Never mind the questionable singing in Mamma Mia! or the teenage angst that nearly drowns Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. In the summer of the ''staycation,'' you ought to go for the scenery.

For the price of admission -- far less than an airplane ticket -- both movies will take you to luscious Greek isles, their shores caressed by the twinkling Aegean. Cheaper still, rent a Greek getaway flick: Shirley Valentine (1989), Summer Lovers (1982) or Zorba the Greek (1964).

Movies have always inspired dreams of faraway places and even sent the adventurous packing. How many people rented lake homes in New England after seeing On Golden Pond? Or toyed with the idea of a safari because of Out of Africa?The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter series, even Sex and the City, spawned tours that connect devotee to location.

Once again, the multiplex offers plenty of armchair travel this summer. Brideshead Revisited transports us to the bucolic English countryside. Northern California wine country looks lovely in Bottle Shock. And if the Mediterranean isn't steamy enough on its own, get in line for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which the legendary director describes as a love letter to the Spanish city. Barcelona tourism promoters should be thrilled; Allen has made New York City look fabulous for decades.

These movies were all filmed at places that welcome tourists and, in fact, are expecting them.

Maybe next year's budget will have more wiggle room for globe-trotting. In the meantime, put these 2008 movie-inspired locales on your bucket list.

MAMMA MIA!

Meryl Streep & Co. sing and dance on an island called Kalokairi, which doesn't exist (except as the Greek word for summer). The islands of Skiathos and Skopelos are what you see in the movie.

Skiathos and Skopelos are in the Sporades chain, north of Athens and not far from mainland Greece. Skiathos' small airport caters to private planes and Olympic Airways flights from Athens in the summer. Reviews on Tripadvisor.com say the short runway makes for a dramatic landing. Ferries from Volos and Agios Konstantinos operate daily. For more, go to www.aroundgreece.com and www.greeka.com.

Many beach scenes were shot on Skopelos' Kastani Beach. If you find Donna's tavern, you'll recognize it from one of the big dance numbers.

Most dramatic on Skopelos is the Agios Ioannis monastery, impossibly perched on a rocky promontory. Streep's character sprints up the steps to the chapel, but good luck doing that, especially in the excruciating summer heat. The monastery, home to a few nuns, is open to tourists only a couple days of the year, but there are hundreds of other monasteries on the island to explore.

SISTERHOOD 2

The girls are back in Greece with their fancy pants. And though their challenges have become surprisingly adult, picturesque Santorini looks the same.

Long a favorite of filmmakers and tourists, swanky Santorini is the southernmost island in the Cyclades chain, about 70 miles north of Crete. Its hallmarks are white-washed buildings, blue doorways and domes and brilliant bougainvillea.

The Greek scenes were filmed in the village of Oia, also the location in the books from which the movies came. A tourist there can walk the narrow passages to the windmill that's seen on the screen. Yes, you'll need to take a donkey from the harbor at Amoudi Bay below or hoof it yourself up the 200-plus uneven steps.

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