Traveling in Greece? To find out what is the value of your local currency in euros, or any other currency, use a currency converter: the currency used in Greece is the euro.
Oanda Currency Converter
OANDA powers many currency converters on the Internet. The default on your home page is the conversion from US Dollar to Euro, but other currencies can be easily selected from the drop-down menu. Any amount of dollars and euros can be selected.
Bloomberg Currency Converter
Here is another converter that you can use. Scroll down to select your currencies, which are arranged alphabetically. The dollar is below the ‘United States dollar’ and the euro is just below the ‘euro’.
Currency conversion costs
An unfavorable exchange rate is one thing. Conversion costs are another. In general, the traveler will find one or more types of rates when converting dollars to euros and euros to dollars. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Currency exchange offices
At the airport, the foreign exchange offices benefit in two additional ways: They don’t give you the best available rate, and they charge a hefty fee, sometimes up to 5%.
Currency exchange machines
A dying breed with the advent of ATMs everywhere and the dominance of the euro, but you may come across one of these. You put your own coin, turn for a moment and a quantity of euros comes out. An equivalent amount cannot be called, as it is also subject to a fee, which may be hidden in a less than generous exchange rate.
At the ATM: using a debit card
Generally, the cheapest way to get the euro is by using your ATM debit card. Banks will process it immediately at a good rate. However, you will continue to pay an ATM transaction fee, and more and more banks may charge an additional fee for an international transaction.
Generally, you will get a more or less favorable base exchange rate if you use a credit card, but you will also incur immediate interest charges on most credit cards; there is no grace period for cash advances. And, generally, the interest rate on cash advances is much higher. It is not unusual to have a card in your wallet with a 0% introductory rate on purchases, but with an interest rate of 23.99% on cash advances.
It does not end there. There may be a credit card transaction fee on top of this, and finally, for good measure only, a fee for using the ATM.
On the bright side, some newer credit cards are cutting fees on international transactions, having finally noticed that international travelers tend to use their credit cards heavily and may be interested in the benefits that transactions make. more affordable. Compare the best deals on international purchases and cash advances if you travel frequently.
Do you need to convert currency? Remember that Greece is now using the euro for all transactions since the formal disappearance of the drachma in 2002. Those old drachmas in a drawer will be of no use to you in Greece today, so leave them at home. You will need euros now … unless Greece’s financial crisis ends with an exit from the euro and a return to the drachma.
How much was a drachma worth?
If you are trying to calculate what a previous price in drachmas is now, compared to euros or another currency, the drachma was set at 345 drachmas per euro when the transfer to the euro system occurred. If something is now € 10, in theory it would have been priced at 3,450 drachmas in the old days.
In reality, many unequal prices in drachma were rounded to equal higher amounts in euro currency; The prices of beer and other alcoholic beverages seem to be where most travelers feel this effect most strongly.
Euro not only
If you think you are feeling the pinch of converting drachmas to euros, the Greeks have lost an enormous amount of purchasing power as prices have risen in euros on commodities. Some say this loss in real spendable income since the conversion is almost 30%. This may not make you feel better about the exchange rate, but the Greeks share your pain, too.
