Travelling to Greece - am I mad

Nodge1965

Hi - checking to see if anyone has come back from Mykonos in the last few days - heading there next week and want to get a feel for what to expect on the ground.
Thanks

josephineperry

Well, a friend of mine has been to Greece several times and she loved it. She liked it so much that she is planning to go again this summer....well, that's all I can say, I haven't been there myself

munchkin_utd

josephineperry wrote: »

Well, a friend of mine has been to Greece several times and she loved it. She liked it so much that she is planning to go again this summer....well, that's all I can say, I haven't been there myself

errr, I think the question is more tended towards current affairs, i.e. how is it working with no functioning banks

I'd say you'd want to bring cash with you rather than rely on machines over there.
Indeed, foreigners can withdraw cash, but only if the machines have cash in them which might be an issue if everyone is withdrawing as much as they can from machines

Nodge1965

I contacted dEP OF Foreign Affairs but their response was quite Vanilla and I wanted to hear from real people

mahoganygas

My advice is to bring a good chunk of cash, but also be very vigilant.

Pickpocketers will be well aware that tourists are carrying large amounts of cash on them.

fricatus

The Greek tourism minister was on Morning Ireland this morning, and confirmed that foreigners will be able to withdraw as much cash as their bank normally allows at home. There's probably no need to bring a big wad over on the plane to cover the two weeks - you're more likely to be a target for thieves that way.

Having said that, one earlier poster did mention that ATMs might be more likely to run out of cash more often because everyone is trying to take out their daily allocation, and I guess that can't be ruled out.

She also said that tourists can just pay with debit or credit cards in restaurants etc.

There was a question about whether restaurants would run out of supplies of meat, etc. due to an inability to pay. However the capital controls only cover physical withdrawals of cash (presumably so that whole accounts can't be emptied and the proceeds brought outside the country in an envelope) and foreign payments. There is no restriction on electronic payments between parties in Greece at present - which makes sense as the aim of capital controls is to keep money in the country, not to seize up the economy. Therefore restaurants should still be able to pay suppliers, as long as they themselves keep the money rolling in.

Nodge1965

Thanks - fricatus
I have been keeping an ear on as much media as |i could but missed the Minister. I'm always slow to believe anything a politician with his back against the wall. Roll on Sunday night

DoYouEvenLift

Heard people elsewhere suggest people visiting Greece now to bring US dollars with them, can anyone explain this?

Nodge1965

thanks - not sure I follow the logic of dollars but am prepared to try anything.

mahoganygas

USD is seen as a very safe currency.
Many travelers to south america are advised to carry USD in case there are any shocks to the local currency during their stay.
USD will almost always be accepted when a local currency is in distress.

Nodge1965

Thanks - will probably sow a few dollars into everbodies underwear - just in case !

coylemj

fricatus wrote: »

The Greek tourism minister was on Morning Ireland this morning, and confirmed that foreigners will be able to withdraw as much cash as their bank normally allows at home. There's probably no need to bring a big wad over on the plane to cover the two weeks - you're more likely to be a target for thieves that way.

How are the thieves going to know how much money is in your wallet? You'll be a target simply because you're a foreigner.

The Greek banking system is going to run out of money very soon, it won't matter where you got your ATM card, there simply won't be any cash left.

Atlantic Dawn

Bring Euro's you will be fine, if I was going for a week I would bring €700 in cash, will be plenty should you run in to problems to sustain yourself and get home. You can always withdraw more when you are there.

Nodge1965

Thanks

mdebets

You should be fine as a tourist on the islands. I've just come back on Monday (first day of the capital control) from Rhodes to Athens and it was much calmer there then in Athens.
As you are traveling after the referendum it's really hard to say how the situation will be, but I wouldn't expecting any sort of trouble (but then I wasn't expecting anything like the referendum just two weeks ago).
You should definitely keep an eye on the news tomorrow evening and Monday, to see what the referendum brings.
You should definitely bring your credit card and cash (Euro should be fine, can't really see the need for US$), but make sure to bring small notes and more change than you would normally bring. One of the problems at the moment is that some shops run out of change, as anyone pays with the 50€ note they get from the ATM. Theoretically, you should be able to withdraw whatever you can withdraw from your account, but this isn't any good if the ATM is empty.
If you plan to travel by ferry, look out for a possible ferry strike that was supposed to take place last Tuesday, but was postponed for the referendum.

Cooperspale

No, go ahead, just back last week from a few weeks island hopping and Athens.
Bring cash. Euros fine.

The islands are much less affected by the economic woes of the mainland. They'll be delighted you're visiting. Mykonos is one of the more expensive islands but it's not outrageous.
You should still be able to find places doing chicken/pork pita for 2 euro and espresso freddos for 1.50-3 euro tops
It was cheapest holiday I've been on in years.

As for pickpockets, it's unlikely on the islands. Just practise the usual precautions against theft. I used the metro a lot in Athens & never saw anything untoward. I had been warned it was worse than Barcelona (where I have witnessed pickpockets) but it was a breeze in comparison. Main thing I noticed about Athens was a lot of people just hanging around because they've nothing to do.

BoatMad

mahoganygas wrote: »

USD is seen as a very safe currency.
Many travelers to south america are advised to carry USD in case there are any shocks to the local currency during their stay.
USD will almost always be accepted when a local currency is in distress.

Err, the euro is the local currency and it's nowhere in " distress " , in fact the Greeks will love you to have euro cash. They are likely to prefer it more then dollars IMHO

gaiscioch

I can't see any reduction in prices for Greek holidays as a result of the current crisis. Anybody know if there are any, and where they can be found?

BoatMad

gaiscioch wrote: »

I can't see any reduction in prices for Greek holidays as a result of the current crisis. Anybody know if there are any, and where they can be found?

