Posted by 
Cash
The usual payment method in Greece is “cash”. Of course, traveling with a lot of cash is always a risk. However, the crime rate in Greece is quite low (although it has increased significantly in Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus in particular). Cash is generally not covered by travel theft insurance. It makes sense to have enough cash, especially when traveling on smaller islands.
ATMs
There are now as many ATMs in Greece as in Germany. Most Greeks also get cash from ATMs. As a rule of thumb, there is one or more ATMs in almost every town with several thousand inhabitants. In a remote mountain village on Crete, however, the nearest ATM can still be 30 km away.
Tip: Hotels in Greece should be booked online. Prices are usually much cheaper and easier to compare. The best way to book is on Booking.com.
Under no circumstances should you rely on there being an ATM on small islands. Even if there is just one, it may be broken. ATMs are much more likely to be broken or broken in Greece than in Germany. Often they simply run out of money. If a machine on a smaller island is not working, it can take days or weeks for someone to repair the machine. My tip: you should not rely on ATMs on all small and medium-sized islands.
Still no hotel for your holiday in Greece?There are many thousands of hotels on the islands of Greece. In our opinion, the best overview is available on Booking.com. Here you can sort the accommodations by price or only display accommodations on a specific island. Hotels can be booked quickly and easily on Booking.com, and there are also many holiday apartments. |
The majority of ATMs in Greece accept EC cards with the Maestro symbol and credit cards such as Visa or Mastercard. Withdrawing money from an ATM with a German EC card in Greece usually costs a fee. The amount of the fee depends on the German bank. At many banks, this costs around 1% of the withdrawal amount. There is often a minimum of 5 or 6 euros. So it is cheaper to withdraw 600 euros once than 300 euros twice. If you have an account with a direct bank, withdrawals in other EU countries or even worldwide can be free.
Many shops in Greece now also accept EC cards. You can even use them to pay in larger supermarkets, like in Germany. Tourists often pay with cards.
In Greece, there have been restrictions on withdrawing cash from ATMs for almost 2 years (as of early 2017). As far as we know, only 840 euros can be withdrawn in 2 weeks. In 2016, the amount was even lower at times. However, this restriction does not apply to holidaymakers! As a foreigner in Greece, you can also withdraw more money from the ATM with a card from a German bank. This applies to debit cards and credit cards.
Current: As far as we know, the restrictions no longer apply.
Traveler’s checks
Traveler’s checks are a fairly safe method. Due to the global boom in ATMs, traveler’s checks have become somewhat out of fashion. They usually cost two fees (when issuing the check at home and when cashing it in Greece). Many, but not all, travel agencies, banks, hotels and car rental companies in Greece cash traveler’s checks. Checks from well-known companies such as Thomas Cook, Visa or American Express are most widely accepted. One advantage of traveler’s checks is that if you lose the checks, you can get new ones if you follow the issuer’s exact regulations (such as reporting the loss of the checks quickly and keeping the receipt).
Current 2017: The number of places where travelers’ checks are accepted is decreasing. Withdrawing money from an ATM using an EC card or credit card is becoming more and more standard for tourists in Greece.
2025: As far as we know, travelers’ checks no longer exist.
Credit Cards
Kreditkarten wurden in Griechenland bis vor einigen Jahren nur in besseren Hotels und Restaurant akzeptiert. Griechen zahlen immer noch eher selten damit. Inzwischen kann man aber auch in Touristenregionen und Großstädten in Griechenland in vielen Läden, Restaurants und Reisebüros damit zahlen. Man braucht sie auch, wenn man unterwegs im Internet ein Hotel oder einen Flug bucht. Auch in vielen Notfällen kann eine Kreditkarte nützlich sein.
Man kann mit vielen Kreditkarten auch am Automat Geld abheben. Dies kann hohe Gebühren kosten. Bei einigen Internet-Banken (Direkt-Banken) in Deutschland ist aber gerade das Abheben von Geld im Ausland mit der Kreditkarte (oft Visa-Karte) kostenlos. Man sollte sich vor dem Urlaub in Griechenland bei der einigen Bank in Deutschland informieren.
Prices in Greece
Greece has a similar price level to Germany. However, prices have risen significantly since the introduction of the euro and have now reached Central European levels. Due to the crisis, there has been some slight deflation (negative inflation) in Greece in recent years. As a result, we feel that many things in Greece are currently (at the beginning of 2017) somewhat cheaper than in Central Europe.
Somewhat cheaper than in Germany are: hotels and especially simple room rentals, public transport, cigarettes, taverns and simple restaurants. For hotels and guest houses, there is an enormous difference between the accommodation in a place and the season. It is best to rent accommodation in advance on Booking.com.
More expensive than in Germany are: the smaller supermarkets, other everyday items (shampoo, clothing, etc.), and since the economic crisis and the resulting tax increase, also petrol and alcohol. Cigarette prices in Greece have also risen significantly. However, cigarettes (not rolling tobacco) are still 20-30 percent cheaper than in Germany. Open tobacco is now significantly more expensive and is only available in very small packs. Sunscreen is extremely expensive. You should definitely bring it with you. You cannot find cheap sunscreen in many shops in Greece, for example at Lidl.
With the introduction of the euro, prices in Greece have shot up dramatically. Taverns are not much more expensive than self-catering from supermarkets. Supermarkets are quite expensive (especially for imported products). However, on some islands such as Crete there are now more German supermarkets such as Lidl, whose price level is almost the same as in Germany and is therefore much lower. The French company Carrefour also operates many supermarkets of different sizes in Greece. Weekly markets in Greece are generally inexpensive, you can find almost everything, including clothing, etc.
Emergency system: Western Union Money Transfer
You can use this system to quickly have cash sent to you from Germany in an emergency. You call a family member or friend in Germany, who will go to a bank in Germany. In Greece you can also go to a bank, travel agency or post office that works with Western Union. Both banks carry out an instant transfer and you usually have cash in just a few minutes. However, the transfer is expensive, with fees amounting to around 5-10% of the transfer amount. The higher the amount, the lower the fees.
The publisher accepts no liability or guarantee of any kind for the content on this page (or for the content on all other pages of this online travel guide).
Do you have feedback, an addition, found an error or a comment? Send us an email to: mail@griechenland-insel.de
Geld in Griechenland (German version)