It looks like I need to use Zloty in Krakow - we arrive next Saturday. Where would be the best place to withdraw funds - are certain ATM's better than others? Our bank does reimburse me for fees charged from other ATM's. Use the currency exhange at the airport?
Thank you.
J&K
Bank-affiliated ATM is always the best option. Never the currency exchange at the airport. Depending on where you're staying and how you're getting there, you might not need any cash immediately, giving you time to locate a bank-affiliated ATM. I would also check with those who have been more recently than I have whether you actually need cash or can pay for everything with a card.
Do you have any leftover currency from other trips? Last year on the way to the CR, I took some leftover British pounds and Swiss Francs (small quantities), and used the airport exchange to get some Koruna. Yes it was a bad rate, but I accept that for the convenience of it. Later, I got some at ATMs near our hotel. To me, the fees are not significant in the greater scope of trip costs.
The only thing we needed Zloty for in Krakow Poland last week was coins for the bathroom. Everything else was by card. We bought 100 euro in Zloty in Munich and spent our best before returning. Anyway, it's nice to have some cash.
Since your bank reimburses ATM fees, the main thing to worry about is conducting the withdrawal transaction in local currency rather than dollars.
I have definitely run into fee-charging ATMs in Poland. When I went to Czechia in 2018, I had the unpleasant experience of encountering at least two ATMs where the transaction (withdrawing about $40 worth of currency) halted when I refused the DCC offer and opted to conduct the transaction in koruna. I suspected the ATM owner didn't want to give me currency when it was not going to make a profit off of me. That is just my supposition, of course; it could have been a case of empty ATMs, despite the timing of the error message. In any case, I learned to allow extra time to find a worksble ATM. I would guess there's less need for cash in Czechia these days, so you may only need to find a good ATM once.