I think the Greeks are running close to full occupancy , why would they'd be discounts. ?

keithclancy

gaiscioch wrote: »

I can't see any reduction in prices for Greek holidays as a result of the current crisis. Anybody know if there are any, and where they can be found?

That's a common misconception, like the people thought there would be great deals to Iceland when it went tits up.

Nodge1965

Thanks all - I actually managed to speak to some people on Mykonos on Sunday and they said that the islands were somewhat removed from things. I spoke with an Australian who had been island hopping and he said that unless you were watching the news that things were pretty normal. Same advice - bring cash. Owner of the apartment we are going to has full occupancy - so much so that she fecked up our accommodation for our first evening but reassured us that she would sort us out

katydid

mahoganygas wrote: »

USD is seen as a very safe currency.
Many travelers to south america are advised to carry USD in case there are any shocks to the local currency during their stay.
USD will almost always be accepted when a local currency is in distress.

I'm not sure it's quite got to the stage of accepting dollars there. Countries in S. America are used to it, but not European countries.

katydid

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Bring Euro's you will be fine, if I was going for a week I would bring €700 in cash, will be plenty should you run in to problems to sustain yourself and get home. You can always withdraw more when you are there.

A hundred euros a day is a good bet, but I certainly wouldn't be too blasé about being able to withdraw money.

Qualitymark

With Greek banks running short of cash, it seems rather mean for foreigners to withdraw money when they could bring it with them?

fricatus

Qualitymark wrote: »

With Greek banks running short of cash, it seems rather mean for foreigners to withdraw money when they could bring it with them?

Quite the opposite. If a foreigner takes out €50 and spends it in a bar or restaurant, now the proprietor can pay staff and suppliers with that. They can go to the supermarket and buy their groceries. Now the supermarket can pay its staff... and so on, and so on.

These businesses lodge their takings in the banks and the notes can go back into the ATM. It's what the Greek economy needs more than anything.

Qualitymark

fricatus wrote: »

Quite the opposite. If a foreigner takes out €50 and spends it in a bar or restaurant, now the proprietor can pay staff and suppliers with that. They can go to the supermarket and buy their groceries. Now the supermarket can pay its staff... and so on, and so on.

These businesses lodge their takings in the banks and the notes can go back into the ATM. It's what the Greek economy needs more than anything.

Good point. But if a foreigner brings that €50 in as cash and it goes through the same journey from restaurant to staff to suppliers to supermarket to bank, isn't it even better?

fricatus

fricatus wrote: »

Quite the opposite. If a foreigner takes out €50 and spends it in a bar or restaurant, now the proprietor can pay staff and suppliers with that. They can go to the supermarket and buy their groceries. Now the supermarket can pay its staff... and so on, and so on.

These businesses lodge their takings in the banks and the notes can go back into the ATM. It's what the Greek economy needs more than anything.

Very much doubt the Greeks will LODGE their money in the banks!! Especially when they can't access it then (apart from 60E a day)!! The banking system is not functioning in Greece right now!

katydid

fricatus wrote: »

Quite the opposite. If a foreigner takes out €50 and spends it in a bar or restaurant, now the proprietor can pay staff and suppliers with that. They can go to the supermarket and buy their groceries. Now the supermarket can pay its staff... and so on, and so on.

These businesses lodge their takings in the banks and the notes can go back into the ATM. It's what the Greek economy needs more than anything.

Businesses lodging their money in the bank? You must be joking...

fricatus

Deleted User wrote: »

Very much doubt the Greeks will LODGE their money in the banks!! Especially when they can't access it then (apart from 60E a day)!! The banking system is not functioning in Greece right now!

katydid wrote: »

Businesses lodging their money in the bank? You must be joking...

So what does your local Lidl in Athens do at the end of the day when they've €20k in takings on the premises?

It's a serious question. I don't know to that extent what's going on in Greece, but I would very much doubt that larger businesses are not lodging the cash. They presumably pay their suppliers electronically (there is no limit on electronic payments between Greek bank accounts). Or does a man drive out to the fruit supplier with a suitcase full of cash now?

As regards smaller businesses like small shops, bars and restaurants, yeah, they may well be holding onto the cash under the mattress.

katydid

fricatus wrote: »

So what does your local Lidl in Athens do at the end of the day when they've €20k in takings on the premises?

It's a serious question. I don't know to that extent what's going on in Greece, but I would very much doubt that larger businesses are not lodging the cash. They presumably pay their suppliers electronically (there is no limit on electronic payments between Greek bank accounts). Or does a man drive out to the fruit supplier with a suitcase full of cash now?

As regards smaller businesses like small shops, bars and restaurants, yeah, they may well be holding onto the cash under the mattress.

No doubt some of the big businesses will lodge money somehow.

I'm talking about the small businesses; the restaurants, the shops etc. No way are they going to lodge money, they need to keep cash to pay their suppliers, their staff wages etc. When I was there a month ago, it was almost impossible to pay anywhere by credit card, they all wanted cash, and they certainly didn't want it so they could lodge it in a bank...

fricatus

fricatus wrote: »

So what does your local Lidl in Athens do at the end of the day when they've €20k in takings on the premises?

It's a serious question. I don't know to that extent what's going on in Greece, but I would very much doubt that larger businesses are not lodging the cash. They presumably pay their suppliers electronically (there is no limit on electronic payments between Greek bank accounts). Or does a man drive out to the fruit supplier with a suitcase full of cash now?

As regards smaller businesses like small shops, bars and restaurants, yeah, they may well be holding onto the cash under the mattress.

Assumed we were talking about small businesses???
Restaurants, bars, shops ?? Not Aldi!!