Money in Greece: currency, ATMs, cards and tipping

Greece has used the euro since 2002, so there is no exchange-rate puzzle for travellers arriving from another euro country and no dual pricing to watch. Prices are quoted in euros, including the small ones: a gyros pita at €3.50–5, a freddo espresso at €2.50–4.50.

The practical question is not which currency but how much cash to carry. Card acceptance has widened a lot, and many businesses are required to have a card terminal, but Greece still runs on small transactions: a kiosk selling water, a sunbed pair on a beach, a family taverna on a quiet island. Those are the places where a €20 note saves a walk to the next village.

Treat card as your default and cash as your backup. Hotels, apartment rentals, ferry companies, supermarkets, pharmacies and most city restaurants take cards without comment. In Athens and Thessaloniki you can go days without touching a note. On the islands, acceptance thins out with the size of the business, not the size of the island: a Naxos beach bar may take cards while a four-table grill in the hills does not.

Keep a €20 and a €50 note plus coins. Coins matter more than visitors expect — buses, some kiosks and small bakeries prefer exact change, and a €50 note for a €3.50 coffee is a bad start. If you are heading to a quiet island, withdraw enough for two or three days before you leave the mainland or the main town.

Two rules save money on every card transaction. At an ATM, if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline and choose euros; the machine's rate is worse than your bank's. At a card terminal, if the staff ask whether you want to pay in dollars or pounds, say euros. This is the single most common avoidable cost on a Greek trip.

Bank ATMs are common in cities, ports and larger island towns, and rare in small villages and on remote beaches. Withdraw during the day in a busy, well-lit spot. If a machine refuses your card, it is usually the machine or the network, not your account — try the next bank.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere cards are taken. American Express is much less useful. Debit cards work at ATMs; credit cards often carry a cash-advance fee and interest from the day of withdrawal, so use debit for cash. Contactless is standard, and phone wallets work wherever contactless does.

Budget for two layers of cost: your own bank's foreign-transaction or withdrawal fee, and any local fee the Greek bank adds. A no-foreign-fee card removes the first. The second varies by bank and machine and is shown on screen before you confirm — read it, then decide.