Perhaps this is more of a great debate, since anyone I’ve talked to about this has had a surprisingly strong opinion :p.
Let’s say you’re going out of the country for vacation and would like to bring some local destination currency with you. How do you acquire said currency? Why?
Personally, I’ve done it each way. In Peru, I changed my money at the airport in Lima. In Fiji, I ordered currency from Bank of America ahead of time and took it with me. For Belize, I changed my money at LAX on the way there. And for Egypt this summer, Schwab advised me to just use the ATMs there, since they refund all ATM fees and offer no international transaction fees on my checking account with them. It’s interesting, because I often hear conflicting advice— don’t change at the airport, they have the worst rates! No, change at the airport! They have the best rates! Don’t change in the US banks, they’ll screw you over! No, foreign banks will REALLY screw you!
I order some at the bank before I leave – not necessarily enough to cover my trip, but enough that I don’t have to worry about cash for a few days. Then ATMs for any more I need.
I always use my ATM card to withdraw money when I get where I’m going. I know there are fees, but my wife (who handles the family finances) has never complained, so I presume those fees are not exorbitant.
The only real answer is just go to an ATM. I’ve pulled out money everywhere from Zimbabwe to Ulan Bator. Never had an issue. Nearly every airport in the world has an ATM, and on the few occasions where they haven’t, taxi drivers will gladly drive you by one.
I usually stash $100 or so backup cash in dollars somewhere in case I get in trouble on the trip. If for some reason I need to pay an unexpected visa fee or something before leaving the airport, I can change it. But that rarely happens- most countries are more than happy to accept official payments in dollars.
I always get local currency from an ATM ASAP. I think Myanmar is the only country I’ve ever been to that did not have an ATM. This was in 2001, so I suspect that they have them now.
The one thing that sucks is that you always get big bills, so it’s hard to buy shit, especially in third world countries where they don’t have change for the equivalent of a 20 dollar bill.
Tipping, right? Perhaps it’s my Americanism showing, but I like to bring about the equivalent of $100 US in small bills to dole out throughout my trip. For instance, with Egypt, my reading seems to indicate that I’ll be expected to tip everyone-- tour guides, translators, drivers, etc. Which I mean, isn’t a big deal because I’d do that in the US anyway, but yeah.
Plus, even when tipping isn’t really a “thing” somewhere, it gets you good service. I remember at an all inclusive resort in Mexico, I gave the bartender $5 US after he handed me my free drink (I figured I’d be back throughout the day, so that would take care of me). Fifteen minutes later, he came stumbling down the beach with an entire huge tray of drinks, “Miss! We thought you would like these!” That stayed constant throughout the day. Good times.
Anthony Bourdain just did a show in Burma/Myanmar and no, they still only have about 2 ATM’s in the entire country and you have to take brand NEW $100US bills (they won’t take old money). So I guess it is still a pain to find cash there.
I tend to take a small amount of local currency. Usually I get it at the Post Office - no need to order in advance if it’s any sort of major currency and it doesn’t seem all that expensive.
After that I’ll just use ATMs. I probably don’t even need the small float that I take these days, but it isn’t any hassle to get and it makes me feel better.
In Brazil (when I was there long ago), both the “official” exchange rate and the “Cambio Negro” (black market) rates were printed on the front page of the newspaper. Ask around a little and you’ll find a guy in a little office (the guy I used actually had an office in a building that housed a bank!) with a guy sitting outside the door. He’ll let you in, you do your business and move on. Nothing scary or dangerous about it, and you get 2-3 times the “official” exchange rate.
Sure, what I meant was you get the cash as you need it in the country you’re visiting. I’m sure the greenback is common enough in most countries. I’d probably get slapped if I tried to hand someone a coloured, plastic, Canadian 5 dollar bill.
Yeah, I’ve done a similar thing in Costa Rica. I’ve done most of my exchanges with guys who weren’t exactly affiliated with the banks and got a better rate. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever used a bank/ATM when in Costa Rica. In other countries, I’ve used some combination of airport exchange and/or the ATM.
When I went to Australia two years ago, first I got some Australian currency from a local bank (you should always have some on you when you arrive “just in case”), then I got most of it from an exchange bureau at the foreign airport (supposedly, you get a better rate trading in the country whose currency you are obtaining, as they have lots of theirs and little of yours). When I ran short of that, I made a withdrawal from an ATM.
Warning about foreign ATMs: I did a balance check so I would know from which account the withdrawal would be made - and when I got back home, I discovered that each balance check cost $2.
As RobDog says. You can walk into a larger PO in the UK and walk out with US$, Euro, AU$ and so on. There’s also a US$/Euro ATM in a department store not far from here - I’ve been known to use that.
As Trom explains, with Schwab, they refund all ATM fees charged anywhere in the world, so I wouldn’t have to worry about balance checks costing me. That said, I will have a smart phone with a local sim card, so I can just check my balance online if need be.