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Which ATMs In Greece Should You Use? [Banks, Fees, Cards]

Category Greece, Athens, Thessaloniki, Travel Updated on August 23, 2023

atms in greece
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Heading to Greece soon and you’ve got money on your mind?

Whenever we head to a new country, it’s not always easy to wrap our head around a new currency, different ways to pay and just trying to understand the currency conversion. Something I usually struggle with (lol) and rely on Matthew for help…or the XE app of course.

If you’re heading to Greece for a 2-week vacation, a month-long digital nomad stint or maybe even moving to this beautiful country – knowing how to manage your money is important.

Getting ATM withdrawals, figuring out which ATM is the best one to use and making sure you get the best rate isn’t necessarily easy in Greece. But it’s definitely worth it to do your research and find out what to do.

After living in Athens for 2 months as digital nomads and Matthew being Matthew (not wanting to pay any fee at all), we have understood and figured out the best ATMs, the ones with the least withdrawal fees – here’s all you need to know about using ATMs in Greece.

In This Article: show
What Currency Does Greece Use?
Can You Make Card Payments In Greece?
Do You Need Cash While Visiting Greece?
Which ATMs in Greece Should I Use?
Which Banks (ATMs) To Withdraw Money From?
Will Your Credit Card or Debit Card Work In Greece?
Where To Find ATMs In Greece?
Are ATMs Free In Greece?
Is It Best To Take Cash Or Card To Greece?
Is Contactless Payment In Greece A Thing?
The Cards We Use For Better Exchange Rates
Conclusion: ATMs In Greece Are Plenty, But Watch Out For The Fees

What Currency Does Greece Use?

The official currency of Greece is the Euro. Greece adopted the Euro back in 2002 when the country joined the Eurozone. The Euro is used by over 20 countries across the Eurozone like Spain, France and Italy.

is athens safe

The currency code for the Euro is ‘EUR’ and the currency sign looks like this €.

If you plan on traveling to other European countries in the Eurozone, you will be using the same currency which is a good thing to keep in mind.

Can You Make Card Payments In Greece?

Yes, you certainly can make card payments.

But you might not be able to do it everywhere. We rarely had cash with us and it was just that odd thing now and then where someone wouldn’t accept a card. This is usually at smaller bakeries or gyros shops further out of the city center of Athens, for example.

restaurants in athens

For most things, especially if you’re visiting popular tourist destinations like Athens, Santorini or Mykonos, you shouldn’t have any issues paying by card at restaurants, shops and transport rentals.

Do You Need Cash While Visiting Greece?

You don’t HAVE to have cash on you at all times, but we highly recommend you do.

Whenever we arrive in a new country, one of the first things we do is get cash. Obviously after doing some research on which ATMs are best.

shopping in athens

We don’t recommend withdrawing money from an ATM at the airport, usually. We have found in Europe, ATMs tend to have a high withdrawal fee and a bad conversion rate. It’s better to wait till you get to the city center to use the right ATM.

Sometimes, certain places just won’t accept cards and you never know when that time will strike. You don’t have to keep a huge wad of cash on you at all times. We like to keep only around €20 to €40 on us, in case we need to pay for the odd thing in cash.

Which ATMs in Greece Should I Use?

There are a lot of ATMs in Greece you can choose from. The important thing is to find the best which has the best conversion rates and lowest withdrawal fees.

An ATM in Greece is never too far away. You can easily find several ATMs in each neighborhood or main city center if you’re on the islands.

Here’s everything you need to know about ATMs in Greece.

Which Banks (ATMs) To Withdraw Money From?

Greece has a few banks you can withdraw money from. These are some of the most popular ATMs in Greece you’ll find all across the country:

  • Alpha Bank
  • National Bank of Greece
  • Piraeus Bank

The bank we used the most was Piraeus Bank. They just happen to be right there when we need them and the fees weren’t too high. With our Revolut and WISE cards, we don’t need to worry about the exchange rate too much anyway.

arriving in greece

Which bank to avoid? Well, let me tell you…

There’s one ATM we despise that’s found all across Europe and it’s called Eurobank. You’ll find them at most European airports and beware, they are a trap! Okay, not literally a trap – just an expensive way to withdraw money. While it’s convenient to withdraw from them, if you don’t want to pay high fees like us – just avoid them altogether.

