Money Question

Some people prefer to get some local currency at home and take it with them so they have a bit of spending money on hand when they arrive in Europe. Others simply hit the first airport ATM they see when they arrive. Because I know I will get a better rate by using ATMs in Europe, I'm a wait-until-I-get-there person. I take at least $200 US for an emergency, like the rare possibility that an airport ATM is out of cash. If that were to happen, I would use an airport exchange bureau to get a little spending money to tide me over until I found another ATM.

Use a debit card linked to a checking account to get cash from ATMs. Notify your bank and credit card companies that you will be in Europe or a computer may freeze your account for what it thinks might be fraudulent use.

For a detailed answer to your question, read this article by Rick Steves.

If you leave in less than a week your local bank probably won't have time to get money exchanged for you, anyway. Unless you live in a large city that gets a lot of foreign visitors they would most likely have to order it for you from another bank, which can take a few days. You might want to exchange a small amount at the airport before you leave so that you have some money available for local transport, snacks, etc., until you get to an ATM.

Christie,

I normally take a small amount of local currency to travel with, perhaps €50-100 or so. I usually have money left over from previous trips, so that's what I use. That allows some funds for food, Taxi fares or whatever until I get settled. After that I just use ATM's as required to "top up" my cash, as these usually provide the most favourable exchange rate.

I'd highly recommend taking at least two ATM cards and at least one credit card. Note that your travel funds must be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN.

Happy travels!

Thank you all very helpful. Wow, 4 days and counting till we go. I'm excited.