Dollars to Euros

Don't take any cash...take an ATM card and get money using an ATM (locate the airport ATMs on the FCO map). Bringing dollars to exchange for Euros will be a costly and inefficient alternative.

Sylvia, Changing dollars cash to Euros cash is never possible at a "decent exchange rate". If you do it at your home bank, you are paying to have the Euros securely transported to you, if you do it in Italy, you are paying for the dollars to be securely transported back across the Atlantic (plus in both cases bank employees time). Expect to loose 5-10% on the deal, if not more.

"Also have debit card we can use to take out euros at 1% charge from my bank." - that is the cheap way to do it. Go to the first bank-owned "Bancomat" you find and get some Euros out. All that crosses the Atlantic is Internet messages, and they are cheap.

We just ordered a few hundred Euro using our Bank of America account so we'd have some cash when we landed. As your Bank if they have the service. Last time we landed in FCO the line at the ATM nearby was like 15 deep - all people off the same flight trying to get some cash.

Ditto: You only want to exchange dollars abroad in extreme emergencies or if you go to Cuba.

While it is true that the least expensive way of getting local currency is from an ATM at your destination, it's always a good idea, in my opinion, to have some local currency in hand when you land. Getting a couple of hundred Euros from your local bank will cost you a little more, but it eliminates the hassle of trying to find a machine, the stress of hoping it works (they do occasionally malfunction), and doing it all while somewhat jet lagged. To us the small amount extra it cost to have money in hand when arriving is money well spent. Just an opinion.

Do you have AAA? We just went to our local branch and ordered Euros. It takes 2-3 days for them to arrive, you do not have to pay any fees.

Buy Euro here at your bank before you leave for your trip. They use your Account with them to pay for the Euro. Don't wait for the last minute, some banks have to order Euro. I travel solo and I may take 500 Euro with me on the plane, sometimes more.

Yes you need Euro cash and coins in Italy! The only place I use my credit card in Italy is at hotels and B & Bs, and even there they give me the option of paying in Euro cash, which I do!

Then in Italy you can use your Debit card to get Euro cash from ATM Machines. Tell your bank the dates you will use your Debit and Credit cards in Italy.

If you have to exchange dollars to Euro in Italy go to Poste Italiane, the Italian Post Office will give you the current Google rate. You have to show your Passport and fill out a short form. I don't think I paid any fees to them, i just got the current Google rate. Best place to go if you need to trade dollars for Euro in Italy!

Echoing the advice to get a hundred or so from your bank to get you started and the rest from ATMs. Bring more than 1 ATM card in case something happens to one of them. Yes, also tell your bank (and credit card company) where and when you will be traveling so they don't see an unusual transaction and put a freeze on your cards.

Not all ATMS will dispense amounts of cash beyond a limit so if you try to, say, pull, 500 euro out of one and it rejects the transaction. try again with 300, then 250, etc. Use ATMs attached to a bank and during banking hours in case you have a problem.

Landing in Rome and taking private car to Positano for a few days

I'll only ask this because you seem to have some monetary concerns but have you booked this yet? It promises to be VERY expensive from Rome: it's a long way from Positano.

Poste Italiana has Bancomat machines, just insert your ATM card and take out cash, no forms to fill out.

As everyone above mentioned, do not bring dollars to Italy to exchange for euros. The ATM strategy is the best. We have a Charles Schwab checking account, which comes an ATM card, no minimum balance, and they reimburse exchange fees at the end of each month. You can open an account online or call them. They are a HUGE financial institution.

Since we travel in Italy every year we bring a few hundred home for the next year. A strategy you could use would to be to obtain a few hundred prior to your departure so you will have local currency when you arrive. Some people study the exchange rates and advise against using your bank, AAA, or the exchange kiosk at an airport. My feeling is this, when you consider the overall cost of your trip...buying euros once before you leave is chump change.

Another strategy we use is to only use an ATM, bancomat in Italy, that is attached to a bank and only when the bank is open. If there is a problem we can go inside to retrieve our card. We NEVER use a free standing ATM whether it's in an airport or anywhere.

These are the strategies we follow and we have been happy with the outcomes.

Go and have fun.

Buon viaggio,

Thank you everyone.

So I will take 2 debit cards to use at the ATM's in ITALY which are called Bancomats.

