It’s common knowledge that the summer months are the most popular time to go abroad, especially as this is when children are off school and when the weather is warmest in many countries.
Brits often flock to European hotspots – like Spain, France, Greece and Italy – to enjoy beach holidays and outdoor activities, such as water sports. Although these countries are not far from the UK, they have their own cultural traditions and habits that you might not be aware of.
Alexa, a British tourist in Greece, turned to TikTok to highlight a valuable lesson for other travellers visiting the southeastern European country. She posted a video on the platform sitting around a table in a restaurant in the Greek island Skiathos with a group of friends showing that they were the only diners there.
Overlaying the video, the tourist wrote: “God forbid a girl makes a dinner reservation at 6.30pm in Greece.” The clip shows that she was surrounded by empty tables and chairs.
In the caption she added: “We’ve learned our lesson but still.” The post has amassed an impressive two million views, more than 100,000 likes and hundreds of comments with the general consensus that 6.30pm is too early to have dinner in Greece.
A local clarified: “At 6:30pm in Greece we’re having our afternoon coffee. Dinner is after 20:00.” Another added: “The earliest we eat dinner here is 8pm.”
A baffled resident from Europe said: “6:30??? As a European that is diabolical! I’m surprised it was even open.” Someone else who is familiar with typical meal times in Greece commented: “My family in Greece eat dinner around 9-10 PM lol.”
A fourth viewer joked: “Pretty sure that’s not legal… people still at the beach girl…”
Other tourists in the comments section admitted they also didn’t know it’s common to eat dinner later in Greece than you typically would in the UK.
One remarked: “The first night we got here we went for dinner at about 7 and it was empty besides one American family.” A second chimed in: “Girl same we were super early.”
However, a different viewer had another perspective: “The lesson here is keep booking for 6.30pm so you don’t have crowds lol.”
According to the travel agent Greeka, people may eat their last meal at 11pm and during summer, when the sun sets around 9pm.
Many Greeks won’t have dinner until it gets completely dark outside as they spend most of their time outdoors enjoying the sunny, warm weather with temperatures reaching 35°C.
The travel resource notes that Greeks usually eat lunch between 12 and 5pm and restaurants receive their most customers between 8 and 10pm for dinner.
It’s definitely a very different way of life!