Apps Worth Having
A short list that actually earns its space on your phone. No paid placements. Eight of the nine links are plain links with nothing behind them. The ninth, Ferryhopper, is marked as a sponsored link, the same as the booking links elsewhere on the site.
Getting around
Moovit
The one to install first. Live bus, metro, tram and trolley times for Athens, including OASA routes, with an interactive map and real time arrivals. Works offline for route planning and covers other Greek cities too.
moovitapp.comGoogle Maps
Reliable for walking and driving, and it now carries public transport times in Athens as well. Download the offline map of the area before you travel, because signal drops in the mountains and on the smaller islands.
www.google.comFerryhopper
The easiest way to compare ferry routes, operators and prices, and to book. Built for the Greek islands specifically, which the big international sites are not.
www.ferryhopper.comFreeNow, Bolt and Uber
All three work in Greece and all three dispatch licensed taxis at the regulated meter rate, so you are not gambling on a fare. FreeNow was formerly Beat and has the widest coverage. Uber in Greece calls a taxi rather than a private car.
Language
Google Translate
Download the Greek language pack for offline use before you arrive. The camera translation is the genuinely useful part: point it at a handwritten taverna menu, a bus timetable or a pharmacy label and it reads the Greek alphabet for you.
translate.google.comA note on the alphabet
Learning to sound out the Greek alphabet takes about an hour and pays for itself immediately. Half the words on signs are ones you already know once you can read them, and it turns a wall of symbols into a place you can navigate.
Food and daily life
efood
Greece's biggest delivery app, with the widest range of tavernas and souvlaki shops. The default for most people here.
www.e-food.grWolt
Usually the better English interface, and stronger on brunch and speciality places. Worth having both, since coverage differs by neighbourhood.
wolt.comTickets and events
more.com
The main Greek ticketing platform, covering concerts, theatre, festivals and most large venues. Buy direct rather than through resale, because markups are common and venues do not honour resold tickets.
www.more.comAthinorama
What is actually on tonight, in Greek but readable with translate on. The most complete cinema and theatre listings in the country, including every open air summer cinema.
www.athinorama.grPractical
Emergency numbers, no app needed
112 reaches the EU emergency line with English speaking operators. 100 police, 166 ambulance, 199 fire, 108 coast guard. The tourist line is 1571, not 171. 171 does not appear on the police's own list of 24 hour numbers; 1571 does, and it is answered in Greek, English, French and German. Save them before you need them.