How much cash to convert

Carry cash for sure. But the card is king. $100/day would be extreme overkill—more like $100/week for me these days. Quick run to the ATM if I need a bit more.

Contactless cards, even better.

Use ATMs (bancomats), not currency exchanges. Take out the max you can per transaction (300-500€) and see how far it goes. Repeat as necessary.

I agree with others. Our latest trip to Italy was in 2015. They were even better than the US regarding chip card use.

It all depends on your spending habits. Having 50- 100 euro for incidentals would be about right. This would be for small transactions, like when we bought roasted chestnuts from a street vendor in Siena. I don't think we spent more than 150 euro in cach for the 10 days we were there. I remember buying trinkets at the airport to spend our leftover cash.

Here's Rick's current advice on money: Travel Tips - money

Unfortunately I didn't see a date on any of the articles from Rick. I wonder if his advice will change when he returns this summer?

I found that traveling last Fall (to France) I used cash much less frequently than pre-pandemic. I've not traveled in Italy since before the pandemic.

So....as mentioned above DON'T take cash from home and exchange it there. Use your debit card to withdraw Euro when you get to Europe. I'd draw out a couple of hundred and see how long that lasts you. If you need more, stop at another ATM. If you find yourselves not using it, you've got some "seed" money for next time.

I agree with Scudder. Plastic as much as I can. Cash when I can't. I also find credit cards are a good reminder of the name of a place where I made a special purchase.

I’d argue that some of the info in those RS articles were outdated even before COVID.

In 2019 contactless card payment was already widespread in Europe, though that varied by country. During the pandemic banks upped the limits on contactless payments and updated a significant amount merchant hardware to process contactless.

My post-COVID experience is limited to Spain, where I’ve spent a total of six weeks since November. I used my contactless Chase Visa for meals, groceries, retail shopping, taxis, haircuts, public transport, single beers in bars—even the bouncers at nightclubs have contactless readers for the cover charge!

And worth noting—my near zero use of cash was very much in line with “doing as the Romans do”.

Don't covert any US cash to Euros - use your credit card or get cash at a bank ATM. Now that said - I land with about 250 euro in my possession that I get from my bank buying euros through my bank before I leave. I get small bills. I find it helpful at local markets and of the beaten path locations. AND don't use your credit to get cash like a cash advance just use it at bank ATMS for the best up to date currency exchange rates. The charges for a cash advance are quite large.

We were in France in November 2021 and didn't find a huge difference in pre- and post-COVID regarding cash vs. card. All the same places that accepted cards pre-covid (restaurants, museums, larger stores) still accepted cash, and all the places that generally preferred cash pre-covid (markets, taxis, street vendors) still accepted or preferred cash. The only real difference I noticed is that all the pay-restrooms we visited (in the Louvre underground mall, for example) now accept contactless credit card payment, which is nice to not have to search for 1 euro coins if you're in a hurry! Although I'm not sure whether that was covid-related or not (prior to this trip, we hadn't been to Paris since 2016).

It's definitely not necessary, but we like to order 500 euros from our local bank in small bills (20s, 10s, and 5s) before our trip so we have something to start out with. For whatever reason, we have a hard time getting anything but 50 euro bills at most ATMs, which are difficult to break. We pay a slightly higher exchange rate for the convenience, but it's worth it to us. That 500 euros will easily last my family of 3 for 2-3 weeks (obviously we pay for everything we can on a CC and save the cash for when it's absolutely necessary).

I usually take some cash and often get more since I love going to little markets and street vendors. However, I've noticed some payment differences in this Italy trip. Maybe because we're going different places in different ways but I've had a few people asked to be paid in cash for services I've booked directly with them. I'm preparing to pay in euros at the time the service is rendered. This would include tuition for a class, a driver's fees and even for the cleaning portion of an Airbnb. Credit card fees are high and the tax man has his hand out. I'm happy to help the little guys as long as I know in advance.

While in Italy last September and Portugal in January, I always get around $300 Euros from a atm at the airport. While cards are accepted almost everywhere, for the occasional taxi or aperitivo, I prefer to use cash. If I need more euros, I find an atm at bank and withdraw more.

hey hey heinenmb
this question is asked so many times with yes or no answers. i always get about 200E here where i live, cost is little for what rest of trip costs. i get small bills, 5, 10, 20's which are easier to use than 50's or 100's
got "burned" once and never again, borrowed from friend until we got into city/town. many getting off flight or flights head to ATM's, had 2 one was out of order other had long long lines and when will it run out on money, don't want to wait and see, i just walk by with a smile on my face, beat them to passport/immigration, hop in a cab with cash and away we go.
many machines have changed over to travelex which charges a hefty fee. my 200E lasted me about 4 days since i used my debit/credit card. when getting cash at an ATM i got an odd number 40, 80 or 90E, so i could get small bills. if i got a 50E i would use for lunch or dinner, stop by an ATM in a bank or connected to one.
don't know after covid, many shops/restaurants want cash since cost for CC, many have a minimum purchase, like 15-20E, to use a card. go have a great time, have cash euros in your pocket and no stressing.
aloha

Change maybe $100 into euros before you go. Carry credit and debit cards. Covid has caused a huge digitalization in Italy. Just about every establishment accepts credit cards, and even better, you can use Apple or Google Pay with your phone. That way, there's no contact and, better, more security. Make sure your cards are contactless--with those, you can just tap the point of sale reader. It's the 21st century, and Italy is fully a part of it. You can keep small amounts of cash for, say, a coffee at a bar.

We always carry $200 in USD with us in emergency funds with us but get local currency from an atm asap. We also use our cc’s a lot unless for a small purchase. This next trip in April with the situation in Ukraine unfolding we are bringing more USD with us. Edited to add - yes I know I can’t use USD in Italy but I could exchange those USD for euros if need be at a Bureau de Change.

Mary, that just sounds like a lot of bother to carry dollars with you. Are you worried that something might not work at some point?

I have never had trouble getting local currency at an ATM in an airport except in Istanbul (and I suspect that is so they can gouge the tourists, especially the transit passengers which is the bulk of Turkish Air's business).

@apaonita There is talk of cyber warfare. Will that affect atm’s, cc transactions? We ran into a situation on safari in Africa where the cc transaction couldn’t be put through so it was lucky we had sufficient local currency on hand as we were in the bush. I also live in an area where we have natural disasters (fire, earthquake). My son-in-law works in emergency preparedness for the state of CA and he recommends having emergency cash on hand.

I called AMEX to Inform then of my upcoming trip and they said my pin would only be needed for cash advances, not credit transactions.

We are regular RS travelers ( last was 2019 and six prior trips). My take on this issue. We leave 500 cash in our money belts along with passport, list of Al hotels and medical information. Never needed the cash except to help our RS travelers. We pick up a small amount of local currency ( your guy can tell you what to expect while in each country). Before you leave get used to using your phone wallet (Apple pay, wallet, android wallet.. you will be surprised how often you can use it for everything. No touching anything but your phone. Even the international airlines. Rest, stores, buses tram etc. In2019 two week in Best of England, London an two weeks In Amsterdam I needed my CC once. Major CC are a thing in the EU also. tap and Go.

If you are a iPhone user I love T-Mobile ( free international data) Google translate, Google maps, for walking route back to your hotel, Tripit to store your itinerary, airline boarding pass, hotels info, wallet to store board passes, medical info, vaccine card . Google photos store copies of photos with location information. air drop to pass on photos to other travelers.
Sorry got carried away. Most of all do what make you feel comfortable and relax to enjoy a special opportunity. Be safe