Pre-paid Calling Cards are the Cheapest way to Call Home
The two types of pre-paid calling cards for land lines: Time Cards and Tel Cards!

The Chrono Card

Using one of the many card brand types for sale at many kiosk locations, for a few euro dollars (5, 10, 20), you can save polla lefta (much money).
<-- Time card left

Lets say you are in a hotel. Ask the reception how to access an out side line and then use the chrono card (time card) to call internationally. Possibly more convenient than using a public telephone, this hotel call is a bit tricky as hotels will charge you something no matter where you call out to but you will more than likely be billed for a local call only but at the hotels extra rate. Better enquire from reception desk the cost and how to access outside line (try 9). You could use this system from a friends house or what have you as well! Handy!!!!!

The Tel card

Here pictured left is the other type of pre-paid land line card which is good for using the new type of public phone the calling card phone booth.

Calling Card phone booths only accepts this type of payment and are everywhere! Coin operated coin booths are nonexistent and you'll find those at more periptero's (kiosks). Read more about them below. Buy one of these Phone booth cards as soon as you get to Greece! '11 888' is the number for directory assistance or information within Greece in case you were wondering. They bill you for that too.

Combing the two using the calling card phone booth?

I have never done this (because i just thought of it) but I guess it could be done and it would be very handy as well since this type of phone offers more privacy sometimes than a kiosk phone.

By the way, some kiosk owners will not let you call a mobile phone from their kiosk, only another land line. Other kiosk owners however, will allow you to call a mobile or Keen ee to telephono but it costs more.

If, for example, you possesed both of these type of cards and were at a 'card only public phone' like this one in Exarhia Square, you could get things started by inserting your tel-card and then, using the dialing instructions below or better still, on the back of your own card, access the features of the chrono-card to call internationally, just make sure you have enough time on the tel card.

So these are the two types of pre-paid calling cards for land lines: one that only works in the phone type above left (calling card phone booth) and ones that you can use from any phone including the one below but that you have to enter a code by hand to access the low rates. Its these latter that are pretty wonderful and in fact you can use in other countries too although I havent tried that myself. (See #3 on card below)

Pre-Paid Card Phones in Greece

A recent wrinkle in Greek telecommunications is the card phone booth all over Athens, Greece and in the middle of nowhere Greece that doesn't take change.

You need a pre-paid calling card. Imagine finding yourself in a remote rustic Greek island village, where they hardly even have running water, but they do have one of these phone booths. It wouldn't be so bad if they took change, but no... I finally broke down and tried one. It worked like a charm....Unbelievable for Greece! Then I promptly lost the card.

There are 4 denominations of cards from 3 EU to 25 EU. You can buy them everywhere, Post offices and Peripteros mostly

Last summer on the islands I ran into problems with these kind of phones that did not work.

They were the only kind of phones near the beach where I was camping too!

Fortunately my friend let me borrow his cell phone which was also running low on credits and batteries.

These machines want you to hang up, leave the card in, and then let it re-write your magnetic strip and subtract from your available credit.