Like Italy and France, Greece runs on the Schengen Area’s shared entry rules rather than its own separate tourist-visa system — the full mechanics are covered in our Schengen Visa Guide. This page is the short version, applied to a Greece trip specifically.
The short answer
Passport holders from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe can enter Greece visa-free for tourism, for up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period. If your trip combines Greece with other Schengen countries, all those days draw from the same shared 90-day allowance — the full rolling-window mechanics are in the Schengen guide, worth reading in full for any longer or multi-country trip.
What’s coming: ETIAS
Starting in late 2026, visa-exempt visitors need to apply online for ETIAS before flying into any Schengen country, including Greece — a lightweight pre-travel authorization, not a visa, similar to the US’s ESTA. It costs €20 for travelers 18–70 and doesn’t change the 90-day limit.
Greece-specific notes worth knowing
- EU/Schengen citizens can enter with a national ID card rather than a passport.
- If your itinerary includes island-hopping to islands close to Turkey (like some of the Dodecanese), you’re still within Greece and the Schengen Area the entire time — no separate entry process for domestic ferry travel between Greek islands.
- A longer stay than the 90-day tourist allowance — study, work, digital nomad visas — requires a national visa applied for in advance through a Greek consulate, a separate and genuinely different process from tourist entry.
Related reading
Once entry is sorted, the next planning questions are usually is Greece safe and when to go — or start from our full Greece Travel Guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do US citizens need a visa for Greece?
No — US passport holders can enter visa-free for up to 90 days within any 180-day period, under Schengen tourist-entry rules.
Do I need a separate visa to island-hop within Greece?
No — inter-island ferries are domestic travel within the same Schengen entry; there’s no separate process for moving between Greek islands.
Can I combine Greece and Italy on the same trip without a second visa?
Yes — both draw from the same shared 90-day Schengen allowance rather than requiring separate entry permissions.
Planning a trip further afield too? See Do You Need a Visa to Travel to Japan? or Do You Need a Visa to Travel to Thailand?.
Also see Do You Need a Visa for Morocco?.
Destinations Editor at Travelcho, covering food culture, city guides, and budget travel across Asia and Europe.
