Good idea to have local currency on hand

Your friends have a limited concept of everywhere. I'm glad you ignored their advice.

We always have cash in the local currency on hand. Is it annoying if it is a currency you can’t or won’t be using anywhere else? Yes.
But many countries accept euros. Even some whose currency is not the euro. Since the euro is accepted and used in many of the places we visit, we never worry about having extra. We can save them for the next trip.
We have never used American $. I know of some B&B in Croatia that accept $ but they will tell you upfront.

"Friends argue that US dollars are accepted everywhere."

That kind of statement always makes me think someone hasn't traveled outside the country since the 1950's.

Welcome to the forum, by the way! We've had several discussions on the need for currency recently, particularly after the electric grid issues in Spain and Portugal. I've been a solid user of ApplePay for my last several trips and really only needed cash to leave a tip for the housekeepers. I've got a stash of both Euro and GBP so will always have a little on hand but do not expect to use it.

How much cash would you say you wound up spending over your trip?

PS: for future reference, ignore any advice those friends give you, lol!! DO listen to the advice here from other forum members!

Which countries have your friends used u.s. dollars in?
Would love to know.

I do agree that it’s always useful to have a little cash in the currency of a country you travel to.

I have no idea why your friends said that. Why would someone in Europe wantUSD?

OP, I see this is your first post here. As previously stated, these friends of yours are massively misinformed. If you had read any of Rick's guidebooks, or his money travel tips on this forum, you would already know that having some local cash, even a small amount, is always recommended. And while euros may be accepted in some countries which have a different currency, you can bet that it will be at an unfavorable exchange rate.

Your friends are basically playing the Ugly American. I’d suggest never traveling with them as they get ripped off and probably treated badly

Your friends are basically playing the Ugly American.

Being uninformed or under informed or just plain mistaken is being "ugly". Thats not kind.

I recall that in the 70s/80s, we were told when traveling to Mexico and the Caribbean that having U.S. dollars for tips was appreciated. Maybe that is where the OP friends got the idea?? It is definitely not the case any more, although there was one hotel in Istanbul that requested that the bill be paid in cash and USD. It was likely due to the rapid devaluation of the lira.

Lately, its a cc that is accepted everywhere. The last couple years when we've traveled to places that do not accept euros (because it isn't their currency), we waited until we arrived before giving any thought to local currency. We were halfway through a month trip to New Zealand before we needed cash. In fact we saw more places that did not take cash than places that did not take cc. We've encountered highway tolls that only accepted cc.

In Turkey, we easily obtained a bit of cash from an ATM for bottled water, etc.

I'd be more worried about having a few credit cards of different types than having cash on hand.

Getting gas has been tricky for us in multiple countries. My husband is quite cautious by nature, especially as it relates to gas. He always starts looking for it well before it becomes critical. A few times in France, we've had to have an employee or a local help us. In New Zealand, we needed to use gas stations with an attendant on duty who would "flip" a switch to override whatever it was causing us difficulty. However, except for New Zealand, in recent times, using our credit card for gas has become less difficult.

Well, you may think that someone is simply uninformed or unaware but when you show up flashing dollars to a lot of the world you’re going to be impersonating the ugly American. that might not have been this friends intention, but that’s what’s going to be the impression they are leaving with the people they meet.

I’m sorry that some of you thought I was being insulting but you show up a in lot of Europe trying to pay with $$$ you are not going to get a good reaction

And honestly, in 2025 do you really have an excuse for not being aware of expectations? maybe when i first started traveling in the 1970s when there wasn’t the Internet etc. I could’ve been forgiven for not knowing what the expectations were. But in 2025 a 10 minute Internet search would probably tell you that dollars are no longer a universal currency

Carol, I agree with you.

as this in Trip Reports, do you have a report about the trip, or only the to have coins and notes?

Not surprising that your PIN did not work with the credit card.

Most definitely it is a good idea to have local currency on you, at least one or two one Euro coins. I don't step out of the hotel to be out and about until after I've checked if the passport is on me as well as a good amount of Euro. Are you adverse to carrying local cash in any large amount? I'm not

We traveled with Currency from our last trip to England in 2005 £70 in £10 ea. unable to use as the vendors told us currency expired and only remedy was to exchange it at bank. We donated it to every cathedral we visited presuming they would be able to manage that extra step. Would advise visiting bank early in tour to pull local currency from their ATM. pb

could have exchanged it at one of many Post Offices or mailed it in