Holidaying in Greece - any thoughts about how the crisis will change things ?

I know, my bank limits ATM withdrawals to £300/day. Tend not to use ATMs over there unless in dire need of cash - we take a decent quantity of local and sterling folding rther than rely on the sometimes dubious electrical system there (although we didn't have any power cuts this time, we often do go through some outages - nothing to do with the ongoing "crisis", just iffy distribution network!)
 
Nod said:
So is mine but only for its monetary value, not it's sentimental value (it was Mum's wedding present to Dad so irreplaceable.) I wear a relatively cheap Citizen on holiday.



Rumours that ATMs would run dry were much exaggerated, although there was apparently a €300/day limit at some.



Yes!



They saw you coming! On the Old Harbour in Chania, Crete (very touristy but an excellent place to people watch!), we paid just under €30 for Saturday's dinner including plonk etc. Had fish yesterday for lunch and supper - both dishes were under €10.

Didn't see any more beggars than we did 15+ years ago and many of those are (and were) war widows rather than immigrants. Don't believe what the press are saying, very little of it is based on more than rumour.
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People like yourself and me who are very familiar with the country know these things. People who see an article in the Express with a couple of sensationalised photos and a soundbite from an 'appalled' British tourist don't unfortunately.
 
It should be pointed out that "Fish'n'Chips" there is unlikely to be a) cod or haddock and b) battered (unless in Malia where the roads should be rolled at 9am every day then the remains hosed down the gutters...)

We did notice a few closed bars and tavernas that were open last September but very few (if any) of the good ones have gone under and there's certainly no shortage of good eateries!
 
Thanks for the continued replies - if seems that taking both euros and pounds is the way to go, and as for camera gear maybe I'll just take one lens with my Olympus EM1 which would be good discipline as well as making my bag lighter. Good news today about the bailout as well!
 
Came back from Crete about a fortnight ago. Had a lovely time. Felt the safest there I have out off all other countries I've been. Had no reservations about carrying £2000+ of camera gear on full display. We just took plenty of euros with us to be honest and managed fine. Enjoy yourselves!
 
Receptionist returned from Corfu today. She said they'd been warned that cash machines could be turned off in the near future. I'm sure having cash will be effective.
 
The advice to tourists is "take lots of cash". But that advisory comes from the institute of Greek muggers. "we're doing everything to help our economy" said their spokesman.
 
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Credit for that goes to "Mock the Week". Although it was the Greeks that were hoping to get the credit.
 
where the hell did i put those leftover drachma notes ,looks like they could come in handy ,i do remember as a frequent visitor to greece when they went into the euro ,a cup of coffee in a cafe used to equal out to between 20p to 50p per cup and overnight the euro pushed it to 2 euros per cup ,only once back to greece under the euro was enough ,the turkish lira went the same way when they devalued it .i can remember buying half a dozen rolls and a pint of milk for breakfast and it working out to 7and a half pence ,couldn't believe it ,now its we only take euros they seem to have forgotten there own currency .rum old world init
 
Advise is simply take more cash, some insurance companies are upping there cash covered limits to cover Greece.
 
So Greece has now failed to pay the IMF back so is now in "arrears"
 
Keith W said:
So Greece has now failed to pay the IMF back so is now in "arrears"
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Will they send in the bailiffs to "reposses" a small island or two?
 
Cobra said:
Will they send in the bailiffs to "reposses" a small island or two?
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Ooooh that would be great !

get the RAF to pop a little airport on it.
 
Keith W said:
So Greece has now failed to pay the IMF back so is now in "arrears"
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oh that wasn't expected, no not at all, they want it all, chuck em out...
 
stevewestern said:
Yeah, but what about my holiday in a couple of weeks..?
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They were saying on the radio earlier that foreign bank cards will have no problem drawing money out, but. Take cash, money talks and all that. Personally if it were me, I'd go and enjoy myself
 
stevewestern said:
Yeah, but what about my holiday in a couple of weeks..?
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Assuming the country hasn't erupted into civil war :whistle: , I'd take cash/travelers cheques with you in case capital controls are still in place.
 
Cobra said:
They were saying on the radio earlier that foreign bank cards will have no problem drawing money out, but. Take cash, money talks and all that. Personally if it were me, I'd go and enjoy myself
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I intend to Cobra, however my wife is stressing big time about things like airports and hospitals.
Maybe I should take you instead..?
 
stevewestern said:
Maybe I should take you instead..?
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your kind offer is accepted :D
yes I can understand her reservations, but what are the odds on you needing a hospital? As for flights there are worse places to be stranded. But let's face it the British government will pull you out, like they normally do ... Eventually
 
stevewestern said:
I intend to Cobra, however my wife is stressing big time about things like airports and hospitals.
Maybe I should take you instead..?
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I should think you'll be fine. Whatever the result of the referendum, I doubt the country will implode overnight.

