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?.
Planning a trip to Greece? See the full Greece travel guide, or get the complete Greece Travel Guide for offline itineraries and insider tips.
Destinations Editor at Travelcho, covering food culture, city guides, and budget travel across Asia and Europe.
