currency

Neither. Leave your dollars at home in your bank account and use an ATM to get euros as you need them. You can use the "search" feature at upper right to find many, many, many discussions on this subject.

Some people, including myself, like to arrive in a county with some local currency so that we don't have to worry about finding an ATM right away. 100 euros is a good number for me to start with.

I'd recommend getting $100 or so in Euros before you get here. You never know if you'll need them right away. Like in a major snow storm and your card is declined/locked right away as you suddenly have an overseas transaction and it thinks it's stolen, so it locks up your account. Then you're screwed with no cash at the airport in a snow storm.

I agree with having about 100 dollars in local currency. We arrived in Paris on the Eurostar with pounds in our pockets, and all the ATMs at the Paris station were out of order.

We go to our local auto club (AAA) and get $100.00 in Euros just to have for that cab ride or if the ATM's are out, also ATM's in train stations and at airports do not give as good an exchange rate as elsewhere in a chosen city. After you get to your hotel ask them where the nearest Bancomat (ATM) is located, then get your daily supply of Euros from any ATM.

I have for many years used ATMs in train stations in France, Monaco, Germany, and especially the Netherlands. I have always been completely satisfied with the rates, and I check carefully. I am also certain that the ones in British railway stations give the same rate as elsewhere in the country. Most of the time that I take out money it is at a station, but then I am using a British card. I know that they don't have any different treatment than one inside a bank - in fact they are operated by the same banks. Some larger stations, both in the UK and in Europe, do have exchange counters. That's a different kettle of fish and I encourage anybody on this HelpLine to run a mile from them

"ATM's in train stations and at airports do not give as good an exchange rate as elsewhere in a chosen city." I've never heard that before. Can you cite a source for that statement?

I get 1,000 Euro before I leave. That way, I have a few days worth of cash when I arrive. See ATM out of order above. My credit union charges the daily exchange rate so I get a decent exchange and no fees from ATM. I keep cash n money pouch under my clothes. If I am going thru London, then I get pounds and Euros. Be sure to tell your bank you are going overseas so they will not block you when you get more money from the ATM.

I assume Jerry may be referring to private ATMs or exchange bureau ATMs that try to look like a bank associated ATM. A bank associated ATM in a railroad station or airport will give the exact same exchange rate. Having a 100E in your pocket on arrival is good practices. Sometimes ATMs are not as easy to find as is often reported.

We always take at least 1000 Euros cash. It buys you time before you have to hit the ATMs. The other trick is to find a way to get some coins before you leave, you will need them very quickly for little things like tips for rest room attendants or pay toilets where a 20 Euro bill from the ATM is useless. Since banks and currency exchanges don't deal in coins, I have printed up an offer to buy coins and then asked my local currency exchange just to give them out to people who were turning in Euros. It worked well for me when my wife went to London and I was getting Pounds for her. Her two traveling companions snickered at first but ended up begging for coins before they got out of Heathrow. There are times when you just say the heck with the exchange rate and get some peace of mind. The difference on the exchange rate is not that big a deal. One other thing...TAKE TWO ATM CARDS FROM DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS. In 2009 in spite of having alerted the banks to our impending foreign travel my wife's Bank of America ATM card did not work. Fortunately my City National card did work.