Eurobank has very high withdrawal fees compared to what’s available and they do not give good exchange rates!

Will Your Credit Card or Debit Card Work In Greece?

Most cards will work in Greece. The US, Australian and UK cards will work in most places throughout the country as long as they are attached to a common network.

If you’re worried about not being able to withdraw money (which is an absolute nightmare fyi), the best thing to do is have both of the most popular card networks: VISA and Mastercard.

revolut metal bank card

Between Matthew and I, we have a VISA card, a Mastercard card and an American Express card. The AMEX card is less likely to be accepted in a lot of places in Greece! That’s why it’s good to have a variation of cards.

Don’t worry though, card payments are widely accepted in Greece. If you’re visiting any of the popular tourist destinations like Athens, Santorini, Naxos, etc – you shouldn’t have a problem.

TTA TIP: Always Select Euro When Paying By Card

Have you ever experienced this?

When you pay with a card, the waiter starts to show you the payment machine and asks “do you want to pay in Euro or your home currency (eg. USD)?”

There is only one right answer: always select Euro (or whichever is the local currency of the country you’re currently in). This is another time the currency conversion can catch you out but if you select the local currency you will get the best exchange!

Where To Find ATMs In Greece?

You don’t have to worry about locating an ATM in Greece, they are pretty much everywhere! This applies to you whether you are traveling through the mainland in cities like Athens and Thessaloniki or on the islands in the Cyclades and Crete island.

Here’s where you can find ATMs in Greece:

  • next to Greek banks
  • shopping malls
  • along the streets
  • near restaurants
  • at the airport

In short: it’s easy to find ATMs in Greece. The only place it might become hard to find an ATM is in rural areas on the mainland or in some islands that are a little more isolated.

One of the places we struggled with finding ATMs was actually on the island of Paros. Matthew and I were spending our honeymoon here and we stayed in a town called Naousa. located north of the island. It’s a very beautiful town if you have the opportunity to visit!

acropolis from a distance

I remember we had to go to the main city, Paroikia, to withdraw money from an ATM. I’m not sure if that’s because they didn’t exist in the town or if we needed to go to the city to also get SIM cards. This was back in 2019 and I can confirm there are multiple ATMs in Paros now. You can withdraw from Alpha Bank or Piraeus Bank!

Other than these odd moments if you find yourself in a (very) rural area, you shouldn’t have any problems finding ATMs in Greece!

Are ATMs Free In Greece?

Unfortunately, we don’t think any ATMs in Greece offer free withdrawals.

We lived in Athens for 2 months and visited Greece 3 times in the last 4 years, but we couldn’t find an ATM in Greece that didn’t charge a withdrawal fee. They were always around €2.50 to €3.50 per withdrawal which can add up if you keep getting cash out.

If you do find one, please let us know! Matthew will be ever so thankful 😛

Is It Best To Take Cash Or Card To Greece?

The best thing to do is to have both!

We recommend bringing multiple debit cards and credit cards with you if you can have a variation too. We have Wise cards which are Mastercard and Revolut cards which are Visa. There are numerous occasions where Revolut wouldn’t work but Wise would for some reason. It has saved us on numerous occasions to have both!

what to do in thessaloniki

You don’t need to have euros before you land in Greece. We’ve found you usually get bad exchange rates if you withdraw in your home country. It’s easy to pay with a card in Greece (tapping or inserting) which you can do until you get to your hotel/Airbnb or the city center.

If you want the best conversation rates and lowest withdrawal fees, you might need to wait till you get to the city center. The airport ATMs in Greece are complete rip-offs! Matthew absolutely hates paying these kinds of fees and he will avoid them like the plague.

Is Contactless Payment In Greece A Thing?

Yes, most definitely!

When you can pay card, you will usually be able to simply tap your card instead of inserting it. This also means that you can use Apple Pay or Google Pay to pay for things. It’s important to note, there may be a daily limit of €50 for a contactless transaction. If you exceed that limit, simply insert your card as per usual.