But DO make sure you have adequate travel insurance just in case. Always prepare for the worst, so you don't have to worry.
 
Cobra said:
your kind offer is accepted :D
yes I can understand her reservations, but what are the odds on you needing a hospital? As for flights there are worse places to be stranded. But let's face it the British government will pull you out, like they normally do ... Eventually
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The odds of needing a hospital are higher than for many as almost every time we go away she gets ill... One time she (a nurse) spend a few minutes teaching me how to make a hole in her throat when she was almost unable to breath - I waited with bic biro poised wondering just how hard one had to push to make a hole without pinning her to the floor. Thankfully I have yet to find out !
 
Oh dear! I didn't realise that, and her reservations are more understandable now. One would hope that hospitals would continue to stay open. After all they aren't paying Europe back so you would hope they still have a few quid for essential services ;)
 
Cobra said:
One would hope that hospitals would continue to stay open. After all they aren't paying Europe back so you would hope they still have a few quid for essential services ;)
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Hold on old chap - what makes you think my wife is an essential service..?
 
Purely guessing, but you may notice hard cash, particularly stable currencies (like sterling supposedly) become worth more then their face value, and you're able to negotiate a better deal by paying in them.
 
the foreign office were advising against travellers cheques as you might not be able to cash them .
 
stevewestern said:
Hold on old chap - what makes you think my wife is an essential service..?
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OUCH! I hope she is not reading over your shoulder or you will be going on your own :D
 
boyfalldown said:
Purely guessing, but you may notice hard cash, particularly stable currencies (like sterling supposedly) become worth more then their face value, and you're able to negotiate a better deal by paying in them.
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Sounds like a good idea, but the thought of negotiating when the poor bu**ers can't even get their own cash from a bank would feel a little hard-faced, and remember it is me we are discussing, not my wife..
 
boyfalldown said:
Purely guessing, but you may notice hard cash, particularly stable currencies (like sterling supposedly) become worth more then their face value, and you're able to negotiate a better deal by paying in them.
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True, although that would probably work better when paying for something expensive (like your hotel) or changing money at bureau etc.
Not sure I'd want to be haggling over the sterling price of a cup of coffee.

Oh, and I remember the Greeks have a strange obsession with Nescafe - especially as an iced drink. Quite why bad coffee is a fad is beyond me, but when I was in Athens it was everywhere, spinning around in those little machines (a bit like a slush puppy). Blurgh.
 
stevewestern said:
The odds of needing a hospital are higher than for many as almost every time we go away she gets ill... One time she (a nurse) spend a few minutes teaching me how to make a hole in her throat when she was almost unable to breath - I waited with bic biro poised wondering just how hard one had to push to make a hole without pinning her to the floor. Thankfully I have yet to find out !
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Although we've been lucky enough to never have needed hospitalisation in Greece, we understand that the public hospitals are best avoided - use private clinics instead but make sure your holiday insurance covers the potential expense (and be aware that pre existing conditions [guessing that MrsWestern may have allergy problems] need to be notified to the insurers...) Take any medicines that you might need along with prescriptions if necessary. Be aware that some OTC meds available here are banned over there, Nurofen Plus being a prime example due to the codeine it contains.

boyfalldown said:
Purely guessing, but you may notice hard cash, particularly stable currencies (like sterling supposedly) become worth more then their face value, and you're able to negotiate a better deal by paying in them.
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Up to now, we've never got more than face value for Sterling but it is possible to avoid the commission charge involved in changing it to € if you pay some bills (car hire, hotels etc.) with it (but check with the relevant hotel/car hire place before relying on it!)

Llamaman said:
True, although that would probably work better when paying for something expensive (like your hotel) or changing money at bureau etc.
Not sure I'd want to be haggling over the sterling price of a cup of coffee.

Oh, and I remember the Greeks have a strange obsession with Nescafe - especially as an iced drink. Quite why bad coffee is a fad is beyond me, but when I was in Athens it was everywhere, spinning around in those little machines (a bit like a slush puppy). Blurgh.
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Mmmmmmm - frappée! "Metrio, horis gala!"
 
Nod said:
Up to now, we've never got more than face value for Sterling but it is possible to avoid the commission charge involved in changing it to € if you pay some bills (car hire, hotels etc.) with it (but check with the relevant hotel/car hire place before relying on
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I was thinking back to what Turkey was like before they introduced the new lira. It was far easier to bargain in pounds or dollars because they were seen as a good hedge against inflation.

I'm guessing that should Greece be forced from the Euro they'll be some fairly hefty inflation and more stable currencies will be seen as a hedge, hence more bargaining power
 
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