Greece Currency and Money Guide

The short version

Greece uses the euro. Cards work in most places a visitor goes, cash still matters in villages, on small islands and at family tavernas, and the rules that can actually cost you money are about paperwork rather than exchange rates. We publish no rate, no price and no average daily budget: nothing we cite gives them, and a figure carried over from last year is worse than none.

Declare 10,000 euros or more at the border

This is the one money figure in the official guidance and it is worth getting right. If you are carrying cash or traveler's checks with a value of 10,000 euros or more, declare it at your point of entry into Greece. The customs authority will give you the declaration forms. Ask for a certified copy and keep it, because without it your money can be seized when you leave. The threshold counts the whole amount you are carrying, not the largest single note or a per-person share you have assumed.

You are entitled to an itemized bill

By law, restaurants in Greece must provide an itemized bill, and you should get a receipt for any goods or services you buy. This is a consumer protection rather than a formality, and it is the simplest answer to a disputed total: ask for the itemized bill, quietly, before the conversation becomes an argument.

Cards, cash and the small island problem

Treat cards as the default and cash as the fallback you do not want to need at the wrong moment. Take out money before you leave a large town for a small island, keep the notes in more than one place, and remember the FCDO's plain finding that theft of wallets and handbags is common on the Athens metro and in crowded tourist places. Our travel safety guide covers that properly.

The first insurance gap: healthcare

This is where an unprepared traveler meets a real bill. If you are uninsured in Greece you may not be able to get treatment or diagnostic tests from private doctors at all, only from public hospitals and primary healthcare centers. Prescriptions for uninsured people are dispensed only from hospital pharmacies and from pharmacies registered with the national health services organization, EOPYY.

British travelers additionally hold a Global Health Insurance Card or European Health Insurance Card, which covers medically necessary state healthcare. That is a UK arrangement and is not a substitute for travel insurance even for the people who have one: it does not cover medical repatriation, private clinics, treatment ruled non-urgent, or changes to travel and accommodation. If you are traveling on a US passport, insurance is the whole of your cover, and it is worth reading what it says about evacuation before you need to.

The second insurance gap: quad bikes and mopeds

Insurance sold by a hire company usually provides third-party cover only. The company will charge you for damage to the rental vehicle, and you can face arrest if you do not pay. Quad biking is defined as an extreme sport and is excluded from many travel policies altogether, so cover for an incident on one has to be arranged deliberately. Read the details before you sign, not after.

Bringing medicine, which is a money question too

Greek pharmacies are well stocked, but dispensing rules for some medicines, including antibiotics, are strict. Bring your own prescription medicines, keep them in the original container with the label, and carry a doctor's letter stating the quantity you need for the stay. The name on the prescription must match the name on your passport. Replacing a prescription abroad is slower and more expensive than packing it.

Read this with visa and entry requirements and the food guide.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Greece entry requirements: Schengen area rules, visa-free stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, the two passport validity tests, and the 10,000 euro cash declaration. Accessed 15 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Greece safety and security: terrorism, strikes and demonstrations, theft on the Athens metro, water safety, road rules, wildfires and earthquakes. Accessed 15 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Greece health: the emergency numbers, vaccine timing, prescription medicine rules, and healthcare that is good on the mainland and limited on some islands. Accessed 15 September 2026.