Getting Euros

I always purchase a few hundred euros here before traveling to Italy. In fact, I just purchased 300 euros yesterday online through B of A (you have to have an account with B of A). The exchange rate was okay & they only charge $7.50 as a delivery charge. I probably could have saved a little bit of money elsewhere or by withdrawing from an ATM when I get to Italy but on such a small dollar amount, in my opinion, it's worth paying a little more to have the cash on hand when I land. I know I'll be jet-lagged & tired when we get to Venice & my sole focus will be on getting to our hotel & not finding an ATM.

Many people buy some local currency before they go. As Sheron says, the cost difference for a small amount is not significant. But otherwise, use the ATM. Italian banks will not charge a fee so you can easily calculate your fees from you bank's policy. An ATM withdrawl will be within 1% of the interbank exchange rate that day, plus whatever fees. Typically the total cost is 1-5% of the actual exchange rate. Buying euros in the US typically costs 5-10%.

In Italia at an ATM. I've flown into Malpensa, outside of Milan, and used an ATM at the airport; same in Munich.

You should do some research as to what fees your bank charges. You will most likely, unless you can find a sister atm, a fee from the Italian bank. Then my bank was charge a high transaction fee and a converging fee.
For me, it was more convenient and roughly the same price (within $10) to get euros here. Most people do not recommend it because you could save lots of money but that is why you need to check with your bank. I also liked the convenience of just having it ready to go with me but to each their own.

Brent, I normally like to have ~€50-100 for "travelling money", which is good for meals or Taxi fare until I get settled. After that I access ATM's as required. If you're planning to use ATM's, a few points to note: > Funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. > Be sure to notify your financial institutions that you'll be travelling abroad, so they don't "freeze" your cards. > It's a really good idea to have a "backup" ATM card as well, in case of any problems with your primary card (I've had that happen). Happy travels!

this question gets asked at least every week if not more often. You can find lots of information by using the "Search" box in the upper right hand corner of this web page. I go to Europe ever summer and choose not to pay the too high cost of getting any European currency in the US. We get whatever local currency we need from an ATM machine using a DEBIT card tied to a CHECKING ACCOUNT at our final arrival airport. Be sure to know your pin number in numbers, not letters. Be sure to let the financial institution whose plastic you are taking as to where and when you are going and it can help to ask them to repeat the information you have just given them and asking the name of the person you are talking to. We got burned one year in going to Ireland, our only stop in Europe that year, when our bank froze one of our debit cards saying later that we had not included Ireland in the list of countries we were going to. We are no longer doing business with that bank any longer. Happy travels.

We always start out with a few euro, and perhaps more importantly some (restroom) change ;-) We bought some euro at Wells Fargo Bank years ago - they have, forever, been the best/cheapest place to buy euro whether you have an account with them or not; I haven't checked this 'rule' out in the last 6 months, though...We occasionally top off our euro if we really need some serious money in the first days of our trip, or when traveling with my in-laws - we don't want ANY hiccups while they're with us. Then, we get beaucoup euro from the European ATMs...:-( If you even think you might return to Europe, just return home with some euro...a few hundred, or whatever floats your boat. And don't forget to bring home The Bathroom Change 8^D; keep all of this with your passport(s).

We go over with a few hundred Euro's and get the rest from ATMs. We opened an account with Capital One because they had good rates.There are Atms all over the place but they do have limits. anywhere from $200 to $400 Euro's per day. When we go we always go with two cards from 2 separate accounts in case we have trouble with one. In one trip we had a machine that 'ate' our card and we closed the account and used the other card. We always go with cards from two differnet accounts and never regret it. Just remember you deposit in dollars and withdraw in Euros!