Currency, USD / Euro / Lira ???

[blindrid]

Good day:

 

Long story short, coming from the Denver CO area -taking cruise starting at Athens, 1 1/2 days in Istanbul, 1/2 day in Kusadasi, 1/2 day in Crete and the balance in Greek isles.

 

I don't want to mess with various currencies if I can avoid it.

 

Do you truly need Lira in Turkey?

 

Do you truly need Euros in Greece?

 

Does anywhere accept USD (which I seriously doubt)?

 

We are hiring a private guide/tour in Istanbul and Kusadasi. The operator is quoting USD$. I'm speculating she is doing that for ease but needs Euros at time of tour.

 

Any suggestions will work as I'm trying to make life as simple as possible :). One of my pet peeves is getting home with foreign currency which is of no value to me in the U.S. - not enough to exhange but enough not to keep.

 

Thanks to all and I've posted the same question in the Greece forum.

[chipmaster]

Are Euros, Pesos or Candian money accepted accepted in the US?

 

You should expect Euros in Greece. We found no issue using Euros in Turkey, YMMV

 

We used EKOL when we went to turkey. It was surprising that they did bill in dollars

 

Good day:

 

Long story short, coming from the Denver CO area -taking cruise starting at Athens, 1 1/2 days in Istanbul, 1/2 day in Kusadasi, 1/2 day in Crete and the balance in Greek isles.

 

I don't want to mess with various currencies if I can avoid it.

 

Do you truly need Lira in Turkey?

 

Do you truly need Euros in Greece?

 

Does anywhere accept USD (which I seriously doubt)?

 

We are hiring a private guide/tour in Istanbul and Kusadasi. The operator is quoting USD$. I'm speculating she is doing that for ease but needs Euros at time of tour.

 

Any suggestions will work as I'm trying to make life as simple as possible :). One of my pet peeves is getting home with foreign currency which is of no value to me in the U.S. - not enough to exhange but enough not to keep.

 

Thanks to all and I've posted the same question in the Greece forum.

[Bet & Peg]

Just back from Istanbul via cruise that also stopped in Greece among other European ports.

 

As far as currency, I think it all depends on just what you're planning on doing in the various ports. If you've been quoted in USDs then double check if guide will accept USD or wants Euro.

 

In Turkey the Euro is accepted some places, but I'm sure the rate of exchange is terrible. Credit Cards are accepted in most establishments also Topkapi Palace but, if I remember correctly, the Hagia Sophia only took cash, TLs. Also you'd need TL for the tram, if you're using that.

 

If, however, you're using the ship's shuttle and excursions then they'd bill you in USD.

[Keith1010]

For entrance fees in Turkey you will need Turkish Lira or for certain entrances Credit Cards work.

 

For stores, taxis, restaurants, you can use USA currency, Euros or British Pounds.

 

In Greece while some places will take USA currency that is the exception not the rule so have Euros.

 

Keith

[ab0si]

Any suggestions will work as I'm trying to make life as simple as possible :). One of my pet peeves is getting home with foreign currency which is of no value to me in the U.S. - not enough to exchange but enough not to keep.

 

 

Well, you could: a) use your left over euros for tips on-board b) keep them and return to Europe

[ShipsandDipper]

Our first cruise in the Med, our only stop in Turkey was in Kusadasi. We pre-booked a tour (in dollars). We never needed any Turkish lira. The tour guide handled all admission fees for us. The only other thing we did was stop in the bazaar, and they were happy to deal in either euros or dollars. I imagine things would be similar if you have a private guide in Istanbul.

[John Bull]

You will need Turkish Lire for admissions, trams, ferries, buses, metro, etc, though your credit card will do for places like Ephesus or the Agia Sofia.

 

Virtually everywhere else in Istanbul or Kusadasi will accept euros. And USD in the bazaars of Istanbul.

 

Now this is OK when you're going to haggle, such as for agreeing a price for a taxi ride or buying from a bazaar or shop.

But where prices are set - such as a lunch or a beer or a coffee, or a metered taxi, as Peg's post if you use euros or any other currency the rate they'll give will be awful. And I do mean awful - a loss of mebbe 25% :eek:

In these transactions you'll quickly go through your money if you use anything other than local currency.

 

So for those two reasons it really is worth getting some cash in Lira. You don't need to get a huge stash, perhaps $25 pppd. Start by using it just when its to your advantage, & use up any leftover when it doesn't matter which currency you use.

