Spending money and ATM availability

At the current exchange rate
(1€=1.13$) you should expect prices in both Rome and Venice to be not too different from what you'd see in Boston. Actually food will be a bit cheaper in Italy. You can stay in a nice hotel for well under 150€ ($170) all taxes included. A multi course belly busting meal in a decent restaurant should not cost you more than 35€ ($40), wine and dessert included. Seafood is a bit more expensive in Rome, but Venice is a good place to try some.

As far as ATM are concerned (ATM are called in Italian BANCOMAT) they are more ubiquitous than in America. As a matter of fact Italy has the highest number of bank branches per capita in Europe, and maybe in the world. So you won't walk too far before you see one. Any village with more than 500 people will have at least a bank branch with an ATM. Rome and Venice are big cities, so you will see plenty around. Make sure you notify your local bank you will be using your ATM card overseas, otherwise they will block it if they suspect fraudulent withdrawals. Same with credit cards. Call them all and notify them of your foreign travel plans or they will block those too.

If you don't want to take a lot of euros home with you (for next time. . . ), figure out roughly what you'll need on your last day, and if you have extra, use it toward your hotel room in Rome. Leave a little for drinks/snacks at the airport, but they will take dollars too (assuming you have some with you for your return to the US).

One note on ATMs. Make sure you notify your bank ahead of time that you are traveling abroad (dates and locations) and raise your daily withdrawal limit to whatever level you think is appropriate. I had my bank raise mine to $1000 per day.The Bancomat may limit your withdrawal to 250 euros. I have had experiences where I wanted to withdraw 500 euros but the ATM would say the transaction was invalid. I dropped the withdrawal amount to 250 and received my cash. You can make multiple withdrawals to reach your desired amount.

I have generally found that ATMs attached to banks do not have a max (within reason) withdraw limited. I have taken as much as 750E in one transactions. Where I bump into the 250 limit is in high tourist areas on the weekend. Assume the bank is trying to avoid the ATM being drained by large withdraws over the weekend. Just for that reason I try to time my withdraw to the middle of the week. A debit card at an ATM is the cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency.

Stephen and Frank, that is interesting about ATM withdrawal limits in Italy. I doubt that will be a problem if we can use credit cards in a lot of places, but it is good to know.

Speaking of credit cards, do most stores and restaurants accept them? I use my credit card for everything, even post cards., because I hate to use cash. I personally have a hard time putting change in my wallet.

Traveling Woman, prepare for a culture shock. Most shops and restaurants take credit cards, but be prepared for the fact that they may not accept credit cards for small amounts (under €10 or €20). This is because they get charged a flat fee by the banks per credit card transaction, so on small amounts they end up loosing money. The best small restaurants may not take credit cards at all.
For using your credit card in a foreign country, you will be charged a % on the exchange rate, plus possibly a flat rate fee per transaction. This will be hidden in the exchange rate so it may not be obvious.
The same (% + per transaction fee) applies to getting money out of a cash machine (ATM / Bancomat), so it is usually cheaper to get larger amounts in fewer transactions. Limits of €200 or €250 per transaction are common. The bank owning the machine will not charge a fee, but your bank may charge for using another bank's machine.
Even when they accept cards, they may prefer debit (ATM) cards to credit cards, as banks often charge less for these transactions.

I was worried about that Chris. How many euros should I plan on spending in 10 days?

For using your credit card in a foreign country, you will be charged a % on the exchange rate, plus possibly a flat rate fee per transaction. This will be hidden in the exchange rate so it may not be obvious.

Just to be clear, US credit cards will give you the interbank exchange rate at the time your transaction posts. Many cards do add a % foreign transaction fee onto that, but each card clearly spells out what that percentage is and typical is 3%. There should be no other credit card fees by either the bank or the merchant.

ATM cards will have the same interbank exchange rate but typically then a % foreign transaction fee and often also an out-of-network fee. The network fee is usually a flat rate of about $3-5 depending on your bank; the % is typically 1-3%.. Local European banks rarely charge fees. But do watch out for DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) which is becoming more common. It is an offer to convert your purchase or ATM withdrawal into US dollars for you, which means they get to set the exchange rate and typically pad it for their profit. You can ALWAYS decline it - someone telling you that you must accept it is scamming you (usually they will ask before but sometimes you'll see your price in US$ and that is your warning to say "wait a second...")

As noted, cash is king in Italy and many places that claim to accept credit cards may resist you actually using them. And merchants will be most unhappy, if not outright refuse to let you pay small purchases with one. Larger purchases at stores can almost always be done with a card. Oh and good luck making a small purchase with a large bill too. Always try and break those whenever you have the chance.

You will not find many places in Italy that accept US dollars.

When in Italy we use cash about 95% of the time. Almost always the hotels will give a 5% (sometimes up to 10%) discount for paying in cash. Personally I simply find it far easier to use cash than to worry about finding places that accept cards. With cash I go anywhere I want.

