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Exchanging Money
Thu, 05/07/2009 - 12:18
Did any of you exchange some money in the US before you got to Europe? I have no idea how much the exchange rates differ between here and somewhere like Paris. How much would recommend on taking? I plan to use my debit card when possible but I know that some places probably will only accept cash.
I am leaving from knoxville, tn and traveling for 25 days
Paris, Nice, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Griesalp, Kandersteg, Munich, Paris
Paris, Nice, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Griesalp, Kandersteg, Munich, Paris

no, wait til you get to europe to exchange. actually, the best thing is to just get money out of the ATM as that gives you the best rates. But you have to think about how much the atm and your bank will charge you every time you get money out, so you want to get out larger sums when you get cash so you don’t have to go all the time and get charged soooo many fees (get around 100-200 euros a time, etc which should last you several days at least, if you are also using your card for larger purchases).
you can look around and find many Bureaux de Change in Paris where you can exchange cash as well. It is not worth it to exchange a smaller amount of cash, as the fee charged you will take too much of your money. Don’t change less than $100 at one of these places. There are places in the airport but they are such a ripoff.
London, Salisbury, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh, Inverness, Edinburgh, London
Venice, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Rome
Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Bangkok
2008—Language study abroad in Paris, France
2009—Archaeological field school/dig in Lau, Fiji
2010— Birthday UK trip!
2011— Teaching English in South Korea
2012— ????
It’s nice to have some local currency for the country where you land, but it’s usually expensive (bad exchange rates and commissions) to get it in the US. Hit the ATM in the airport when you land if you don’t have money for airport bus, etc.