We will be coming in to Dublin, arriving at 5:30am. We have a 8:30am tour going to Northern Ireland for the day. I know the currency in Northern Ireland is different (I believe it is the pound?). Can we get enough currency for the day in Dublin before we go? I assume the airport would be a good place, but how are the exchange rates?
Thanks!
Wait until you're in NI and go to an ATM to get a few pounds.
Maybe you can just use your card for purchases so you won't need cash at all?
That sounds like a good plan, thank you
The best thing to do is use your credit card or debit card, the foreign exchange desks in Dublin are a expensive way of changing money.
Northern ireland banks print their own sterling notes too so they look different to uk sterling (you cant use them in retail outlets in uk, you usually have to go to a bank to change them into uk sterling notes).
Never, ever, use your credit card to get a cash advance - the exchange rate will be usurious.. Rather, as has already been mentioned, wait until you arrive in NI to find an ATM and use your debit card.
Better yet, use your credit card for purchases to the maximum extent you can and don't get NI pounds unless you absolutely have to - they can only be used in NI and are a real pain to have to exchange once you get to England.
This topic brought up a question for me. Is NI a separate country in it’s own right? Somehow I thought it was a “part of England”, as all the states in the the US are part of the USA.
Bkmat62
Great Britain is comprised of England, Wales, and Scotland.
The United Kingdom is comprised of the same countries, plus Northern Ireland.
The British Isles is comprised of all the above, plus the Republic of Ireland.
The generic term “Ireland” is comprised of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Can I use left over regular pounds in NI or do they only take the NI pounds?
Hi Larlock regular UK issued sterling can be used in Northern Ireland.
Its handier to use UK sterling rather than Northern Ireland notes so you don't have to change them if you are going onto UK.
By regular I guess you mean Bank of England notes.
Yes, you can use Bank of England notes in Northern Ireland. You can also use Scottish notes in NI, and NI notes in Scotland, and BOE notes in Scotland and NI notes in England etc. etc. – it’s all the same currency. (There are no Welsh notes!)
There's been an ongoing discussion/complaint on travel websites for quite a while about the failure of most independent and small retailers in England to recognize NI bank notes. Don't know the reason, but the fact is that while large retailers "may" accept them the smaller ones typically don't, and if you find yourself in the checkout line at anything but a large department store you'll stop traffic for several minutes while the cashier consults with her manager about whether to accept the unfamiliar currency ... which they usually won't.
The only way around it is to go to a bank and physically exchange them which, if you're only talking about small amounts, can be more of a hassle than it's worth.
