US dollars or Euros in Italy and Greece

[SusieCruiser2]

We are soon leaving for Italy and Greece ports and I intend to get some Euros from my bank before leaving home. But recently a friend told me that US dollars are widely accepted in Europe. That didn't sound right to me.

 

Does anyone have recent experience with which currencies are accepted in Italy and Greece.

 

Thanks for your help.

[steamboats]

Sorry, Susie, no one will take your US Dollars in Europe. Both, Italy and Greece, will only accept Euro.

 

steamboats

[Tiggertastic]

You definitely need to get euros. I'm not sure where your friend has been but we visit a couple of times a year and found only euros are taken. You can use a credit card too.

 

 

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Edited September 5, 2016 by Tiggertastic

[thinfool]

Experienced travelers know that you get the best bang for your buck with either local currency or a credit card. And the best currency exchange rates will happen if you use your ATM card at a bank ATM in the countries that you visit. Those ATM's only dispense local currency.

 

This is not to say that you won't find a merchant who will take your USD...but that merchant will be sure that the exchange rate that he offers will be wayyyy in his favor.

Edited September 5, 2016 by thinfool

[gennadi]

I can confirm that all transactions in Italy and Greece are only in euros, not dollars. There are numerous banks to exchange USD to euros if necessary.

[LauraAnneC]

In my opinion you will only need a very small amount of Euro in cash. Your credit card will work everywhere but make sure you have your pin for it. There is no signing for items on your credit card in Europe the way you can in the US.

 

Enjoy!

[FreestyleNovice]

Most EU airports are the last stop to spent USD (at a bad rate mostly) I can think of.. anything beyond that; €!

 

Good that OP asked :)

[Karynanne]

We always purchase Euros in advance. Our bank (Wells Fargo) has a good exchange rate, and it avoids having to find an ATM while in port.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

In my opinion you will only need a very small amount of Euro in cash. Your credit card will work everywhere but make sure you have your pin for it. There is no signing for items on your credit card in Europe the way you can in the US.

 

Enjoy!

 

Actually this isn't really true. Most US banks are switching to chip and signature instead of chip and pin. Any regular transaction in Europe processed by a human can handle these cards. The machine recognizes the difference in the card and requests a signature instead of a pin.

 

Some unmanned kiosks can give you problems though, unless you have a true chip and pin card.

[Hlitner]

US Dollars are about as useful in Europe and Euros are useful in Canada!

 

Hank

[TLCOhio]

Experienced travelers know that you get the best bang for your buck with either local currency or a credit card. And the best currency exchange rates will happen if you use your ATM card at a bank ATM in the countries that you visit. Those ATM's only dispense local currency. This is not to say that you won't find a merchant who will take your USD...but that merchant will be sure that the exchange rate that he offers will be wayyyy in his favor.

 

Appreciate this excellent above summary, plus the other wise comments on this thread. US Dollars will not work that well, if at all, in Greece or Italy. Just like Euros do not work within the USA. More and more thing are moving to credit cards being "it".

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 216,600 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

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[SusieCruiser2]

What a wonderful community Cruise Critic is! So many responses so quickly. Thanks to you all.

 

I had expected that I would need Euros, but one doesn't want to entirely discount a friend's advice. Further conversations revealed that the friend had recently traveled in the Baltics, and US dollars were accepted there. Obviously Italy and Greece are a different story, and I will be prepared.

 

Thanks again.

[steamboats]

Susie,

 

Baltics are definitely a different story! Russia takes almost everything (except for Rubles - o.k. just kidding). Estonia might accept USD but as they are a Euro country too. And for countries like Sweden, Denmark or Norway you might find vendors in touristy spots who accept USD (but more who accept Euro next to their own crowns). Finland is Euro country too. Haven´t seen any signs saying they do accept USD in Helsinki in July.

 

steamboats

[TLCOhio]

Susie, Baltics are definitely a different story! Russia takes almost everything (except for Rubles - o.k. just kidding). Estonia might accept USD but as they are a Euro country too. And for countries like Sweden, Denmark or Norway you might find vendors in touristy spots who accept USD (but more who accept Euro next to their own crowns). Finland is Euro country too. Haven´t seen any signs saying they do accept USD in Helsinki in July. steamboats

 

Remember, as noted earlier, there is a huge difference between a vendor . . . "ACCEPTING" U.S. Dollars . . . versus . . . giving you any type of decent exchange rate. That merchant trading rate might cost you 10-20% more. Prepare accordingly!! My solution? Don't buy much, mostly use credit cards and take lots of pictures. That saves lots and lots of money.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 202,756 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We are soon leaving for Italy and Greece ports and I intend to get some Euros from my bank before leaving home. But recently a friend told me that US dollars are widely accepted in Europe. That didn't sound right to me.

