Money exchange

Unless you are stepping off the plane and onto a tour that needs cash payment, probably the best way is to take out money each day. You could probably max out your withdrawal limit each day (even when you don't have a tour) and float enough money to have enough to pay for the tours as they come up. That way you wouldn't be carrying around THOUSANDS of dollars all at once, and might have 100-200 euro cushion each day. Also, if you are with other adults that are paying their way as well, they can withdraw cash to contribute to the costs, spreading out the money among the group.

You could make a habit of withdrawing each day after a tour or any organized sightseeing to cover the next day (or few days).

We had to pay for two rooms at a B&B for 4 nights in cash and realized it two days before we left thankfully and maxed out the next two days to cover the amount.

99.999999% of the time, exchanging money has a less favorable rate than ATM withdrawal

Can’t answer the question regarding places (kiosks) that handle money exchange. I use the bank affiliated ATMs. The limit for ATM funds is set by the bank or you depending on the financial institution. For my banks it’s often an amount that is less than $1000 per 24 hour period.

The best way to get foreign cash is to use ATMs attached to actual banks in the relevant country. An airport ATM can get you some initial cash for your first day or so, or you might pay extra to buy that currency from your bank at home before leaving. To raise several thousand dollars' worth of euros, Katherine's ideas are best -- withdraw each day up to your daily limit from a bank ATM. You could ask your home bank, before leaving, to raise that limit. And of course travellers could each withdraw up to their own limits to raise the cash.

Of course you'll want to safeguard any large amount of cash, as well as credit and debit cards, in a money belt or neck wallet or hotel safe.

Hello gregorysriggs, and welcome to the forums!

Money changers are few and far between these days in Europe and often European banks want you to have an account with them before they'll perform even basic services. Changing money in the US is extremely expensive and unless you're luck enough to find someone to exchange a fairly large amount at lower rates than Thomas Cook or one of the other exchange places you'll pay a fee and percentage and a poor exchange rate all at once. I know previously certain Wells Fargos carried foreign currency but I suspect you need to have an account with them and live close to one of the special branches to have this work.

I know a couple of companies offer debit cards you can charge with dollars and then use in Europe to spend money or withdraw cash in euros. Wise (aka TransferWise) offers card like this and so does a company called Revolut.
Not a recommendation but just information: https://wise.com/us/travel-money/travel-money-card

Checks are rarely used in Italy but Italians use direct bank exchanges instead and even been asked to direct deposit money for deposits on rooms in more rural towns. If you're comfortable prepaying maybe a direct deposit from the US for some of the price will make the cash demands in Italy less of a burden. I have used Wise for this and the costs are the lowest I was able to find at the time but it's been a few years.

If you travel with more than 10,000 euros or dollars you start to run into customs limits and will need to declare it or face potentially serious complications.

Good luck, if you find an amazing deal let us know!

Have a great trip,
=Tod

You should be able to get at least 200 euro out each day from the ATM, costing you almost nothing, depending on your bank. Changing a $1000 at a bank in the US will cost you $50 to $100 in fees or marked up exchange rate, more at an airport.

So with some planning, the ATM is the best route.

You could also push your "guides" ahead of time, by law, for transactions over 60 euro, they are supposed to offer use of a credit card. I think most prefer cash, it likely benefits them tax-wise. For a tour of 7, they magically might be able to take a card, otherwise, find anther guide.

Thanks so much for the helpful information. I'll touch base with some of the guide services about taking advanced payment...and I'll check out that wise card as well. I've read a little about it online. Thanks again everyone!

I would not use a guide or go on a tour that required cash, just the same way I wouldn't get into a taxi whose credit card machine was "broken." I'd be a little skeptical about paying the whole amount in advance, too, but a down payment is reasonable. Since COVID, fewer and fewer people or places in Italy want cash, so I wonder if what you are seeing in Rick Steves books is actually out of date.

I was through the Rome Airport in November and the majority of ATMs were from Travelex or other currency exchanges - these tend to be poor values. In Italy a bank-owned ATM is called a bancomat - when used with your debit card, these will be the least expensive sources of Euro. At FCO there is a branch of an Italian bank in T3 and there should be a bancomat there.

Are you basing this request on what you've read in the RS guidebook for the tours you're interested in? Have you checked out the tours directly on their websites? Post-COVID, most businesses have started accepting credit cards, so you may find your cash needs are lower than what you're assuming.

Also, if you'll be spending the cash over a period of a week or two, there's no need to have all of it in hand, - you increase the risk of a large amount being lost or stolen.

The best source of Euro is from a bancomat using a debit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. You should check with your bank - also ask what the daily limit is for foreign cash withdrawals. You might consider opening an online checking account with CapitalOne or another bank - or one of the checking accounts offered by brokerages such as Fidelity or Schwab.

It would also be helpful to have more than one debit card within the group.

Currency exchange desks in Rome or other cities may expect cash purchases, so you'd have the same risks associated with carrying cash.

Here in Los Angeles we have LA Currency Exchange, a chain of exchange desks that sells foreign currency at relatively favorable rates - right now the Euro is at $1.09 and they are selling for $1.11. But it sounds like you don't live in a major market where services like that are readily available.

This is a frequent topic on the travel forum - here are the search results of a simple query:
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=6m&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Italy+atm&utf8=%E2%9C%93

I concur about paying the guides in cash. We used private guides in multiple Italian cities over two trips last year and none of them asked for cash. We paid using credit card in all but one instance. One guide who was recommended by Rick Steves (has actually appeared on his show) asked for a deposit by PayPal, which I felt comfortable doing. No way I'd pay cash in the thousands for a guide. If you need help finding reputable guides, search forum posts or post a separate request here.

Went back and looked. You guys are correct. I must have read something outdated on one of the guides' websites as the recent confirmation all mention payment in cash, card, or paypal. That makes so much more sense.