*Is it okay to be charging all my meals at restaurants on my credit card? My bank only charges me 1% for conversion.*

I will take the advice to take at least a couple of hundred euros from here just in case there are long lines at the airport when we arrive. So this is what found out today on getting euros before I leave.
Triple A(I am member) - 79 euros for $100 so essentially paying $1.265 per euro
Travel X kiosk at local mall - (.81 euro per dollar) So 81 euros for $100 plus $9.95 fee so essentially $110 for 81 euros so that ends up at $1.358 dollar for one euro
My Credit union - 1.1135 for 1 euro so Assume I want 79 euros then that costs $87.96 plus $12 shipping fee so that's essentially $100 for 79 euros which is basically the same as TripleA and Triple A has them on hand.
So did I do the math correct? I should go ahead and get the euros at my Triple A office or order them through my credit union since they have the same rate, right?

Kathy, we are taking the plunge and getting a private car with transferelax from the Rome airport straight to our hotel door in Positano for 370 euros. It's pricey but it will be worth it. My husband and I don't want to mess with trains, buses, or anything else for this initial transfer. Between the other cities, we will be doing the trains...

They are all bad. The current exchange rate today at 11.57am is 1.06. So the AAA rate of 1.265 is 19% mark up. Someone posted that AAA doesn't charge fees. They don't have to charge fees with a 20% mark up of the exchange rate. That approaches my definition of a rip off. To get euro in the US, you should expect to pay around 10%. If you can get close to that mark, do it for a hundred or so. We try to a hundred in local currency when arriving. Generally it is saved from a prior trip or just go to my local bank and pay the fee.

Once, in country, a debit card at a bank-owned ATM will be the cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency -- always !!!!

PS You will pass through a lot of towns between the airport and Positano so just tell the driver that you need to stop at a bank ATM. He will find one for you. Italy probably has more ATMs than the US.

To answer your question about using your credit card, Sylvia: Yes, it sounds as if you have a very good credit card. You may as well use it. Be sure, though, that all charges go through in euros, not in dollars. That way, the conversion will be made at a very good rate. If you let the hotel/restaurant/shop convert your bill into dollars, it will not use a good exchange rate, and that will cost you extra money.

I would get a credit card that doesn't have any foreign exchange fees...there are many to choose from (Capital One is one of them). Yes, if a restaurant allows credit card, feel free to use them. But there are many "mom and pop" type places that may be "cash only", so find out beforehand. Also, be aware that they will run your card with a hand-held machine and you'll have to tell them the tip (if any) before they complete the transaction. I have seen line items for tips very rarely, if at all. And find out about appropriate tipping..there's not need to tip like in the US, although the Italians in mega tourist spots like Cinque Terre and Venice are likely getting used to American practices (but that doesn't mean it applies elsewhere).

I don't know who needs a few hundred Euros in cash on arrival - you just need to have some minimum amount to cover transport costs to town (and to tide you over to when you can hit an ATM). Believe me, there are plenty of ATM in all but the most remote towns. (Ignore this if you have to pay for your private transfer in cash and need to have the funds to do that).

Just wondering if it's not cheaper to fly to Naples (instead of Rome) than a 370 EUR transfer...that is really expensive. Or even spending the first night(s) in Rome so you can readjust first and then just take the train down. Trains are not difficult to use in that area and much cheaper than a private transfer (at least you can cut that transfer down to Naples to Positano, instead of Rome to Positano). I get the convenience factor, but that's a pricey way to travel. There's a paradox in sweating an exchange rate for a small amount of money (incidentals) while spending a lot on a private transfer...if you really want to save money, economize on big(er)-ticket items and not worry about the small stuff.

Thanks!

Agnes, yeah, I get that it's expensive for private car. We were not able to get a flight into Naples and didn't want to settle in Rome for a night and then head to Positano. Just preferred to spend a little more in that area for the convenience as we are going to be very tired from all night flight....

We always take about 500 home from each trip so we have cash on arrival, but if we didn't have that we'd probably pick up 100 or so. But we arrived in Russia with no rubles and had no trouble getting the thousands we needed for an apartment from ATMs once we arrived. Same with Paris -- get a cab that takes a credit card and go to a post office or bank bancomat when you arrive (the post offices tend to give 20s which are much better than higher denominations).

Also make sure your debit/ATM card and your credit card don't charge ridiculous fees. Our credit card doesn't add fees to the 1% that is part of international money exchange. If yours does, you have a bad bank; get a better card. Same with ATM. We dropped BoA years ago when they started charging 5$ to make a withdrawal; now you can avoid that at their partner banks, but they still charge a huge % on the exchange because they can. We have an ATM card from a small local bank that doesn't do this and were really happy to have both our business and personal accounts which was a large deposit for a small bank. We also always have at least one back up account of each type and my husband and I have different card numbers on our main account. This was important when my husband's card was stolen and we had 8 weeks of travel without access to his credit card, but luckily mine still worked; they froze his card not the account.