Crete

Currency budget Greece

Euros. Cards are near-universal in the towns and resorts and much less so in the mountain villages, where a taverna may well be cash only and will not say so until the end.

ATMs & cards

Piraeus, Alpha and Eurobank machines are in every town and charge a couple of euros to a foreign card. Avoid Euronet, which is everywhere in the resorts and is the expensive option.

Greek bank machines charge two to three euros to a foreign card, which is unavoidable, so take a larger withdrawal. Mountain villages are cash and the nearest machine may be half an hour away.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Greece

Extremely safe, with almost no crime against visitors. The risks are the roads — narrow, unfenced and shared with goats — and the sea on the south coast, where the wind gets up in the afternoon. Balos and Elafonissi are reached on dirt tracks that hire agreements often exclude.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Greece visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Greece

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Cretan food is its own thing and one of the healthiest diets recorded — dakos, wild greens, snails, sheep's cheese, and raki poured for free at the end of every meal whether you want it or not. Eat inland: a taverna in a mountain village is half the price and twice the food.

Nightlife

Harbour tavernas that become bars, raki that arrives free at the end of every meal, and two resort strips that do the other thing entirely.

• Chania Old Town — the Venetian harbour and the lanes behind it
• Rethymno — the old town bars, and the student crowd
• Malia — the package strip, at full volume
• Heraklion — Korai and Chandakos, for the local night

Closing: 03:00 in the towns, later in Malia.

A beer in a bar: €3–5

Raki is poured free at the end of a meal and refusing it is awkward — accept a small one.

Getting around

• Hire car — the island is 260km end to end and the good parts are not on a bus route
• KTEL bus — excellent along the north coast between the four cities, sparse elsewhere
• Ferry — to Santorini in two hours, and to the small islands off the south coast
• Walking — the Samaria gorge, which is 16km downhill and takes a day
• Airport: Heraklion (HER) or Chania (CHQ); Chania is better for the west

Internet speedall of Greece

Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Greece, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Greek

• HelloΓεια σας — Yia sasyah sas
• PleaseΠαρακαλώ — Parakalópa-ra-ka-LO
• Thank youΕυχαριστώ — Efharistóef-ha-ri-STO
• Yes / NoΝαι / Όχι — Ne / Óhineh / O-hee

The trap: "ne" means yes, not no. No is "óhi".

Religion

Greek Orthodox

Orthodoxy is written into the constitution and is closely tied to national identity. Do not enter a church in shorts, and do not photograph during a service.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Accept offered food or drink — refusing outright reads as a rejection of the host
• Share plates; ordering individually is not how a Greek table works
• Learn efharistó, it goes a long way
• Put toilet paper in the bin, not the bowl — the plumbing genuinely cannot take it

Don't

• Do not show an open palm towards someone — the moutza is a serious insult
• Do not nod up for yes; a single upward head tilt means no
• Do not rush a meal or ask for the bill early; the table is yours for the evening
• Do not photograph inside monasteries without checking, and dress modestly at them