Revolut Bank Card digital nomads

I’ve found most American cards, for whatever reason, don’t always have the tap ability. For example, my Chime card doesn’t have the contactless option. I added my card to Apple Wallet and now I can use Apple Pay to make contactless transactions with my Chime card still.

And if all else fails, you will always have the option to insert your card, enter your pin and pay for your transactions!

The Cards We Use For Better Exchange Rates

As you just read, Matthew hates these small (but annoying) withdrawal fees and horrible conversion rates. You can bet he has done his research on what the best travel cards are as we travel full-time.

What did he come up with?

Revolut and Wise.

If you don’t know what Wise or Revolut is, they are basically fintech companies that offer free ATM withdrawal and the best currency exchange rates. We use them almost every day while on the road and since having them, we’ve barely worried about how we’re going to pay or get cash withdrawals.

best banks for digital nomads

We’ve written honest reviews about both cards – Revolut review, Wise review if you want to check them out! They deliver their cards to most countries so if you’re a digital nomad on the road already – don’t worry, they magically get it to you! It’s very quick and easy to sign up. Both companies have great apps that are user-friendly making it easy to continuously convert, exchange and withdraw cash.

These are the some the best ‘bank’ cards for any digital nomads traveling and working remotely.

Conclusion: ATMs In Greece Are Plenty, But Watch Out For The Fees

Here’s the bottom line on ATMs in Greece:

You can find them everywhere! Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank are the most reliable and in our experience, they had lower withdrawal fees. This brings me to my sad point, yes – you’ll have to pay a fee to withdraw money in Greece. Since being digital nomads in various countries, we’ve usually found at least one bank that offers free withdrawals. Not Greece!

It’ll cost about €2.50 to €3.50 per cash withdrawal. But don’t forget, card payment is widely accepted all across the country and the islands of Greece! You can insert or use contactless payment to make transactions.

We hope you have a great time in Greece and this blog answered any questions you had about the ATMs in Greece, getting cash out and making card payments!

In: Greece, Athens, Thessaloniki, Travel

Sunday Suitcase Newsletter

A newsletter for digital nomads! Each Sunday you'll receive an email with the latest nomad news, digital nomad lifestyle tips, new destination guides and work online tips to ease you into your week.

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Welcome!

We’re Matt and Ashley, the American-Aussie couple behind this blog. In 2018, we realized we could take our work with us…anywhere in the world. We packed our bags, sold our stuff and bought two tickets to Bali. Today, we slow travel full-time, run our business from our laptops and embrace life one adventure at a time. We’ve completely fallen in love with the freedom that comes with this lifestyle and we hope to inspire you to join us on the digital nomad journey!

Sunday Suitcase Newsletter

A newsletter for digital nomads! Each Sunday you'll receive an email with the latest nomad news, digital nomad lifestyle tips, new destination guides and work online tips to ease you into your week.

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Follow The Journey In Real-Time @TwoTicketsAnywhere_

