Greece - Is it yachting as usual?

by Sue Richards on 16 Jul 2015 With the current economic uncertainty in Greece, many cruisers are asking how the climate currently stands for visiting cruising yachts. Hopefully, this feedback from a number of noonsite contacts in Greece might help cruisers who are planning on heading to Greece soon.

From Stratos Paisios, Customs Officer at Kastelorizo (Dodecanese, 2nm south of the Turkish mainland)

The situation in Greece is hard for the locals in general – as it used to be - but for tourists nothing has changed. Things are calm, procedures are the same and services are provided in a normal way, as always. I know that the media don’t help at all when they present things in a dramatic way, but the reality is not so tragic for our visitors. On the contrary. There is no problem with medicines or other products of course. The only thing that people should take care of is having credit or debit cards because of the temporary capital control. ATM machines give 50 or 60€ every day per card.

In a nutshell, cruising boats should come, but with the following understood:

- Have enough Euros to pay for your berth before arrival. I estimate most will pay under 10 Euros per day for berthing, electricity, and water. Anchoring is of course cheaper, but at many places we have been to we were required to moor on the quay. If we wanted to anchor, we would have had a two-three nm tender trip to get to shore.

- Ashore, most meals cost us under 10 Euros per person without alcohol, and cash is king.

- Credit cards: Usage is spotty but usually you can use them at major supermarkets and for rental cars.

- Shops are open but many are also closed up. Cafes during the days and bars at night remain lively, in spite of the economic times. The three nearest cafes to us have cut nearly all of their menu items by 30-50%, and therefore, are busy.

- Places to stay away from: Big cities like Piraeus (Athens) etc. Crowds there are more like to demonstrate and those can quickly turn ugly. We ran into a protest here in Kavala last night that was noisy because of the bullhorn being used. About 100 people were marching and the police were quietly watching them and giving them space, even allowing them to block traffic, so as not to provoke an incident. It fizzled out in 30 minutes.

- The islands were expensive last year and more so this year as they just lost their 30% income tax deduction. VAT is also going up to 23 % on things we boaters do, which is a double whammy on the islands.

- I recommend to stay away from Alexandroupolis and Kavala as they are not friendly to boaters at all. It is almost as if they do not want us. We are in Kavala now and while the port control has been nice to us, it has required us to donate a pound of flesh for that to happen.

- ATMs allow me to withdraw my daily limit - which is far higher that the locals can. But many ATMs have run dry and until the banks re-open, more will run dry. Therefore, come with all the cash you need.

- Get a receipt for every purchase, even a loaf of bread! We were asked to show ours by what I assume to be a government official being escorted by a local police officer who was fully armed to the teeth. We had one for the one euro bread we had just bought, so he dismissed us.

In Volos city and also at the Islands, there is not a problem for foreigners. We tried and got 600 € in one action at an ATM. It is a pity for the Greeks however as their maximum withdrawal is 60€.

At Skiathos (Northern Sporades) we found one empty ATM machine, but there were several in the same street so no problem.

I think the problem is concentrated in Athens.

Our friends sailing in the Cyclades and the Ionian Islands have found the same story and are able to get money when they want and the amount they want.

Al these situations/stories are from the last seven days.

Diesel or food or fruit or bread is no problem to get. The diesel pump last Monday however, refused my credit card and wanted cash! Everybody wants cash.

I live here half the year, and used to be a tour operator working Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey. I've spoken with several hoteliers and businessmen working in Messinia, and I've also kept abreast of CA reports and YBW reports, as well Yotties passing by.

The foreign office advice says it all. Bring adequate euro cash for your intended stay. For longer stays (like us) there has been no difficulty accessing amounts up to our limit (from a non-Greek debit card) of €500 each. So far, that is….

Local businesses say there has been no breakdown (yet) on internal inter-bank transactions, but they're very aware that one or another bank may lose liquidity without external intervention, which would then force a cash economy. At that stage, some interbank services may fail, and with it, ATM's attached to a particular bank.

There appears to be no difficulty for yachts ordering goods from overseas as long as they're paid (or pre-paid) through a non-Greek bank. Courier services seem to work adequately for deliveries.

My personal take is that someone with €10,000 cash should easily survive a year here, even if banking services fall apart.

It's locally (Messinia) noticeable that there's a drop of about 30% German visitors. Those who do come speculate this is caused by a five year (rather poisonous) campaign by Das Bild, saying that Greek slackers should not be supported by taxes on German pensioners. Some Germans worry they may not have a friendly reception as a result.

These are just reports from a person on the spot. But I started businesses here in drachmae, when capital controls were rampant both in Greece and in UK. I don't see anything like that arising. Greece is a net exporter of food products. Surviving here won't be a problem.