Waste money to get international driving permit for driving in Greece?

If it is recommended or required it is not a waste of money.

The first source says no need

https://gr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/driving-in-greece/

But the second one seems yes (see Travel and Transportation section)

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Greece.html

If you are worried about the cost of gas to AAA office you may want to rethink a trip to Europe

Since you are going to other countries, get the permit. You never know if you will decide to rent a car, especially in Italy. Not much money in relation to your trip costs. Nor the time to nickel and dime your budget.
If you are absolutely sure you won't drive anywhere else, then it's your choice.

If you are from China and your DL is written in Chinese, you most definitely need an IDP which translates your DL into English for use in the EU. If you are from US or Canada, your DL should is acceptable in most of the EU. I check with my Canadian government travel websites to see if I need an IDP in a particular country. I have also emailed the rental company to confirm. Why spend time or money or carry something that I do not need?

I think Greece no longer requires it if it is from certain countries (including the US). However from other posts you are also going to Italy, and if you intend to drive in Italy, Italy still requires it (408 euro fine if you don't have one). Therefore I would bite the bullet and have it just in case. You might decide to rent a car for a few days while visiting Tuscany and if you don't have it you risk being fined (most rental agencies won't ask you, even in Italy, but the police will if you get pulled over). The $20 + 2 photos + gasoline to AAA is nothing compared to the thousands of $$ you will spend for your trip.

If the US State Dept (as you linked) says you must have one then why wouldn’t you get one. I guess I’m of the age that has found that following the rules has a tendency to make life easier than having to deal with the consequences that may arise if I don’t.

Greece enacted a new law that states IDPs are no longer required, just your local driver's license.

Having said that when I rented a car this fall on Kythira & Aegina they said I didn't need a IDP BUT that doesn't mean some local police officer is aware of it or will even honor it per the local car agency.

For the small amount of money for the IDP it's worth the piece of mind.

Besides you are already spending hundreds if not thousands of euros or dollars to go to Greece and I don't think the small amount of $$ is a "waste of money" for peace of mind.

Waste money to get international driving permit for driving in Greece?

This might be a good question to ask yourself as you sit in a Greek (or an Italian) jail cell after being in a car accident and encountering an unsympathetic police officer. It's your call.

Twenty bucks. (Actually, currently about US$30, including photo, for non-AAA members...I just got a fresh IDP about six weeks ago).

We went to Greece in 2022. Rented two different cars. Both agencies told us that with US license we did not need an international drivers permit.

This past summer we went to Sicily. We had international drivers permit as they are required.

What is the total cost of your trip? You should not be worrying about spending $20 for an IDP which, if you don’t get it, may involve a fine.

hey hey jyung
is $20 a waste of money to you? with how much this trip is costing you, it sure isn't a waste of money. just get it. you don't mention where you're flying from USA or another country, you can go to AAA.com under travel click IDP. 2 ways to get permit (in person or fill application and mail in, which will take longer, cost more for fedex, ups, usps to be sent back.)
how much will the gas cost you to the AAA office? you will need an IDP in italy, another place you're going. it's good for one year.
greece may say you don't need one but the car rental company may ask you for it, things have changed in the past couple years.
friends didn't have an IDP when renting their car and rental counter asked for it, they were denied the car.
why have headaches when $20 + gas will give you piece of mind.
aloha

why have headaches when $20 + gas will give you piece of mind.

Amen! Much better to have it and not need it, than the other way around which will cost a lot more than $20 + gas. And to anyone wondering if they should or should not get an IDP, I would say "skip a couple or three lattes at your local coffee house and you'll save enough to pay for the peace of mind".

While I agree for Italy it is better to just suck up the $20 and get one
For Greece there is zero need to do this. A law was passed that US Driver's License is fine.

For a few months there may have been some rogue locations not aware of this but enough time has passed by now that I would not worry about it all.
I think the IDP is a joke. Have gotten one from a AAA office on 5 different occasions now (because I would rather be safe than sorry) and logged thousands of miles driven with rentals in Italy and never once asked to show my IDP.

To be clear it is not the actual policy I think is a joke, I think that has the potential to make sense ; it is the physical document itself. There is no actual translation on it and the piece of paper could be forged much easier than any state license.

It also only lasting 12 months is a pure money grab rather than it being valid for the length of time as your actual license.