Paying w/Euros vs. Credit Cards

We take a few “starter”currency for the host country. (Transportation and tips).
Request from a local bank and expect 1 week turnaround.
Request smaller denominations so you don’t have to look for change in the country you are
visiting. Happy Travels

If I don't have foreign currency from the previous trip, I always wait until I arrive. Cash is rarely needed any more. Things you may need cash for are restrooms, coffee, tips, parking meters.

Use an ATM affiliated with a bank (NOT Euronet) Look at the back of your ATM card to see what networks are options for you. We tend to like to get cash from an ATM inside a bank during business hours, when possible.

We were halfway thru a 5 week trip to New Zealand before we needed cash, and then there was an ATM a half a block away. Likewise, we've spent time in Switzerland never needing cash. Lately, I run into more places that refuse cash than places that require it.

I read about tourists withdrawing 100 or 500 euros for a trip, once, a person said 1000 euros "just to be safe". Cash is NOT safe. If you lose it or are pickpocketed, you can't get it back.

In Vienna, credit cards are nearly universal. I rarely carry cash. That said, you might want some cash on hand (100 Euro or less) in case you visit a farmer's or flea market (that's the only time I use cash). Restaurants will clearly indicate if they are cash only - there are still a few, which are interestingly popular with tourists, that don't take credit cards.

I tap my credit card using my iPhone or my Apple Watch for just about everything, though.

Ordering foreign cash at your bank is an expensive method.

Better is to go to an ATM in the foreign country, best is a debit card, using a credit card means a bit more commission.

There is a pitfall when using credit cards: In some countries you are asked - during the paying process - in which currency you want to pay. The correct answer is always the currency of the country you are at the moment. Otherwise your payment will be converted using a less favorable exchange rate.

I figure I keep somewhere around 50 euro on me at all times. That covers small purchases (a euro or two) and the rare shop or restaurant that is cash only, or at least cash strongly preferred. It also is a back up if there is a problem with my card or the restaurants payment system.

Does any of that ever happen? Maybe once a trip that I need cash, plus several time I prefer to use it. Also, the more you get off the tourist path, the more likely you might need cash. Most of the time I come home with about as much as I took.

The only place in Austria I've needed cash has been Hallstatt. Everything there, including the boat to town from the train station, requires cash.

Thanks for the helpful replies.
I didn't realize I'd need cash for the restroom. How much?

I didn't realize I'd need cash for the restroom. How much?

It is mostly 50 or 60 Eurocent. You need not to have it exactly, the turnstiles give you the return cash. The advanced ones allow you to pay (contactless) with your credit card or smartphone wallet.

I didn't realize I'd need cash for the restroom.

To be fair, that is mostly rail stations and public restrooms, not usually in restaurants, stores, and museums. With judicious use of restrooms when available, you can avoid pay toilets (I travel in Europe 10 to 12 weeks a year and can't remember the last time I paid), unless of course you have issues of needing to go at the drop of the hat.

Ordering foreign cash at your bank is an expensive method.

I prefer to get cash from my bank at home. One less to worry about when traveling to a new country. A few extra dollars for the convenience is not going to make or break me when my trip costs thousands.

Carrie. People really worry about $1 or even $5 (fee on 100 euro) for convenience on a $15,000 trip? But my bank gives me the same more or less as the credit card does.

I think people should get cash wherever and however they prefer. It's a benefit, though, to know which ways are the most economical. But economy in such matters isn't necessarily the top priority.

I'll add that I've never paid for toilet access in my life, except for one single time when I paid a fee of, I think, two euros in an airport somewhere in Europe. They took credit cards. And the bathroom was amazing. I had no problem whatever with the fee.

I'm old enough to remember bars and the inaccurately named "gentlemen's clubs" (yes, I once patronized them) in which there was a stooge dressed in a cheap tuxedo handing out spritzes of cologne and expecting a tip for that service and for keeping the toilets clean. I'm glad that whole business is no longer part of my life. They required more than a buck or two.

The only place I have paid to use the bathroom in Vienna was at the train station. All other bathrooms are free to use in restaurants, sights and other locations (as I have kids, I have a mind map of all of the good bathrooms in Vienna).

This is in the Austria forum, cant speak to Austria. But on the off chance you go south, you will run into pay toilets in Hungary. Generally in large public areas like train stations and shopping malls; but not the airport or restaurants. Unfortunately fewer then there once was, but still not uncommon. It will take cash only more often than not. Oh, these places charge too: https://www.welovebudapest.com/i/d0/fortepan-195360.jpg And yes, a few are still in service.