Central Europe: Korunas and Zlotys and Forints, Oh My!

Our daughter just did a tour that spent 2 days in Prague (a private tour, not RS), and they were responsible for lunches on both of those days. I sent her with 1200 koruna. She said Prague was expensive and a snack bar lunch of fried cheese and fries was 250kr. She also bought a plush toy of a mole character who is on TV in central European countries (we know him from a trip to Dresden in 2013, so my daughter grew up with him on YouTube) and that cost 300kr, and she also bought a book about Alfonse Mucha for around 300kr. You might find a website called Numbeo useful to get an idea of what people spend on basic living costs.

Lavandula

did she need to spend that money in cash, or could she have used a card?

Hi:

We took that tour in 2024. Prior to heading to a country with different currency, our guide would give us direction on about how much he recommended that we have & the best ATM's to get it from.

We loved that tour & hope to go back to those countries again. Enjoy!

Did this tour last year. We needed zero cash, all places took a card. I took out cash in Prague and then got left with a ton of money left over and got a really bad exchange rate back when we went to the next location. I would take your euros but strongly recommend going cashless in those other locations. After Prague we did!

I have been to the Czech Republic twice--including a couple of months ago. I have never gotten Koruna.

I've spent time in Poland and never got zloty.

I went to Hungary a couple of years ago and got around $200 worth of Forint. I still have most of it.

My advice...make sure your credit cards are contactless, that they have no foreign transaction fees, and if you must, get a small amount of currency for each country. Make sure the bank associated with your ATM card knows of your travels and get more as needed from an ATM.

I am going back to both the Czechia and Poland. This time I may get some local currency as I am going to smaller towns.

By the way, Czechia, Poland and Hungary are in the Euro Zone. They just don't accept the Euro.

Czechia, Poland and Hungary are in the Euro Zone. They just don't accept the Euro

They are in the European Union.

By the way, Czechia, Poland and Hungary are in the Euro Zone. They just don't accept the Euro.

@Frank - Czechia, Poland, and Hungary are in the European Union but not in the Eurozone. The term ”Eurozone” refers to the countries in the EU that use the Euro.

I would wait and use an ATM in countryif you need cash.

Prior to heading to a country with different currency, our guide would
give us direction on about how much he recommended that we have & the
best ATM's to get it from.

^this. If you're going to Prague early you can hit an ATM if you find you need cash. I took the tour in 2012 when cash was much preferred and the guide's recommendations for amounts were spot on. He even warned us when to use up any of our last coins when crossing country borders (you typically cannot exchange coin). If you prefer getting currencies ahead of time, I'd get the bare minimum your bank or AAA will let you purchase (my AAA minimum is the equivalent of $200US).

Are coins needed for public toilets in those countries, or does the credit card tap work? I'm going on that tour next year.

I own a Revolut card where I can hold multiple currencies at the same time, very handy.

For coins in that part of the world: YES, you need them. First of all, toilets are often paid at the petrol stations, border crossings, shopping malls, etc. Not everywhere, of course, but happens. You may need 2-5 zloty or 200 forints. Also, in Hungary coins are used to lock lockers in museums where you are required to store bigger bags, etc.

Generally, vendors dislike exchanging notes for coins, unless you are buying something and then ask for the change in coins. I know there are some banks/exchange offices that have coins for exchange, can you enquire locally? Otherwise, withdraw a note of, let's say 10 USD value in local currency, and buy a bottle of water in a local supermarket using a self-service machine that takes cash. You ought to get change in coins. The quest then will be getting the right coins as some toilet entrances use a specific size of a coin.

You can generally withdraw money locally from ATMs, but even if your card does not charge interest, the ATM may.

In a nuthsell, Godspeed in your quest. I am holding your hand.

In Hungary you will rarely "need" forints but if you do, the convenience of having them is nice. I always have about 10.000 in my pocket and it comes in hsnf once in a while. Most bank ATMs in town have a standard selection button of 9.000 Ft (about $30) which is what I would suggest as it gets you some smaller bills. Use one bill first chance such that you end up with 300 Ft in coins and you are set for any pay toilet.

Or just stay in the center of the tourism and odds are you'll never need it and can go looking for an ATM if you do.

Also, in Hungary coins are used to lock lockers in museums where you are required to store bigger bags, etc.

That was my experience at major museums in Poland as well - in a few cases the staff provided slugs, but asked that they be returned.

Keep in mind that currency exchange desks are still a thing in these countries, so if you have Euro, it would be easy to exchange for a small amount of local currency. Some will make an issue of lousy rates - for a small amount, why care? But in Warsaw I exchanged a $100 bill for Zloty at close to the rate I was getting on credit card purchases.

For the Czech Republic, look at Jason's page on cash vs card on the Living Prague website:

https://livingprague.com/prague-life/cash-card-prague/

And he makes a good point regarding the need to avoid DCC on credit card purchases, which is an easy mistake if you aren't paying attention. I found that many sales people will automatically decline for you, but that isn't always the case - it may have been more of an issue in Italy on a recent visit.

Also, in Hungary coins are used to lock lockers in museums where you
are required to store bigger bags, etc.

I only know of one that does it, but I am sure there are others. Its a 100 Ft coin (i suspect a 1€ coin will work too) and it serves as the deposit on the key. Ask at the counter and they will give you a free token to use in place of the coin.

We just returned from Poland (RS tour - 9 nights) and Prague (3 nights). We brought (and spent) about $400 polish and $100 czech currency. In general - you will not need much cash - cards are accepted everywhere. We brought enough cash for cabs and tips (private tour guides, hotel housekeeping, bellhops, etc.) We could have probably done with less polish currency.

did she need to spend that money in cash, or could she have used a card?

We don't know as she is in transit right now, but her travel cash card did not allow for koruna. We were very limited in what cards she could apply for as she is still under 18 and so could only get her one from her own bank, otherwise we would have given her a Wise card. So she had the card for the euro portion of the trip and we gave her koruna for the couple of days she was in Prague. Possibly she could have tapped her card in Prague also and just had the money converted at whatever rate the bank deemed.

Lavandula

Just be glad you're traveling now and not pre-Euro. I remember my first trip to Europe. Six countries, six different currencies. And credit cards were not accepted the same as today.

Entering each country meant a trip to the American Express office or a bank to convert US dollar travelers checks to the local currency.

How times have changed.