best way to get a large amount of euros at once with best exchange rate

How much you can withdraw each day is allowed according to your bank as well as any limits by the ATM you use. We always used BNL ATMs when we lived there as we could withdraw up to Euro 500 each day and each of us could do so, so Euro 1000 per day.

Here is what I would do in your case:

• check with your bank and verify the maximum they will let you withdraw and that you and your spouse may both do so
• contact the landlady and tell her you will give her as much as possible on arrival and the balance the next day
• on arrival, try a big bank like BNL, Monte dei Paschi di Siena for example and you should each take out as much as allowed. Maintain awareness of your surroundings while doing so. Repeat the next day (or two) as needed.

A final thought: Can you transfer her the payment from the US using Transferwise? Then no need to deal in so much cash.

Would you consider just doing a bank wire? We've found that the exchange rate we receive from our bank (USAA) is whatever is trading that day, and that the only fee involved is the USD$40 fee to initiate the wire. We've faced the same situation in the past and have found that when dealing with large amounts of money for deposits or payments the bank wire works best for us - safe, secure, reasonable rate of exchange, simple and convenient.

In our experience, the owner, if local, had allowed us a few days to pay, either in installments or in full. Also, we have no problem carrying that much cash, taking precautions.

The only way to get the "best" exchange rate is to use an ATM and a debit card that has no foreign fees. Any other route is going to cost you more.

First, check with your bank to see what your current withdrawal limit is and if it can be raised at least temporarily so you can get the full amount you need relatively quickly. Most US banks have a $300 daily default limit on ATM cash withdrawals. If you are traveling with others, maybe they can get some of the cash from their daily allowances to apply toward the rental and you can pay them back.

Second is the ATM limit. This is different than your bank's daily limit and nothing you can do about getting this changed. Most European ATMs I have used have around €500 per transaction as their limit. You can usually do multiple transactions to get more up to your bank's daily limit on your account. If one ATM doesn't allow for this, you can use several different ones.

Going to a bank in Europe will only result in them pointing at their ATM and telling you to use that. No bank in Europe I am aware of will currently allow non customers to do business with them. It is not in their interest to help.

You mention going through Naples and Sorrento. If you will be there for a couple days before arriving at Positano, you can get some extra cash there and keep it on you in a money belt/neck wallet/hidden pocket so it is relatively safe from pick pockets. Not the optimal solutions, but tolerable for a couple days.

Other options include buying the Euro from your local bank before departing. Of course this means you will be carrying the full amount for the entire time. The average cost for this is around 6 cents per Euro plus any delivery charges. You could also change US$ for Euro at the airport exchange booths. This will cost more, and make sure you exchange actual cash and not use a card for this since that would be billed as a cash advance.

The wire option is a possibility as well. Since you have delt with this person before, you might have enough trust to wire the money to her. The Transferwise company seems very affordable, compared to what most banks charge to do wires, and has received good reviews here.

Good luck.

Deutsche Bank has an ATM in Positano near the Hotel Savoia and if your own bank will raise your daily withdrawal limit, then Deutsche Bank will probably give you the whole amount. With our corporate cards, we're able to withdraw at least €1000 per transaction from DB (which I've done in locations including Varenna on Lake Como) or perhaps even €2000 (I've been told).

Here we are again.
Another Italian who wants to be paid cash so that they can dodge the tax man.
What a country!

See if you can wire the amount via your bank (about $40 international wire fee) or with TransferWise (cheaper).

If you decide to get euro through your local bank, you could at least try to request it in all 100€ bills. That would make a manageable stack. But forget about getting the "best" rate.

We rented a house on the Amalfi coast last month and although the owner asked for cash, we negotiated payment by PayPal (we had to calculate the currency conversion and account for that amount in our payment with US dollars). I'm wondering if you could ask the owner if she would be willing to take a PayPal payment when you arrive? Or perhaps part cash/part online payment? We had no difficulty taking cash out of the ATM in Rome and keeping it safely in our money belts while we traveled. I found our host to be most gracious and agreeable to our request. Just a thought.

Ciao,
Sheila

Could you get one or two additional debit cards, on different accounts? Then of course, you could draw from each, on the same day, probably even from the same ATM, one with drawl immediately after the other.
Since you say the owner in Positano knows you, maybe if you communicate in advance, she can plan to accept payment over a few days.

Since you’ve rented from her before, sounds like trust is not an issue. Use transfer wise as ACH, not wire, it’s low cost, and good exchange rate. We pay our rent every month via transfer wise. Money is received by landlord within 24 hours.

Thank you all so much! I am going to try Xoom, which is part of Pay Pal and pay in advance a couple of days before I get there. They don't even charge a fee as long as it's from one bank to another. I just need a bit more info from her besides the name of the bank and IT number, which I already have. The language barrier causes a little snag but hopefully, she understands and send the info to me. Ciao!