Safest and most reasonable way to get Euros in Northern Itay

You can get the best exchange rate at an ATM - find one labeled ‘Bancomat’. It will only access your checking account, so make sure there’s plenty in there. You should be able to find a machine in the arrivals hall at the Venice airport.

Use an ATM associated with a bank (i.e. on the wall outside the bank) for the best exchange rate. The freestanding ATM's are a ripoff in terms of exchange rate.

Getting Euros from a bank in the USA will mean an unfavorable exchange rate for you, plus carrying an awkward wad of bills over thru airports and on the plane. Better to get the cash from a legitimate bank ATM, as mentioned above.

It used to be that there was a daily limit to how much cash you could withdraw at a single time. Make sure your bank doesn’t have its own limit. Then pull out as much as you can at the first ATM, depending on the Italian bank’s policies. It seems to me that €600 was doable in Rome. You may need to make multiple withdrawals, over multiple days. If you’re limited by ATM #1, find ATM #2 and #3, at different banks. The machines should have sufficient cash.

Have a lookout with you at the ATM, keeping an eye on, and discouraging anybody hanging around you, if you’re concerned about safety while making a withdrawal. A moneybelt helps store cash, but it’s awkward if you’re trying to fill it up out on the street. Find a discreet location to stash the cash.

Avoid money exchange bureau ”ATM’s” at the airport - again, poor exchange rate. Banks in town will give you the most Euros for your withdrawals. Venice and Florence will have ample ATM’s - not sure that Cinque Terre so many, but each town should have at least one. Monterosso, the biggest of the five, will have the most.

What are these places that are requesting to be paid in cash? Are you sure they won’t take a credit card?

Personally, I’d find places that takes a credit card. Having to pay that much in cash is a major inconvenience. There are plenty of hotels in Italy that will let you pay with a card.

Just a guess, but the cash payment request could have something to do with taxes, or perhaps minimizing operational expenses.

What Laura said. I am surprised that 3 different RS recommendations are requiring cash, ….seems odd. You should be able to find lodging without the inconvenience. Definitely don’t bring cash.

And regarding reasonable - what does your bank charge per withdrawal? They should be able to tell you their ATM withdrawal service fee per foreign transaction. Maybe $3.00?

That cost could help determine how many withdrawals you’ll want to make vs. how much you want to take out per withdrawal vs. how much cash you want to tote around.

I’d find lodging that takes a credit card

You’ll get many suggestions here
We’ve never had to pay cash for lodging anywhere in Italy or in Europe actually

The odds that three out of three lodgings, especially ones recommended by Rick, would push hard (or require) payment in cash is quite low. Are you sure they weren't referring to the city tax payment, which virtually every lodging place in Italy wants to receive in cash?

The tax is a few dollars a day (varying by type and class of lodging) per adult guest. Please check on this, because it's not a great idea to make such large bankomat withdrawals and carry the money around until you can pay for your lodgings.

I've never encountered a RS-recommended lodging that was "cash only". Many hotels will take both credit cards and cash, but prefer cash as that way they don't have to pay the ~4% fee to the credit card companies. Paying in cash often comes with a discount.

I normally have 100€ or so available from past trips, which I use for travelling expenses, and then top it up as required. The financial institutions I use have a daily withdrawal limit, which is often slightly different than my withdrawal limit at home. If I need larger amounts of cash, I withdraw the maximum amount over several days. I also travel with more than one ATM card, attached to a different financial institution. That way I can also take out the maximum daily limit from that account as well.

One other point is that you may encounter Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) at ATM's you use in Europe or when you use credit cards. If the ATM provides a choice of having the currency exchange done by the ATM or having it done by your bank at home, always choose your home bank. Here's more information - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/dynamic-currency-conversion/ .

When you obtain larger amounts of cash from an ATM, it's a good idea to keep that in your Money Belt until needed to pay the hotels. Don't access the Money Belt where others can see.

One small clarification..... the Cinque Terre is a collection of five small towns along the Ligurian coast. Which one are you staying in?

Still requiring cash only? Next. I pay by card. Safer, easier, more convenient.

For the amount you have to pay (I suppose around 100€ per night) the request to pay cash is not only odd, but even illegal in Italy.
Is much more common ask for prepayment than pay cash later!
As @acraven says probably is only the payment of the local touristic tax (different in any city), so means few euros per person per night.
An amount of cash could be helpful in Italy, since we are still using it a lot, but 95% of places are not anymore concerned about card payments. Everybody now has a little POS to receive payments everywhere at any time (all at once :-D ).

I think the OP is confused. The cash payment for the hotel is likely for the tourist city tax. Every hotel takes credit card for the actual bill

I am looking for advice from you seasoned recent Italian travelers:
Do I bring and travel with Euros from US ? theft? Do I get Euros from ATM machines- safety? are they supplied with enough money? Use Banks? are they conveniently located and hrs?

