With people planning cruises for Summer 22 and even 23 we’ve been getting a few enquiries about the different currencies that you need for Europe and the Mediterranean. So we thought it would be helpful to have a Currency Guide for Mediterranean Cruises on the Blog for reference.
Our TOP TIP is to acquire fee free card for overseas use.
If you have a credit or debit card with no fees for overseas transactions you will need a lot less cash ashore – you can use the card for small purchases and withdrawing cash from an ATM without worrying. We always use a Monzo Currency Card when travelling – there are others available too – it gets you a much better exchange rate in ATMS than a debit card and I love how it gives you an instant confirmation of the amount charged to your card via its clever App. It means that if there is any question about the amount you have been charged you are able to deal with it there and then!
But why do we need a Currency Guide for Mediterranean Cruises don’t all European countries take the Euro?
No! Oddly they don’t… so we have prepared you a handy checklist of all those that border the Mediterranean, or are Island Nations within it, and included everywhere – even places that aren’t usually thought of as Cruise Destinations. We have listed them as if clockwise direction around the Sea from the Atlantic at Spain to north of the Strait of Gibraltar and back round to Morocco to the south.
Obviously many countries do take the Euro and these are shown in Bold.
Countries outside the Eurozone may still accept Euro but will tend to give you a very poor rate in exchange.
Some countries have ‘Closed’ currencies – these are currencies cannot be pre-ordered or exchanged outside that country. You have to exchange money on Arrival and back again on Departure so it is worth knowing which countries are affected – we have noted them below as (closed)
Spain – Euro
France – Euro
Monaco – Euro
Italy – Euro
Slovenia – Euro
Croatia- Croatian Kuna
Bosnia – Convertible Mark
Montenegro – Euro
Albania- Albanian Lek (closed)
Greece- Euro
Turkey – Turkish Lira
Syria – Syria pound
Lebanon – Lebanese pound
Israel – New shekel
Jordan – Jordanian dinar
Egypt – Egyptian pound
Libya – Libyan dinar (closed)
Tunisia – Tunisian dinar (closed)
Algeria – Algerian Dinar
Morocco- Moroccan dirham (closed)
Cyprus- Euro
Gibraltar – GB Pounds Sterling
Malta – Euro
I hope you find this Currency Guide for Mediterranean Cruises useful – please add any thoughts or questions below in the comments section.
Don’t forget to fill in the Currency Section of your Cruise Planner before you go!