mattering. And one gentle request from a bride who’s been there: RSVP as soon as you know. Your couple is juggling hotel blocks, buses and a seating plan from another country.
I built a free calculator using real vendor quotes from across Greece. Enter your guest count and preferences and it builds a full estimate, VAT included.
Frequently Asked Questions About Traveling to a Wedding in Greece
Do I need ETIAS to travel to Greece in 2027?
No, not yet. ETIAS, the future €20 travel authorization, isn’t running and has no official start date. When it starts, it will last three years, or until your passport expires if that comes first. Check the official EU travel site a few weeks before you fly, and never pay a third-party site to “apply” early.
How many nights should I plan for a wedding in Greece?
Plan on around four. That’s how long guests at a destination wedding in Greece typically stay, and it gives you the welcome drinks, the wedding and the goodbye brunch without rushing. If the last leg is a ferry, arrive a day early.
How do I get to a Greek island for a wedding?
Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Rhodes and Crete have international airports. For Naxos, Paros and most smaller islands, you’ll take a domestic flight or a ferry, usually from Piraeus or Rafina near Athens.
Can I bring my kids to a wedding in Greece?
That’s your couple’s call, so ask them before you book. At ours, the kids were with us for the whole wedding, the ceremony included, with their own table, their own menu and an entertainer.
Planning your own wedding in Greece?
You’re very welcome to send this page to your guests, or borrow from it for your wedding website. What it can’t give them is the part only you know: which airport to fly into, whether there’s a ferry, and what happens when across the weekend. Add those three, and your guests have everything they need.
If you’re wondering how far to help with rooms and flights, I’ve written about who pays for guest accommodation at a wedding abroad, with our own numbers.
If you’re still putting the weekend together, here’s how we planned our wedding weekend in Greece, day by day.
If you’re still guessing how many people will actually come, the free Guest Attendance Calculator estimates it from your list, and who actually comes to a destination wedding walks through what moves the number. For the dates, costs and deadlines on your side of the planning, start with the 2027 article on getting married in Greece.
Sources
- Entry/Exit System: European Commission, Entry/Exit System (progressive start from 12 October 2025; fully operational since 10 April 2026, replacing passport stamps), read October 2026.
- ETIAS: European Commission, ETIAS (not in operation as of October 2026; start date to be announced several months ahead); European Commission, “European travel authorisation ETIAS will cost EUR 20”, 17 July 2025 (fee €20; under-18s and over-70s exempt); three-year validity, or until the passport expires, per Regulation (EU) 2018/1240.
- Short visits without a visa: Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex II (UK, US and Australia; 90 days in any 180).
- Hotel climate crisis resilience fee: Law 5177/2025 (and Greek law 4389/2016, article 53, which it restates; consolidated text, taxheaven.gr), read October 2026.
- New flights: Delta News Hub, 25 September 2026 (Detroit to Athens from 8 June 2027, three a week); AeroRoutes, Jet2 summer 2027 additions (Kavala from Stansted and Manchester from 11 May 2027, Birmingham from 12 May).
- Uber in Greece: Uber, Greece city list, read October 2026 (no location on Crete).
- Summer heat: Proto Thema, 17 July 2024 (Acropolis closed 12:00 to 17:00); Labour Ministry heat order of 15 July 2024, reported by iefimerida (manual outdoor work and delivery riders, regions under warning); Al Jazeera and Reuters, 8 July 2025 (Acropolis closed midday; builders, couriers and delivery riders in named regions stopped; forecast 41°C).
- Spring and autumn evenings: Hellenic National Meteorological Service climate normals for Chania, Heraklion and Mykonos, read second hand via Wikipedia.
- Length of stay: Focus Bari, “Saying Yes to Greece”, Destination Weddings Tourism Forum, Athens, April 2026, a survey of wedding planners (GTP, 29 April 2026). Guests stay around four nights.
