Advice for tourists intending to holiday in Greece: Albania is much more interesting

My friend Alexandra wants advice about whether to go on holiday to Greece this summer. I said holidays should be cheaper if bought at the last minute, especially if bought in drachmas, but what do I know about economics? A Greek friend has decided to cancel his annual holiday in his native island for fear of  lack of food, fuel or supplies.

I was pleased to find this discussion in the Daily Telegraph today. British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance) George Osborne told the Commons yesterday that 150,000 British people a week usually go on holiday to Greece.  (What an off-putting thought - I infinitely prefer Albania).

They must, he said, “take sufficient euros in cash to cover the duration of their stay”, plus any “emergencies”. At the same time, however, they should “take sensible precautions against theft”.

Personally, I’d have thought that the most sensible precaution against theft would be, “Don’t go to a country on the brink of economic disaster, especially if your pockets are stuffed with large sums of money.”

But then, I’m no expert in financial stability and the Chancellor obviously is, so I suppose I’d better defer to him.

I intend every year to go to Albania and never get there but this year I hope to. I was at Palermo castle on the Ionian coast in August 2008 and was the only tourist. On the horizon was Corfu. I was the only tourist in Gjirokastra too.