Cash in local currency

In my last five visits to Italy over the last 7 years I’ve used cash twice, once to buy an espresso which usually cost around €1.20 and the second time to buy a pack of gum for the same. Everything is cashless, even in deepest Puglia and Sicily and has been since 2013, at least. It’s a waste of time to carry cash anyway. Just take it as you need it.

We usually have a couple hundred Euros when in Italy in the event we need tip money, want a simple coffee or a bottle of water, for a bus fare, or in the rare event someplace won’t accept a card. Best to have some and use it the last day for a meal if you haven’t had need prior.

How do you leave tips for the hotel staff (housekeeping) without cash?

I suggest 200 Euros. We order it from Bank of America and they ship it to our local branch.

If you need more, there's ATMs in the bigger towns and cities.

Tell us more about your trip. Have you been to Europe before? Are you taking a tour?

ATMs are everywhere--I often show up with none, never been an issue. My spouse has access to currency conversion in advance, so we do that, but I would not pay extra of my bank did not already have this service.

You're not likely to need a lot of cash unless you choose a lodging that doesn't take credit cards, but I occasionally used cash in Italy for these things in 2022 and 2024:

• City lodging tax (often payable only in cash; it's a few euros per day per person)
• Restaurant tips (many restaurants won't let you put tips on a credit card)
• Public toilets (though some take credit cards)
• Coin-fed boxes in churches that control lights illuminating frescoes and mosaics (common in free-entry churches)
• Donations to churches with no entry fees that don't have coin-fed light boxes
• Churches requiring that entry fees be paid in cash (including many less-famous ones in Venice)

In addition:

• I don't think all walking-tour guides carry credit-card terminals with them.
• Street vendors may want cash
• Some taxi drivers may claim (perhaps falsely) that their credit-card machines are broken. Do you want to argue with them, go find another cab or just pay cash? Your call.

ATMs are widely available. Stick to bank-operated ATMs, ideally ones located inside. Conduct the transaction in euros. Don't allow the ATM itself to convert the amount to your home currency; it will use a very bad exchange rate.

We took 3 tours where the guides required cash, and one hotel that gave us a 15% discount for paying cash. All in all we came with about €500 for a 2 week stay and spent most of it.

I see more and more the discount for cash - in some parts of the US, it is very common. I would not be shocked to see cash discounts coming in Europe.

We always carry cash. Go to a bank-associated bankomat. Make sure to FAIL TO ACCEPT dynamic currency conversion. Just get it in local Euros, and let your bank convert. Bankomats are available at airports, and in most big towns. Pick one in a bank.

If you have extra cash, spend it in duty-free on the way home.

“I see more and more the discount for cash - in some parts of the US, it is very common. I would not be shocked to see cash discounts coming in Europe.
…
If you have extra cash, spend it in duty-free on the way home.”

1. The bank/network vigorish is much less in Europe. So, less likely. Wanting cash is usually tax evasion.
2. Save your leftover € for your next trip.

How much cash?
We just spent 3+ weeks in España. Used ApplePay for everything.
€20 for a street vendor.
I always have a few 1€ coins for toilets and shopping carts.

Withdraw 300 or 400€ at the first ATM you see and it should be enough for all of the above. The biggest cash need might be for the dishonest tax dodging taxi drivers who always have a POS machine that “somehow” cannot connect with the internet. If you don’t plan to take taxis then you will have plenty of euro left for the next trip.

I don't think all walking-tour guides carry credit-card terminals with them.

We took 3 tours where the guides required cash

To be clear: in Italy now is mandatory for EVERYBODY has a legal commercial activity to accept payment via credit/debit card. Doesn't matter the amount. Could be a street vendor, a guide or a taxi driver.
The ones who ask for only cash payment are usually tax-cheaters, who want cash so they could "forget" to pay taxes on it.

If a taxi driver (or a guide) tells you boarding that his ATM isn't working, you can go on the next one. If that is told at the end of the run tell him that you have only credit card: don't be worried about. Is him fault not having the way to receive the payment.

I always take the leftover euros from previous trip. I still have about 150 euros. I like to keep about 200, as well as about 200 US for emergencies.

Some years ago, my ATM would not work when in Scandinavia. Not sure why, but I had that emergency money.

How do you leave tips for the hotel staff (housekeeping) without cash?

I don't.

I worked a very physical and often unpleasant job dealing with drunks and druggies for many years - nobody ever tipped me. It is not in my nature.

Nigel. I agree with you. My father, who was a bus driver in Florence also received no tips, only threats when he was promoted to ticket inspector, the job he hated the most.

The article below should be an eye opener. Although today, for the first time in my life, I left a tip of 10,000 Arg. Pesos to the hotel maid in Buenos Aires. Argentina also has a 10% “propina” culture.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/18/i-dare-you-to-read-this-and-still-feel-ok-about-tipping-in-the-united-states/

I always have a few 1€ coins for toilets and shopping carts.

How do you get the coins if you don't first make a transaction to get change?

We always arrive in Europe with a couple of hundred euros in hand simply because of past experiences. In a word, technology. It's good when it works, but it doesn't always work as it should. We've had ATM cards not work (but did work later), found machines without money, and had machines malfunction during a transaction. We had credit cards not work (but did work 20 minutes later) four or five times. Despite the movement toward not using cash, it has never been refused.

“How do you get the coins if you don't first make a transaction to get change?”
Previous journeys to the € zone.