Whenever you tip during your trip to Greece it is important to use the local currency, that is - Euros. Otherwise you'll leave your service providers with cash they can't use without paying high fees on currency exchange.
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If you can, it's always best to leave your tip in the local currency, not on a credit card or in U.S. dollars. There are several countries in Central and South America where the tip is included in the price of the bill, or culturally it is uncommon, so there's no need to tip.
There is not a strong tradition of tipping in Greece, particularly among the locals, but it's become expected that tourists leave a small tip while travelling through the country. In restaurants it's common to leave a cash tip for whoever is looking after you – 10–15 per cent is standard.
While cash used to dominate the Greek market, new laws require most Greek businesses to accept credit cards. However, cash payments are still extremely common, particularly among smaller businesses such as convenience stores.
How much money will you need for your trip to Greece? You should plan to spend around €155 ($164) per day on your vacation in Greece, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, €40 ($42) on meals for one day and €30 ($32) on local transportation.
Despite problems in the Greek economy, it's still on the expensive side to travel to Greece. Budget travelers should plan on $50 a day, while mid-range to luxury travelers can expect to pay between $150 to $350 a day, or higher if you plan to visit more than one of its 200 islands. All prices are in US dollars.
Alternately, give the tip directly to your server, as it is customary to leave some small change at the table for bus boys and if you leave the tip on the table, your server may not receive it! In Greece it`s assumed that tourists will tip but some restaurants will still round-up the bill, so be careful.
Tipping in Spain works differently: The customer actually has the option to not leave any tip at all. However, restaurants expect a 10% tip on each bill—although it's not a formal rule, and that percentage is much lower than tipping practices in other countries.
Pro tip: Tip everyone: While most travelers know to tip a bellman or valet, few leave anything for the front-desk agent—despite their enormous power to influence the quality of your stay. “The front desk isn't a tipped position, so when you do tip, it makes them beholden to you,” Tomsky said.
Always keep your palm turned toward you. Making a fist with your thumb between your index and middle fingers is considered obscene. Thumbs up signals approval but thumbs down is a rude gesture. A single nod of the head downward is the expression for yes and a single nod of the head backward means no.
In Athens and many other parts of Greece, the water is safe to drink. However, because of various concerns regarding supply and infrastructure, it's popular on both the islands and the mainland to buy bottled water rather than drinking straight from the tap.