better than the movies…💭🌴⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #trav better than the movies…💭🌴⁣
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#travelreels #funnytravel #travelgram #exploretheworld #travel #chasingsunsets #sunsetlover #travelblog⁣
#digitalnomad #laptoplifestyle
3x UNDERRATED digital nomad destinations in europe 3x UNDERRATED digital nomad destinations in europe ✈️ (to visit this summer) - add these to your travel plans in 2023 (or 2024🤓)⁣
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🇭🇷Croatia - stunning coastline, good wifi, growing DN community, beautiful nature and lots of cafes! ⁣
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🇷🇸Serbia - friendly locals, low cost of living, fast wifi, plenty of activities, great cafes to work from & great dining scene. ⁣
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🇨🇾Cyprus - great weather year-round, mountains + beaches, delicious food, growing community, good coworking spaces, endless outdoor activities.⁣
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Have you already been to these countries? Which was your favorite? Share below! 👇⁣
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#digitalnomaddiaries #workfromwifi #fulltimetravel #workandtravel #digitalnomad #laptoplifestyle #workanywhere #digitalnomadlifestyle #travelblog #digitalnomadlife #blogger #twoticketsanywhere #digitalnomadblogger #livethedream #maketheleap #passportcollective #digitalnomadgirl #exploretheworld #worldnomad
living, not surviving 🤝 ⁣ ⁣ why stay in an living, not surviving 🤝 ⁣
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why stay in an office when you can travel + work remotely from anywhere ✈️⁣
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#workfromwifi #fulltimetravel #workandtravel #digitalnomad #laptoplifestyle #workanywhere #travelreels #funnytravel #travelgram
plus you get free access to paddle boards and kaya plus you get free access to paddle boards and kayaks 👀❤️‍🔥⁣
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📍Free Cerveza, Lake Atitlan ⁣🇬🇹
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#visitguatemala #lakeatitlan #travelreels #uniquestays #traveldestination #digitalnomadlife #exploreguatemala #digitalnomad
Flying out to Cyprus just made sense! 🇨🇾⁣ Flying out to Cyprus just made sense! 🇨🇾⁣
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The weather in Europe started to get colder in October and if you know us, you’ll know we chase the sunshine ☀️⁣
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The best part is that we were joining a coliving space with some friends we made back in Zagreb! We spent an awesome month together - exploring the country, getting work done together and getting to know each other better!⁣
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We love coliving because you get to have an instant community as soon as you land. A nomadic life gets lonely (yes, even as a couple) and coliving spaces usually create great communities with like-minded people!⁣
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@tohani_coliving was especially great at creating events for everyone. During our first week, we had a community design meeting to discuss and plan the kind of things we wanted to do together. I'll share more about our experience on coliving soon ✌️⁣
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Here are some of the highlights:⁣
🌊 Swimming in the ocean with friends⁣
🚗 Weekend getaway to northern cyprus⁣
🎳 Bowling night with the coliving fam⁣
🍼 Meeting good friends (+ their cute baby)
🚤 Jet skiing with my girl @jbabbage 
🥟 Monday dinners at home with the coliving fam⁣
🏖️ Exploring the many beaches Cyprus has to offer⁣
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Would you ever try staying in a coliving space?⁣
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#digitalnomadcyprus #colivingspace #tohanicoliving #digitalnomadlife #funnytravel #traveltheworld #coliving #workandtravel #workfromwifi #digitalnomad #travellifestyle #traveladdict #twoticketsanywhere #travelblogger #travelawesome #digitalnomadlifestyle #fulltimetravel #passportcollective #travelcouple #cyprusdigitalnomad #cyprus
Is Skopje, North Macedonia on your destination lis Is Skopje, North Macedonia on your destination list? 🇲🇰⁣
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On our Europe tour, we decided to make Skopje home for a few weeks! One of the main reason is because I needed to renew my passport which is much faster outside the country.⁣
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Other than that, we didn’t really know what to expect. There weren't many blogs or videos about being digital nomads here. We could only find 1 coworking space in the area but there were plenty of cafes to visit! There’s a huge cafe culture which is always nice.⁣
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We had a really nice, modern, comfortable apartment in Skopje for $580 USD which was 5 minutes walking from the city center. The cost of living is pretty affordable and it’s very safe! ⁣
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If you’re looking for a city to get some work done, explore the surrounding destinations and establish some routine or even simply go to the BEST gym I've ever been to (@fit_in_performance) - Skopje could be that place for you!⁣
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Would you visit Skopje, North Macedonia as a digital nomad?⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadskopje #skopje #skopjedigitalnomad #skopjenorthmacedonia #visitskopje #visitnorthmacedonia #europedigitalnomad
Lisbon, Portugal is the top digital nomad destinat Lisbon, Portugal is the top digital nomad destination in Europe! 🇵🇹Why?⁣
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One word: community!⁣
