Best Place to Exchange Money in Orestiada

Where to change money in Orestiada

Greek refugees from Edirne, just over the border in Turkey, founded Orestiada in 1923, and the small town still has no exchange office that we could confirm. Nor does Alexandroupolis, where most visitors arrive: Onexchange's branch list has nothing in Thrace at all. So change pounds before you reach the Evros region or rely on a card, and use the banks in the town centre for cash; no bank we found says it buys sterling from visitors without an account.

• Alpha Bank, Agion Theodoron 123, Orestiada - The bank's own branch list gives this central address; it is one of the branches whose cash machines the map below shows.
• National Bank of Greece, Orestiada branch - Listed on the bank's site as branch 440; its machines charge a foreign Visa or Mastercard nothing for a straight euro withdrawal, so decline any offer to convert.

Changing money at the airport

Orestiada has no airport. The nearest is Dimokritos (AXD) at Alexandroupolis, a city the Municipality of Orestiada puts 110 km to the south. One unofficial airport guide mentions a cash machine and a currency desk there, but we found nothing official to confirm them, so do not count on either.

From Alexandroupolis, Hellenic Train runs two direct trains a day each way, taking just under two hours, and KTEL Evros coaches link the towns via Feres, Soufli and Didymoteicho. Arriving by road from Edirne in Turkey, you cross at Kastanies, roughly 16 km north of the town.

ATMs and cards in Orestiada

The main Greek banks all have branches with cash machines in the town centre, Alpha Bank and National Bank of Greece among them (the map below shows them), so a bank's machine is never far. The rules are national: since 11 August 2025 Greek banks' own customers have paid nothing at Greek bank machines and at most EUR 1.50 at machines run by independent operators, but Parapolitika, quoting finance ministry sources, reported that tourists with foreign cards fall outside that cap. National Bank of Greece's machines charge a foreign Visa or Mastercard nothing for a straight euro withdrawal, yet 9.5 per cent if the amount is converted into pounds, so refuse the conversion.

Cash is still close to universal: the ECB's 2026 survey, as reported by Greek Reporter, found 99 per cent of Greek businesses accepting it. Card terminals have been compulsory for taxis, kiosks and market stalls since 1 April 2024, though, and Which? points out that choosing pounds hands the choice of rate to the shop, so pay in euros.

Paying for transport in Orestiada

KTEL Evros sells coach tickets at its offices and in its eTicket app, and runs several services a day to Thessaloniki and Athens. Orestiada has two railway stations, the main one and a smaller halt at Sakkos, and the morning train from Alexandroupolis carries on north through Sakkos and Kastanies to Ormenio.

We found no official town bus timetable or taxi tariff. Taxis are obliged to take cards (look for the sticker on the rear right-hand window); agree the price before longer rides, such as to the Kastanies crossing.

Good to know

• The town lies about 6 km west of the Evros, the river that marks the border with Turkey. The FCDO notes that border areas are militarily sensitive and that photographing military installations is illegal, so keep cameras pointed elsewhere.
• Crossing with a large sum? The FCDO says sums of EUR 10,000 and above in notes or travellers' cheques must be declared on entry; ask for a certified copy. Border officers may also want a return ticket and proof that you can fund your stay.
• Greek bills rarely carry a separate service charge, so tipping is up to you: Which? suggests rounding up in tavernas, in cash.
• Greece's climate resilience fee goes on hotel and rental bills for each room and night, at rates fixed in January 2025 and reported unchanged in 2026; ask whether your price includes it.