mp413

I will be traveling all over the place (Malawi 8 weeks, Mozabique/Tanz. 4 weeks, Uganda/Rwanda 2 weeks) and I am trying to decide whether there's any point in bringing traveller's checks. Obviously I'd rather have checks in my pocket since they're replaceable, but presumably, we'll have to cash them in big cities which means carrying around a bunch of cash between big cities anyway, so should we just forget about them and plan on using ATMs instead? Is the rate of exchange for checks really bad?

Chris_GA_Atl

I can't speak to Malawi or Mozambique, but I assure you that you can expect nothing but giant hassles with travelers checks in Uganda and Rwanda. Even in the capital cities of those countries, finding a place to change them is very difficult and the exchange rate is far less than cash.
I also doubt the ease of getting money from an ATM or credit card in Uganda and Rwanda. On our recent trip, another couple had to spend large portions of several days of their trip trying to find a place to get money in that manner.
Next time we go to Africa, we are taking all the cash we need with us.
Chris

grommet19

Every time I go on a trip I bring traveler's checks, and every time I wish I hadn't bothered. They're always more trouble than they're worth! I got a terrible exchange rate on my checks in Rwanda. Scary as it may be, cash is the way to go.

mp413

It is scary, especially since I'm a low budget traveler and if I lose a large chunk of cash I don't exactly have reserves from which to replace it!

If anyone can speak to specific places where there are ATMs *that work* in N. Mozambique, Southern Tanzania specifically that would be helpful. We can take out some money in Malawi for Mozambique, but I'm worried about the stretch from N. Mozambique to Dar. That whole trip will take weeks so it would be nice to know if there's any place to get cash in that time so we can minimize the amount of cash we carry. Thansk for the input!

luangwablondes

I always took cash for those areas. Rolled in a ziplock bag and then into the belt, Then it could go swimming with me. In Malawi, the problem also comes up that you can only depart with so much of their funny money, so if you show up at the border, officials will ask how much malawi cash you carry, then give you an option of giving it up or going back to exchange it if over this small limit. If you come back to the same border and you exchanged the cash at a market, they will want to see your banking statement for the currency transaction.

For what I can remember in Moz, banks are few and far between. As SOP, I would locate an Indian tradesmen known to exchange hard currency in a community. They frequently give better rates then the banks do anyway. So I could with a little planning, keep my Moz cash to a minimum when crossing the border. IF you are going North exchange your last cash at Pemba, Tanz. When you cross the border, you can exchange at Mtwara no problem. Dar, Arusha take travelers checks. You will need that ?proof of purchase? with the tc. And of course, only new money, $100, $50, and $20 for exchange purposes best.

sandi

While it's a big pain to have to exchange travelers checks almost anywhere, some travelers still take these "in case of an emergency" More often than not, there is no emergency, so when you return home, you just deposit them into your bank account and that's that.

Can't advise where specifically you will find ATMs. Cash will be your best bet that you should be able to convert at currency exchange bureaus in these countries. And where there are ATMs you'll be able to get local currency.

Do remember, to use all* the local currency from these countries as most likely are not be reconvertible to USD.

*do check whether there are "departure fees" from any of these countries, whether by road or air. And, if by air, whether the fee has already been included in you ticket price. If this has to be paid on departure, ascertain whether this can be done with USD or local currency. If the latter, be sure to retain enough to cover.

mp413

Thank you so much luangwablondes, do you know if US dollars will do us much good in rural parts of Moz. and Tanz.? (To avoid the problem of for example having too many Malawian kwacha when crossing the border, can we just bring a lot of dollars - would those be accepted at small businesses up the coast such as in Pemba and Ilha?)

luangwablondes

Hard currency in the rural areas is a problem. The best way to explain it is they don't know accurately what is worth outside the touristy areas. Think about what these people need to do to get it exchanged back to local currency. Travelling 50-200kms to exchange it makes no sense to them. And if you do get it exchanged in a rural community, you probably got screwed. The guy taking your money will sell USD locally to a trader who bikes, drives to an area he can exchange for goods. So at the beginning of all the horse trading, you got the worse deal.

Look on a map. Ille de Mocambique and Pemba are very good places to exchange currency. Any major commercial center.Not many small businesses will exchange dollars though. Ask for the local Indian businessman that does this. There always seems to be one in East and Southern Africa wherever there is some sort of commercial trading activity in any major or middle size burg. Experience. I have even done this is Vic Falls to get the highest current rate in Zimbabwe.

The route North from Mtwara maybe a little tougher on you. Exchange plenty of money. Although there are places to exchange hard cash, they are few and far between and finding these guys maybe difficult if you don't have your own transportation. Kilwa is a place you can exchange.

Look at Lonely Planet guides. Generally they are quite good for this kind of traveling.

The last advice, you need to learn to plan well as you go to avoid having too much local currency or not enough. Most people start to pool the local cash in the group in order to eliminate this problem.