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According to some digital nomad statistics, loneliness is the #1 reason people leave this lifestyle. When you’re traveling alone (or even as a couple), you easily feel all alone. Thankfully, the digital nomad community is very strong, open and welcoming!⁣
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Lisbon is also a popular spot because of the fast wifi (we had speeds of 500+ Mbps), endless coworking options and a relatively affordable cost of living (except the rising rental prices, of course let's be real). ⁣
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Our month in this wonderful city wasn’t long enough! It’s got all the simple things we love:⁣
 ☕ specialty coffee⁣
🍷 delicious food & wine⁣
🥑 bustling brunch scene and ⁣
👯 friendly people & community⁣
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We can easily see why digital nomads keep coming back to this city and we hope we can explore more of Portugal (Porto, Algrave, etc).⁣
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Have you been a digital nomad in Lisbon before? What were your thoughts?⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadportugal #lisbon #lisbondigitalnomad #lisbonportugal #visitlisbon #visitportugal #europedigitalnomad
We embarked on another 6-hour bus journey to our n We embarked on another 6-hour bus journey to our next digital nomad destination on this Europe tour.⁣
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Zagreb, Croatia has been on our minds for a while. While most people think of Split or Dubrovnik, we wanted to visit the capital and see what it’s really like for digital nomads.⁣
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These are some things that we think of before choosing a destination:⁣
- Is there an active digital nomad community?⁣
- What’s the wifi speeds like?⁣
- Are there good coworking spaces?⁣
- Is the cafe culture buzzing?⁣
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And so much more! Our biggest concern was the community part. After traveling Serbia alone - we were starting to feel quite lonely! We joined an FB group and found someone had set up a weekly coworking day.⁣
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It’s always nerve-wracking going to events where you don’t know anyone but as digital nomads, you get acquainted pretty quick! TLDR, we had a pretty close group of 8 working from cafes together, exploring Zagreb and getting to know each other.⁣
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Zagreb is a great destination in Europe for a digital nomad wanting a more affordable cost of living while still exploring Croatia! 🇭🇷⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadcroatia #zagreb #zagrebdigitalnomad #zagrebcroatia #visitcroatia🇭🇷
Never did we think we would visit Serbia…⁣ ⁣ Never did we think we would visit Serbia…⁣
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…but we are SO glad we did!⁣
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Serbia surprised us in so many ways, we honestly didn’t know what to expect! ⁣
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That’s one of the ways we like to approach some of our travels - not judging the country by its cover. You can hear some positive (or negative) things about countries but you never truly know until you experience it for yourself. ⁣
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We spent a month living in Belgrade, Serbia and it wasn’t long enough! With such limited time, as digital nomads you have to hit the ground running to get settled into your new home. We used our first 3 days to find (good) cafes to work from, sign up for a gym membership and plan our travel across Serbia.⁣
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Here are some reasons we can recommend Belgrade to fellow digital nomads:⁣
- friendly, welcoming people⁣
- they have delicious food⁣
- high standard of living⁣
- relatively low cost of living⁣
- fast wifi with tons of cafes to work from ⁣
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We ate countless bureks, drank copious amounts of coffee and worked from some of the coolest cafes. We can’t wait to get back to Belgrade!⁣
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Serbia, you stole our hearts!⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadserbia #belgrade #belgradedigitalnomad #belgradeserbia #visitserbia
European Digital Nomad Summer 2022, incoming ✨⁣
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After 4 months in Medellin, Colombia - we decided to head to Europe for the rest of the year!⁣
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Travel planning just becomes part of your lifestyle as digital nomads - it almost becomes a side hustle. When we're not working or exploring, we are researching/booking our next destinations!⁣
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What countries did we decide on?⁣
🇬🇧 England⁣
🇦🇹 Austria⁣
🇭🇷 Croatia⁣
🇷🇸 Serbia⁣
🇫🇷 France⁣
🇳🇱 Netherlands⁣
🇵🇹 Portugal⁣
🇲🇰 North Macedonia⁣
and finally, a last-minute decision to visit...⁣
🇨🇾 Cyprus⁣
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We found flights for only $400 to London from Colombia! My lovely friend and her husband were the best hosts and showed us around their new home. We spent a week in London exploring, acclimating to this continent and working from Pret! ⁣
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TTA TIP: If you're in London, Pret has a subscription service for only about £30 and you get 5 drinks per day plus a cafe space to do a little work!⁣
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*I'm going to be recapping the rest of our 2022 as digital nomads for the next few posts, we are currently in Asia🤪 ⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #locationindependent #freedomlifestyle #fulltimetravel #digitalnomadeurope #remotework #workonline #workfromanywhere #workandtravel #digitalnomadlifestyle

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