 

For Greece, stick with the euro. Change more later on, or use your credit card, if your stash is running low.

USD isn't widely accepted & the rate will be poor when it is.

You can pay tips to the ship's crew in any left-over currency, euros especially are well-received.

 

JB :)

[Wildblue]

I think everybody above had good thoughts--I think you're going to have to get Lira and Euros, and my personal advice is not to try and avoid doing so. You could back yourself into a corner otherwise.

 

Really no problem in getting local currency, especially such a wide-spread, mainstream currency like the Euro. The one thing I would watch out for is getting a lot of change in coins. In Lira it's all going to be paper bills, but in Euro you'll get anything smaller than 5 Euro back in coins. Bills can be exchanged back to dollars at the end of your trip, either onboard or at the airport, no problem. But coins can't be exchanged, and if you aren't consciously using up your stash, you can quickly end up with a big amount that you're then stuck with.

 

By the way, I grew up in your area most of my life--graduated from Douglas County High back in 1993!

[Keith1010]

Good day:

 

Long story short, coming from the Denver CO area -taking cruise starting at Athens, 1 1/2 days in Istanbul, 1/2 day in Kusadasi, 1/2 day in Crete and the balance in Greek isles.

 

I don't want to mess with various currencies if I can avoid it.

 

Do you truly need Lira in Turkey?

 

Do you truly need Euros in Greece?

 

Does anywhere accept USD (which I seriously doubt)?

 

We are hiring a private guide/tour in Istanbul and Kusadasi. The operator is quoting USD$. I'm speculating she is doing that for ease but needs Euros at time of tour.

 

Any suggestions will work as I'm trying to make life as simple as possible :). One of my pet peeves is getting home with foreign currency which is of no value to me in the U.S. - not enough to exhange but enough not to keep.

 

Thanks to all and I've posted the same question in the Greece forum.

 

For Greece, plan to use Euros. Some places do take USA currency but they give a poor exchange rate. Also, use credit cards. I great one is Capital One as they are one of the few companies that do not charge a foreign transaction fee.

 

In Turkey, USA, Euros and British Pounds are widely accepted for most items. However, you would need Turkish Lira if paying for entrance fees on your own. For cabs talk to them when you negotiate fares. We have managed not to use Lira on any of our visits to Turkey but we had the entrance fees paid up front on our tours.

 

Keith

[Karennella]

We just changed some money on the ship when we needed a small amount. On our trip this year we needed Hong Kong dollars, euros, $US, and British pounds, all of which we bought at home in Australia. But we changed $50 or so into Turkish cash on the ship, managed without changing into Egyptian cash, but wished we had changed some shekels for Israel.

We have a nice collection of odd notes left over and my husband likes to keep some coins to use as golf markers.

I would not rely just on credit cards. Our friend lost one credit card and then a credit union ATM in Rapallo swallowed his other one at 10pm one night. My husband speaks rather bad Italian and managed to basically beg the person at the credit union to get the credit card out of the machine next morning. Otherwise it would have been reissued and sent to his Australian address and sent on; taking days.

[Keith1010]

We just changed some money on the ship when we needed a small amount. On our trip this year we needed Hong Kong dollars, euros, $US, and British pounds, all of which we bought at home in Australia. But we changed $50 or so into Turkish cash on the ship, managed without changing into Egyptian cash, but wished we had changed some shekels for Israel.

We have a nice collection of odd notes left over and my husband likes to keep some coins to use as golf markers.

I would not rely just on credit cards. Our friend lost one credit card and then a credit union ATM in Rapallo swallowed his other one at 10pm one night. My husband speaks rather bad Italian and managed to basically beg the person at the credit union to get the credit card out of the machine next morning. Otherwise it would have been reissued and sent to his Australian address and sent on; taking days.

 

Good advice. Always should have some cash because just like our own country some places either don't take credit card or they just don't look like places you want to even use your credit card.

 

Keith

[NancyIL]

It shouldn't be difficult to either spend or give away your leftover foreign currency. On my international flights home from Europe, airline personnel collected unwanted foreign currency to go to UNICEF.

 

Just wait until you go on a Baltic cruise - where each Scandinavian country has a different currency! :D

[maryann ns]

You really should go with the local currency. You can bargain better with it and use it in local cafes, transportation, etc.

 

We have just decided to help our grandson be a coin collector and have quite a collection for him already!