Cash required at check-in

Hit the ATMs. About the only choice you have. What withdraw limit does your bank place on you. I have generally found that ATMs attached to banks have higher or no limits on withdraw provided there is not a limit by your bank. Another thing -- it is good practice to have two debit attached to two different accounts. Use both to the max. Carrying should not be scary if you are following good money belt practices.

Why don't you ask if traveler's checks are as good as cash? Many will take them and consider it cash, and they're easy to get before you leave for Italy.

talk to your bank. let them know you will be overseas. ask them to raise your per-day limit (set by the bank, not the ATM).

On my first trip to Italy, my per-day limit was $500 (much to my surprise). And I had to fax a signed letter asking for them to raise it for a week...

They will raise it, after all, it's your money... you just have to ask.

happy travels!

Some banks will raise your daily limit. Some won't. It's worth asking.

Bear in mind the limit is for your protection. If your card is lost or stolen it protects you from having your account cleaned out before you can place a stop on the account.

Since you will be on the ground for awhile before Rome, you can make daily stops at an ATM to "save up" for the expense. You can get roughly 350 Euro (based on $500 rounded to the nearest bill the machine dispenses) each day from the ATM. ATMs are located everywhere. If your card has a Visa or Mastercard logo (most debit cards do), you can use virtually every machine in Europe. If not, Plus, Star and Cirrus networks cover a lot of machines but you need to ask more specific questions about where you can use your card.

Careful with Marie's suggestion. Travel Checks have been out of favor for years. And the fees involved in obtaining and using them can be very high.

If your B&B will accept a bank draft in euros as well as cash, then I suggest you open an account with www.xe.com/fx. I use mine to send gift money to relatives overseas and to pay the deposit at B&Bs that don't accept credit cards. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer and a bank draft in the currency of my choice is sent by US mail directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. For security reasons it takes some time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that. If you don't want to send that large a sum to the B&B in advance, then have the bank draft issued in the name of the B&B but mailed to you at home. Take it with you and hand it over in person.

Peggy,
Check with your bank and find the daily limit on your card, also check if the limit is per card or per account (if you have a joint account each of you can have a seperate card and the limit applies to the card). See if they will raise the limit if it is not high enough. If none of the above gets you to the amount you want open another checking account at another bank.

Now when you get to the B&B ask where the nearest bancomat is they will probably walk you there. Take out the money (it may take multiple transactions) and give it to them. If you want to check where the nearest bancomat is see http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/

Brad,
The limit on debit cards is usually two tiered. One for cash, say $500, and another for purchases, say $3000. You can get wiped out quickly.

Visa owns Plus and MasterCard owns Cirrus and most machines will take both. Star is useless in Italy.

You say a group? If so, maybe you have more than one ATM card already, so the withdraw and build up, putting the cash in a moneybelt would be best. You may also consider opening another account at a credit union (low fees) so that you have double the daily limit if your bank does not raise limits (mine does not). Your other choices are to exchange some cash in the US, banks like Wells Fargo are not too bad (~4% range as opposed to the ~1% range of an ATM) for exchange; and the other I have used is a credit card I have that I am able to get cash withdrawals(advances)from an ATM...with a much higher limit.

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. My banker increased my limit to $1000. I have asked my daughters to have their debit cards also, so between the 3 of us we should make it. I also have moneybelts for each of us. I have left my husband behind to keep the cash flowing and the banker will call him if my account gets low! It's great to live in a small town.

Why not ask the B&B directly (via email or phone call) if they will accept a credit card? I stayed in several places while in Italy, and all said they wanted cash only. I asked all if I could pay with credit card, and if there is a discount for paying in cash. After asking, I was given permission to pay with my credit, had I chosen to, at almost all of them, including a very small B&B in Florence.
I'm not that great at Italian yet, but if you'd like to email, this worked for me:
"Vorrei sapere se accetta pagamente con carta di credito? Anche, c'è uno sconto se pago in contanti?" translated: "I would like to know if you accept payment with credit card? Also, is there a discount if I pay in cash?" Those who speak Italian better, corrections please! But that did it for me, and I was able to pay with credit card even at places who said "cash only".
Bring a prinout of your email correspondences in case any of them backtrack on you, or if someone not "in the know" is checking you in.
Have a great trip!

thanks robyn, I'll try it. Only a week to go!!! Peggy