1. Keep your purses strap over your head and keep a hand on it in a busy place.
2. If you are at a restaurant in a busy outdoor café, keep your purse wrapped around your chair or on your shoulder.
3. Put your wallet and phone in your front pockets and keep a hand on them in busy places.
4. If you see a disruption, it may be a pick pocket team, just ignore it instead of being distracted.
5. Your passport serves as your ID in Greece, so we usually keep them on us and ensure they are safeguarded.
6. We usually put extra cash in the hotel safe, so in case there is an incident, you won’t lose everything.  There are stories of safes being broken into, but it almost never happens.
7. While we are in busy areas during arrival and departures, I wear a money belt (available on Amazon for about $10) under my shirt if carrying a lot of cash. 
8. You won’t need a lot of cash since credit cards are accepted almost anywhere except for some local restaurants.  If you need more cash during your trip, visit an ATM.

It is good to have a copy of your passport and credit cards to cover the worst case scenario of losing your phone wallet and credit cards.  You can carry a paper copy in your luggage or just take a picture and send it to someone you trust at home or store it in a secure digital space.  

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Credit Cards

Credit cards and Debit Cards are accepted just about everywhere in Greece including cabs, restaurants, and all hotels.

Important Note: You should bring a few different credit cards if you have them. I have run into vendors at times that fail to accept my card and I will switch to another one.

If you want to save money while using credit cards follow the tips below;

1. Ensure that you have a debit/credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Most cards do have them and they can be as high as 3%. I always recommend Capital One cards since most of their cards have no foreign transaction fees. CITI, Chase, and many others often charge fees. To see if your card has these fees, just put your full credit card name into Google with the phrase “foreign transaction fees”, and you will get a quick answer (i.e. “Citi Double Cash credit card foreign transaction fees”).
2. If you are asked by the merchant whether to charge in Euros or Dollars, always select Euros since there are additional fees if you charge in dollars.
3. I would leave the Discover card and the AMEX at home, Discover is almost never accepted and the Amex is not accepted at several places due to the high fees.

Cash

You will also need a little cash for some purchases, I usually start with 200 to 300 Euros, which you can get at AAA before you leave if you are a member. There are also many currency exchange booths at the airports however, their fees can be a bit high, so if using these, be sure you limit your transactions. You should be able to use your ATM card in most parts of the country (see below).

ATM Cards

Using these to get cash is much better than getting cash at currency exchange booths. I would recommend bringing your ATM/Debit card which most likely can be used at most ATMs in Greece. This will also give you a fair exchange rate without erroneous fees. This is the most economical way to get cash while in Greece.

Just like in the US, try to use bank ATMS versus those in the corner of a convenience store, since those will have their own high fees.  

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Don’t worry about speaking the language, almost all Greek people in the tourist areas speak English. And certainly don’t worry about reading it, since most important things are posted in Greek and English. But if you want a few phrases they are listed below. Be aware that the Greek word for “yes” is Neh which sounds like no.

Do you speak English    Me-las an-glee-ka

Hello  Ya-sue  oe  Ya        Formal – Yas-oss

Good Morning – Ka-lee-ME-ra
Good Afternoon/evening  Ka-lee-SPER-a
Good Night – Kali-nict-ya

Please – Par-aka-LOH

Thank You – Ef-caree-STO

Yes – Neh

No – OH-key

Sorry – Sig-no-me

Excuse Me – Me see-ho-rae-te     or  Me see-ho-race

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