You will want cash often to buy snacks, drinks, and gelato during the tour as well. Even if you pay for a meal by credit card, if you choose to leave a tip, you can't add it to the bill, it has to be in cash.

I don't use a wallet. I keep change loose in my pocket along with a few euro notes, and the rest in a money belt. Wallets are a pain and easy to filch.

Frank, regarding your point on hotels giving discounts if paying in cash...I've made reservations already. Do I ask for a discount for cash payment when we arrive?
Thanks!

flsanford,

Usually a hotel will specify cash only, but takes a credit card for a reservation only. So to book, you give them a card #, but on checkout, you pay in cash. I don't know about a discount for either/or, in Italy, only in US.

Sure. You can use a credit card to hold the reservation or pay a deposit. When I check in, one of the first question I ask is, "Is there a discount for cash?" The answer will be yes or no. If no, then I continue with the credit card. If yes, then I will ask for the total bill with the cash discount. If I am staying multidays, I will make a couple of cash payments as I have cash available. For example - if the bill is a 1000E for five days. I will swing by a bank ATM on the way back to the hotel and withdraw maybe 500E. Stop at the desk and give them 300 against the total. That way I am not carrying a lot of cash at any one time. A couple of days later, do the same. Be very sure to get a receipt since you have no other proof that you paid. Italians love cash.

I ask about cash discounts in every Italian hotel. I think it's often that the hotel is willing to split the savings on credit card fees.

...5% (sometimes up to 10%) discount for paying in cash.
I'm wondering if cash discounts are used to encourage "off the books" revenue. A 10% discount would appear to be in excess of what credit card companies charge for a transaction. I understand that Italy's VAT runs about 10% for hotels.

Does it make any difference.? I am not the tax enforcer and whether I pay in cash or not is not going to change how the hotel functions. But would it not be the same for restaurants and other vendors? Over the years of nearly 100% cash we have never encountered a problem or question.

For 10 days, I'd take 200 euros to start with, then get some by ATM as you need it.
I went for 3 weeks this summer and only took 100 to get me started and took out 400 twice, I think, which included some for a hotel. It really depends how you want to spend. I like paying with credit cards so I have the record and I don't like to have a lot of cash in my money belt. My Chase Traveler (I think it's called) Southwest miles card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, but my others do. Check with your banks.

ATMs are everywhere, but also check with your bank on their fees, and make sure your PIN code is 4 digits (not letters unless you can remember which numbers they correspond to because sometimes their machines only have numbers).

Also, take a backup credit card that you keep in your money belt. I was happy I did when my company flagged a possible fraudulent charge (even though I'd alerted them) and there was a hold on it for a day or two.

Have fun!

I have no idea how to figure out the amount of cash will be needed for 12 days. Most of our breakfasts and dinners are included in the Insight Vacations tour, but we will arrive in Rome a day early and may have to pay our own way for lunch. Chances are i will only need cash in gift shops - hopefully a lot of them.

icarter gave a good answer: Take €200.00 with you or -- better yet -- withdraw it on arrival at the airport as you will get a better exchange rate than in the U.S. before you travel. Then make additional withdrawals as needed. FYI, we plan €100 per day for food for two, including wine. You certainly can use a credit card for a meal over €20, or for a significant purchase in a gift shop. Not for coffee, gelato, sandwiches.

I have noticed that airport vendors will take credit cards, even for small purchases; I guess their prices are so inflated that they can afford to pay the credit card transaction fee. Many people use a combination of credit card plus cash to pay the last night's hotel bill to get rid of some excess euro.

I haven't taken a taxi that takes credit cards, though.

When I flew to Vancouver last year my mom asked at the airport how much it would cost to exchange U.S. for Canadian dollars. It was so expensive we decided not to make an exchange. Luckily that was not a problem in Victoria, where we stayed two days after taking an Alaska cruise, but it makes me not want to exchange dollars for euros at an airport. I plan on getting euros from my local bank.

There is quite a difference between changing money at a staffed airport booth (very poor exchange rate; possibly also fees) and using a bank's ATM at the airport (good exchange rate, moderate fees which may be refunded if you have an ATM/debit card issues by a credit union or other travel-friendly organization).

The cost of buying foreign currency before you leave home is likely to fall between the two foreign-airport options. I'd do that only to obtain the minimum I needed to get me to my first hotel; I like to arrive with a bit of local currency because there's a tiny possibility of running into a problem at the airport ATM.

When we go overseas our rule of thumb is $100 a day. Now this does not mean we spend it every day but it usually works out well for our budget. Also we use Capital One card when we can they do not charge you any fees at all. Very convenient! We do take out cash as much as we can to avoid too many bank fees from our local bank here and European bank fees as well.