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Cash
As a rule: cash rules. Greeks like cash money and my personal
guess is that they like it for tax reasons. It's difficult to
trace. Since there is very little crime in Greece carrying
cash is not particularly dangerous. I always carry a few
hundred Euros when I travel around. You never know where the
next working ATM is and if there is one at all at your
destination.
ATM
The number got up big time. At this stage you'll find an ATM
in every small town. They have a tendency to break down on
Friday evening and they will only get fixed the Monday after.
Never rely on them too much. In remote villages the next ATM
can be 30 or more kilometres away. Always keep a sufficient
amount of cash as backup. ATMs accept most credit cards and
debit cards.
Traveller cheques
They are safe but you pay fees for buying them and selling
them. The fee is pretty low in Greece. The last time I cashed
a traveller cheque it was 2%. You can cash them in hotels,
travel agencies and car rentals. I suggest sticking with well
known brands like American Express, Visa and Thomas Cook. You
might run into trouble otherwise.
Credit Cards
In hotels, car rentals and touristy
places you get away with them but generally credit cards are
not very popular with Greeks. Most places will not accept
them.
Prices
Although Greece got quite expensive since the Euro was
introduced it still is reasonable. Most of the fun stuff is
still cheap while daily life products like shampoo and sun
screen are dear. To be honest, as a tourist you live on the
sunny side.
Booze and smokes are cheap, eating out is sometimes cheaper
than buying the stuff in the supermarket and for a short stay
that is pretty much all you need. Living in Greece is a
different story. The good news is that supermarkets like LIDL
and ALDI started to discover Greece as a market and if you do
your shopping there its OK. Another good place to buy are
markets. I wouldn't buy my Armani there but if you are OK
with cheap stuff that last for only so long these for example
flea markets are just fine.
Also from us is an arcticle about
prices in Venice, a city which is much more
expensive than Greece.
Emergency: Western Union Money Transfer
Western Union works in
Greece just as well as it does in the rest of the world. It
is expensive but quick. Most banks, travel agencies and post
offices offer the service.
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