No cash needed...well maybe a little (Using Google pay/credit card

I’m an Apple Pay guy but I agree it’s so easy. Last time we were in Europe was Amsterdam in April 2019 and almost everywhere we paid contactless. It was to the point there that a lot of the smaller shops didn’t really even have a lot of change for cash in the registers.

I’ve been an adopter of it here in the US whenever I can. There are a few big holdouts here (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Kroger, lots of sit down restaurants) but I’d say I do about 80% of my transactions contactless. Even gas stations are starting to adopt it. I was even able to pay my local water & sewer bills online using it. Much better than typing in all the card data.

It really is just that easy. I mostly use contactless here in the States now, too.

It has been the go to for a few years now, all our debt and credit cards are tap.

This is one of my questions- how much cash do I need I know I need cash for arranged ride from Santorini airport to hotel. And ride to the port to leave to Naxos, hotel has told me this. Buses on Santorini - do I need cash? It appears I do from what I can find. Naxos bus tickets purchased in stores not on bus so I can use card. Do I need to have cash to use toilet? Taxis on santorini or Naxos cash or card? Figuring out the right amount of cash is my issue as I will always take some with me.

Agreed, for years I also have tapped to pay in the U.S. Particularly during the pandemic it has been the only way I pay. (Groceries, gasoline, coffee shop, anywhere really.) As far as Europe, it seems it's the preferred option. I just found it interesting how far we have become "cashless" travelers. That being said, I always have cash because I do not like being without in situations when it's more convenient. As for those places that require cash, make sure you stop by an ATM you trust before hand and withdraw euros. You can always use it, but don't want to have to run to the ATM when you have none. (Some of the smaller apartments/rooms have to pay the extra service charge when credit cards are used so they like having the cash.) We hit Santorini in a few days. I do know it's true some services only accept cash (per the direction of our hotel as well) so we will be prepared. Don't know how much I will need, but I will have a couple hundred euros. We all travel differently, I just like to be prepared to meet the challenge and having fun in the process.

I agree Fred I’m so into the tap and pay 😂
But like you said, Santorini is mostly a cash only zone 😢from what feedback I’ve gotten from the hotel. It will be nice when cash is just outdated. It gets so frustrating with all the fees/change etc…

Thanks for the heads up. I’m looking forward to it too..

We are in Greece now. Yesterday a young couple had to turn around at one of the monasteries in Meteora because they had no cash. We have run into that repeatedly, although cards are accepted more than when we were here than in 2018.

I must admit I love the tap and pay for tolls but be aware there also are numerous unmanned booths where you must have cash.

how much cash do I need I know I need cash for arranged ride from
Santorini airport to hotel

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In Santorini the price of a taxi ride costs between 25 and 35 euros. it can be more depending on the route and if it is at night. Taxi drivers in Greece generally prefer cash.

I don't know how banking transactions are managed with US banks, but for Europeans each cash withdrawal in an ATM is charged 2 to 3 euros in addition to the amount withdrawn

I like cash. Sure it is easy to use tap and pay, but cash is 100% secure and you cannot prov to me that a CC is. Plus, sometimes there are fees for using your card and I also always have to be sure the transaction is carried our in Euros and not a dynamic conversion to dollars. Only in Iceland have I found my money to be a problem.

Can't help it, I am always aware of the % penalty that Visa/Mastercard exacts... from big outfits, it doesn't matter. On small greek islands, at my favorite family-run guesthouses, with 8 - 12 rooms, where the aged Aunt in black dress carefully cleans the rooms, and the manager's mother carefully hangs out the sheets in the sun, so they'll have that sunny scent & wind-blown crispness ... I know that the % matters. Also at the little "super"market down the lane, where the white-haired owner stays open from 7 am - 9pm, helped mainly after school by his 12 year old grandson, where the fresh eggs are in a wicker basket on the counter, and a battered mini-truck drops off the day's veggies & fruits from the farm... that % trims the margin narrower. I realize that card use is more convenient etc etc -- and for all the major outlays of travel -- transportation tickets, big-time meals, major institutions, large hotels -- I tap with all the others of you. Perhaps you travel differently at an upper level, where it doesn't matter. The way I go, "easy" isn't the highest value.

Well said,Janet

Excellent points, Janet. I'll also add that only cash was accepted on the buses in Santorini -- to/ from airport, to Oia, etc.