 

Does anyone have recent experience with which currencies are accepted in Italy and Greece.

 

Thanks for your help.

Get an Amazon.ca credit card , no fees to convert € to $, we use it when we are in Europe

With our TD account we also get foreign money for no concerti on fees

When we head to Europe we never get US funds

Edited September 5, 2016 by Airbalancer

[Tiggertastic]

Susie,

 

Baltics are definitely a different story! Russia takes almost everything (except for Rubles - o.k. just kidding). Estonia might accept USD but as they are a Euro country too. And for countries like Sweden, Denmark or Norway you might find vendors in touristy spots who accept USD (but more who accept Euro next to their own crowns). Finland is Euro country too. Haven´t seen any signs saying they do accept USD in Helsinki in July.

 

steamboats

 

 

Came back from baltics on Saturday, only Russia took dollars and the duty free store dockside Stockholm. All others their own currency and some euros.

 

 

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[hubofhockey]

A good general rule is not to spend US dollars anywhere in the world but in the United States. Another good general rule is to get both debit and credit cards which work well internationally (little or no fees or foreign transactions costs). We don't get any foreign currency before we leave for vacation to Europe, Israel, or wherever. After we get our luggage, our first stop is an ATM machine at an airport. If not, we'll pay for a taxi by credit card and get local cash in the city at an ATM.

Edited September 5, 2016 by hubofhockey

[TLCOhio]

A good general rule is not to spend US dollars anywhere in the world but in the United States. Another good general rule is to get both debit and credit cards which work well internationally (little or no fees or foreign transactions costs). We don't get any foreign currency before we leave for vacation to Europe, Israel, or wherever. After we get our luggage, our first stop is an ATM machine at an airport. If not, we'll pay for a taxi by credit card and get local cash in the city at an ATM.

 

Appreciate and agree with this above plan. Lots of good details to consider and do!! Great sharing!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

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for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 155,184 views for this posting.

[TeaBag]

We always get a little ($100 or so) amount of local currency when we travel internationally. That gets us a taxi/train etc to our hotel. We don't use the ATM at airports as the rates are not good.

[Wiltonian]

We always get a little ($100 or so) amount of local currency when we travel internationally. That gets us a taxi/train etc to our hotel. We don't use the ATM at airports as the rates are not good.

 

As long as the ATM will charge your card in the local currency, the rate will depend on your card supplier, not the ATM.

 

ALWAYS choose the "charge in local currency" option, rather than letting the ATM (or the shop card machine) convert to your own currency, as they give a lousy rate.

 

Stuart

[Host Walt]

One side point. Before leaving home be sure to notify your bank and the issuers of the credit cards you plan to bring with you of your travel dates and locations.

 

If you don't you may find your card(s) to be declined. (Speaking from personal experience.)

 

Another point. Be sure to use the credit card(s) that don't charge extra for foreign exchange conversions. Many are free but there stil are a few that will whack you 2% for transactions in foreign currency.

[Orator]

Many stores in Italy and Greece will not accept AMEX. Should not have a problem in larger stores or chains.

Host Walt makes an excellent point about informing your CC company this may avoid problems during your trip. I also know this from personal experience.

[SusieCruiser2]

Once again, thank you all for the valuable information. I'm very excited as it's not long until we leave, and now I have one more detail taken care of.

[gold1953]

Well since the OP is Canadian our credit cards have had chips for years so other than the 2.5% the CC company gets you are good to go unless you want a card with no percent extra charged. You need to be careful though and the ones I checked had an annual fee which would have cost us more than the extra charge for our purchases. We bought our Euros at home and then used our card.. but with 5 ports we still took most of our 100 Euros home

[loeb]

Not sure what airport you are arriving in Italy, but FCO has ATM's right outside of customs & Immigration on the right hand side. Do not use the travelex ATM's , the fees are very high. Other airports should have ATM also, better than getting Euros in the US.

 

We went to Italy, Greece and Turkey earlier this year. Although you are not going to Turkey, they did accept US$ as well as Euros. In fact they had signs that said Euros equal US$.