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Greece Tour - any problems due to the Euro crisis in Greece?

I was hoping that anybody who is on the RS Greece tour or has completed it during this economic crisis might report what, if any, problems they encountered while on the trip that can be blamed on the current problems in Greece.

I have to assume that with the tour paying for the hotel, breakfast and 1/2 the dinners, that not too much extra cash is needed as compared to traveling on one's own. Still, there are souvenirs to purchase, meals on our own, off-tour activicities and the occasional splurge.

Posted by
2092 posts

Keep in mind that things can change by the hour or at least the day. During our tour from May 24-June 7 we didn't have any problems but we also never tried to use an ATM. Normally we just use ATMs in Europe since that's the least expensive way to buy Euro but for our Greece trip we each took €1,000 which I ordered through Wells Fargo and kept in our money belts. We only used about €900 on food and many gifts so it was much more than what we needed.
The latest I heard though was that tourists don't have a limit on how much they can withdraw from ATMs but I wouldn't be surprised if all the ATMs were empty by now.

Posted by
439 posts

Tripadvisor has a forum going on this topic.

Posted by
8322 posts

Just take a pocket full of Euros if you're visiting Greece. You never know if Euros are going to be available at all when you get there. Presently, Greeks are limited to 60 Euros per day withdrawals on their ATM's. Things are not looking good for the country.

If someone hasn't booked a trip to Greece already, I would be going elsewhere until this political solution gets settled.

It's all To Be Continued. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Posted by
378 posts

We're finishing the tour tomorrow. Like you, I thought we wouldn't need as much money since the economy is floundering. However, even with half the dinners and lunches covered, we still spent a bit. Figure aporox 7-10 euros per person for a cheap dinner ( including drinks), but on the beach in Hydra we spent 30 (only taverna around), and some other places were as much. And of course you'll want souvenirs and such. Almost NO ONE accepts credit cards, so bring plenty of euros. We've had no problems getting cash from the ATMs, although one lady from Australia got a travel warning from her govt advising travelers to not rely on Greek banks. We are off to the islands tomorrow for another week, which means we'll be here after tomorrow's vote. Not so worried because any change will take a while to work out. Bring a swim suit (all the hotels gave us beach towels), loose fitting clothes for the wonderful Greek food, and good walking shoes. This IS a strenuous tour. Have fun, we did! The sights are amazing and the people are friendly.

Posted by
10 posts

Thanks for info. Now that there was a NO vote, it will be interesting to see how it shakes out. I usually count on getting money from ATM machines, but this time was planning to have enough with me before hitting Athens, but it is good to know that no one accepts credit/debit cards, makes sense if you think about it. Even if they have their own currency, I suspect people would be willing to accept Euros and/or dollars. I am keeping fingers crossed that things will be a bit more stable for the late September tour. I will keep an eye on this forum for developing information from the ground. Thanks all for the info.

Posted by
16895 posts

Since no Greece tours are running now through the end of August, the independent travelers will be the most likely to report any news.

Posted by
193 posts

My sister was in Crete today and posted pictures. Looked beautiful and plenty of people walking around eating gelato like no problems going on whatsoever. Tomorrow they arrive in Athens and then start another 7-day cruise that has five Greece ports and ends in Istanbul. They started in Barcelona and her pictures have been beautiful and her posts indicate all is well - but it's very HOT!!! They took lots of euros & American $$ just to be safe. I'll be watching closely to see what she has to say about all the Greece ports. She and her husband are traveling with their two little ones (age 6 & 3) and we've loved seeing the kids in all the fabulous ports! The kids have no idea how lucky they are and think it's a cool field trip :)