In a few weeks, I will be traveling from San Francisco through Frankfurt to Venice, with just carry-on baggage. I have two logistics questions for those who have done this recently: (1) will I go through any immigration or customs checks in Frankfurt or in Venice? (2) I am assuming that there will be ATMs at the Frankfurt airport where I can get euros (is there still an international transit area, or once into the EU maybe that is now unnecessary?). Can anyone verify that there are ATMs available there?
Thanks so much.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
1. Regardless of checked baggage or carry on, the customs will be in Venice (just a walk through). Passport control is in FRA. 2. If you don't have any euros, just exchange 50 euros at SFO. There are a couple of money exchange booths inside the international terminal just past security. The exchange rate they give is lousy, but for just 50 euro it won't matter. That way you will have something when you land, even if you don't have the time to search for an ATM at FRA. The layover at FRA is not that long on the way to VCE and you may have to run for your flight if there are delays on arrival or at the passport control and security check. That is especially true if you take the United flight which gets there at 3:00 pm (my wife took that one a few weeks ago to VCE and she had to rush). You will have only 30 min. to change gates before they start boarding. If you take the LH flight you will have more time, but you never know if there are delays. Your first priority should be to reach the Venice flight gate, that's why it is better not having to search for ATMs at a layover airport. Once you land in Venice, you can always get money there. In FRA at most you'll need some cash for coffee. For bigger purchases at the airport you can use a credit card.
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2787 posts
I am not sure why you need to get Euros in Frankfurt rather than wait until you get to Venice. I flew into Frankfurt 2 months ago and found lots of ATM machines but the ones we found (and used) were outside of the security zone.
If you have some absolutely "can't wait until Venice" reason, you might be better served to go to your bank in CA and order a small amount of Euros and accept the fact that you will quite likely be getting the worst exchange rate possible.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
We did not find any ATMs in the security area of the domestic terminals at Frankfurt airport. We did look. We did find a couple of places where you could buy cigarettes but we didn't need those. Roberto has the best idea. In the rear of the ticketing area of the SFO International airport, Travelex has an ATM that dispenses Euros, Yen and one other currency. You can use your ATM card. It's just to the left of the BofA ATM. Works great. Lousy exchange rate but for a few dollars, you have instant peace of mind.