It's a first world country dude, and it's actually safer than the US. Just go to an ATM if you need cash.

If the poster would give us a list of the hotels we could be of more help. The last place we used cash was in Scotland over 10 years ago at a B & B.

Ken,curious, regarding DCC, I have never had a European atms ask me about which bank. I have had atms and credit card machines ask me if I wanted the exchange done in dollars or the local currency, and local currency is always the best choice.
Safe travels.

Being asked to pay ‘cash’ when you arrive, might be confused with payment being due at the time, but I sure would expect a CC to be accepted. Booking.com is usually pay on arrival, but a CC has always been accepted anywhere we have done that.
Yes, the city tax is a cash payment, but rarely over €4 a night per person. Usually much less than that.

Besides, I don’t think it’s reasonable to even be able to withdraw those quantities during a 24 hour period.

And then there is something about a newer law in Italy saying any establishment offering or selling a commodity or service, has to take a CC. Roberto da Firenze has highlighted it in a response elsewhere on the forum.

We've taken a number of trips to Italy and have never been asked to pay in cash; always used a credit card. It's highly likely, as others have suggested, that the cash requirement is for a local tourist tax, and we have encountered that a number of times. Our suggestion is that you contact the hotels directly and seek clarification. If the full rental is required in cash, then our thought would be to seek reservations somewhere else.

I, like others, think this may be just for the city tax that is charged some places, to be paid in cash upon arrival. It is around 2-4 euros per person per night more places. The hotel (or apartment) can legally ask that this be paid in cash, because it is not taxable income for them.

If, on the other hand, they are really asking for full payment in cash on arrival, and not taking a credit card (/with or without a deposit) to confirm the reservation, I would never consider booking such a place in popular tourist places like Venice, Florence, and Cinque Terre. Without a deposit, or giving them your credit card to secure the reservation, you have absolutely no guarantee that they will hold the room for your arrival.

We are in Italy now, and have booked only small, family-run guesthouses or pensions, or apartments. Every single one has a nice website or uses booking.com to list their place, and they all take credit cards. On earlier trips to Italy we have occasionally booked places that preferred cash, and gave a discount of 5% or so if we did that—-but they still took our credit card to secure the reservation.

Without a deposit, or giving them your credit card to secure the
reservation, you have absolutely no guarantee that they will hold the
room for your arrival.

^^This

If it is indeed cash for entire stay and NOT just the city tax, it means you don't really have a reservation, so no to need to worry about canceling. Move on to somewhere that does take credit cards, as most places do and I wouldn't wait too long. You don't say when trip is, but all of these locations are high demand and book up early.

It would be nice if OP comeback to clarify this.

Thank you all for your insightful comments. We have never traveled internationally before and I think this is a case of not understanding and maybe loss in translation. Yes all the hotels have been secured by a credit card but then when the confirmations were sent it is noted they are used in case of late cancellation. It is noted under "total Due" "(the total due will be paid in cash at the check in moment)", And you are correct the city taxes are noted to be "(cash required)" So maybe and I will email and check that a credit card can be used for payment. I may not be understanding their use of language. So thank you as I will look into this and now know what questions to ask.
Also my ATM withdrawal limit was able to be increased and it has a 3% charge on the total amount withdrawn every time used so the use of the credit cards would be the way to go!
Thank you for all the expertise advice!!

AH!
Yes- lost in translation. If they take a credit card to hold the room- they'll take credit card when you are there. Just have the few euros in cash for City Tax and you'll be all set.

3% on a 1,000 dollars is $30. That's high and unnecessary.

We tried Rick Steves' hotels in Germany one trip and decided they weren't for us. One hotel had no one in the building except for a couple hours in the morning. We were alone in the building for two nights, no other travelers. Creepy.
We use Booking to find our hotels now but reserve directly with the hotel and pay with a credit card. I always ask the front desk hours. I haven't paid cash since that one creepy experience.
Credit card charges aren't 4% in Europe for businesses but a fraction of that.

This is the info from Roberto da Firenze- the month referenced was June of 2022.

There is a new law coming into effect at the end of this month that requires all entities selling products and services (from merchants to taxi drivers to lawyers, etc.) to accept digital payments or face a fine equal to €30 plus 4% of the value of the transaction refused. So they have no excuses anymore.
You can search the matter for yourself. The law is Law 36/2022 art. 18. A recent decree this month anticipated the implementation of the law to June 30 rather than Jan 2023. This is not an obscure law. It was front page news in all Italian media this past month.
This is one of the many articles you can find. IlSole24ore is Italy’s leading financial paper (like the Financial Times or the WSJ)
https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/pos-obbligatorio-commercianti-e-studi-professionali-ecco-cosa-cambiera-fine-mese-AEgKtIeB?refresh_ce=1