Money in Greece by Tom Mazarakis

1. There is absolutely no limit of the amount of US cash $ which you are allowed to bring with you as far as Greece is concerned. The drachma is now gone. The Greeks use Euros which is like a dollar give or take about 10% depending upon when you are reading this and what is happening with the economy. But whatever it is, it's easier than dealing with drachma

2. There is a limit of how much US cash $ you can take back out with you when you leave. That limit is $500. Therefore if you carry $1,000 with you and spend at least $500 you will be fine. This limit though can be voided if you want to go to the trouble of declaring how much cash you have with you when you arrive at Athens airport. As soon as you go through passport control you will see a sign which will read "Foreign Currency Declarations". Go there and simply show the official all your cash. He will then issue to you a certificate for that amount which you should have with you when you leave Greece.

Of course all this is pretty much academic since no tourist has ever been hastled. Tourism is the number 1 industry here in Greece and so the government and its officials try to make things as easy as possible for all "real" tourists, especialy for Americans. The only times they apply the restrictions is when the traveler is either a Greek citizen or is a person of Greek origin (such as myself). For example you will probably notice that when you and your friends will go through customs the Greek customs officials will surely tell you to just go through without a second look or thought. In the mean time, they will be searching through the luggage of those passengers who are obviously of Greek origin. Every time I go through customs they search my luggage with a fine toothed comb. (Obviously I look like a Greek).

I hope this information will be of some help to you.

I can also supply you with your own personal cell phone to use during your visit to Greece. See www.greecetravel.com/phones
Regards from Athens Greece.

Tom Mazarakis