Hi everyone,
I will be going on a trip to Israel and Egypt. Our tour guide recommended for us to bring only USD, but I am very skeptical because I thought it would be more beneficial to bring local currency. What do you guys all think?

Also, any tips on what kind of electrical plug adaptor to bring for Egypt/Israel electrical outlets? (will there be more than one kind of outlet in each country?)


Thank you in advance!

roundbunny

I don't know about Egypt, but this question came up recently about Israel and the consensus was that using USD is Israel is a bad idea. Many stores will not accept them, and the ones that do will give you a very bad exchange rate.

here's the link to that post
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...in-israel-.cfm


(I'm wondering why guides who really know Israel would suggest such a thing, unless they are just trying to tell you that THEY want to be paid in US Dollars, cash)

Maybe the guide just meant that you should change the money when you get there, and USD would be the easiest currency to change? It's usually more expensive to get currency before you arrive.

I like to get a little local currancy before I travel. I know there is a fee at my bank-but if you are tired from jet lag-the ATM machine doesn't work at least you get started. I have little jip pouches for each currency, and the FX sheet with the converstion rate. I wish we were going to Israel on our trip but we are only going to Egypt/Jordan-Enjoy

You will get a terrible rate for Shekels if you buy them outside of Israel. There are ATMs in the airport as well as "Change Point" stores or the Post Office which both buy foreign currency without commission. Here is the P.O web page which always shows the current rates:
http://www.israelpost.co.il/postcurrency.nsf/WebDisplay/$First?opendocument&l=EN
You don't say what country you are coming from, but you can see that you also get could rates for Euros, Sterling and Cdn. dollars.
When in the country you can change currency at any post offices and there are many "Change point" shops in the hotel and tourist areas. You should also check the rates and fees charged by your bank for ATM withdrawals and your credit card for purchases (you can use your credit card in all stores and restaurants) because that often is the best rate (and cetainly the most convenient).
The worst thing to do is pay directly with dollars because you will always be offered a bad rate.

Oops - that should have been "you also get good rates for Euros, Sterling and Cdn. dollars"

We went last year and we brought the equivalent in cash of about US$150 in each of the two local currencies just to be safe and arrive with money in our pockets, and then some in US$. But we generally used ATM's all over to get our money and those pay out in local currencies. I think with the dollar as it stands today, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I'd take a bit of local currency, a bit of US$ and use the ATM card. All the big hotels in Egypt will have ATM's and in Israel they are found nearly everywhere.

On arrival both countries, while you're waiting for your baggage, walk over to the the ATM or Exchange window and get some local currency. These will be your best rate of exchange and give you something to do while tapping your foot waiting for the carousel to start unloading bags.

You'll definitely need Egyptian pounds quickly, if only to use the bathroom (1 US dollar is more than 5 pounds, and 1 pound is the usual tip). You can get them easily at the airport, though banks situated in our hotels offered excellent rates as well (about 5.5 in February). One hotel had an ATM that directly exchanged US dollars (and 4-5 other currencies) into pounds, but the exchange rate wasn't as good.

I needed to use the Egyptian currency most times, as we visited few places that took credit cards and made lots of small purchases. Many street vendors will take USD, but figure an exchange rate of 5 pounds per dollar.

Use ATM, or , if need to change $ to shekels (shkalim) , you can go to Change offices in cities. There you have a better rate than at airport or at banks.

Changing money at the airport, any airport, is always the last resort as that will always be the worst exchange rate. Only do it in emergencies.

tinydancer - I know your comment is true in many parts of the world, but that comment is absolutely wrong as far as Cairo is concerned. I know most airports around the world (Rome, Athen, Nairobi, and others) are what you say they are, but Cairo is not. The banks in the airport are as closely watched by the govenment here as any other bank and they give the EXACT same exchange as elsewhere in Egypt. They all may vary by a few piasters either way on the International exchange rate posted on the Internet or in the papers, but you'd have to be exchanging thousands of USD to make much difference. Really!

Same goes for Beb-Gurion. If you don't trust the change places on the Arrivals level then go to the Post Office on the departure level upstairs. They give the same rate as every other P.O in the country (I posted a link to their website above).

Casual_Cairo, Honest, I didn't mean anything other than that's what we've found in most places and in most places that is true. But I get your point about the gov't watching. It's just that over the years, we've found that it's best not to exchange at airports. My husband watches the exchange rates pretty regularly when we are getting ready to travel and that's why. And when we get to the airport, we have no way to really check that rate against what we'd get somewhere else. Just our experience. But we do cover our bases and use all methods, but come prepared with some cash.

Tinydancer-most of us are saying that you change your USD into that country's currency ONLY at ATM machines which are usually scattered around. No One goes to those exchange booths-they are right up there with "travelers checks"!

Just an FYI everyone-tip and pay in that country's currency. No one really wants USD outside of the US so if you are being told that then that person doesn't travel much.

Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your replies. I have been super busy so havent had time to go through the replies yet, but will do so soon and let you guys know if I have more questions.

I love Fodors....!!! SO many experts on this forum. Thank you!!

"I'm wondering why guides who really know Israel would suggest such a thing, unless they are just trying to tell you that THEY want to be paid in US Dollars, cash"

Probably those guides live in the past. When the dollar was strong, it was widely accepted. Now Euro is more desirable, but the guides still have to catch up with this

Don't worry if your ATM card doesn't work. For some reason my didn't work on all cash machines, I've noticed when there are 2 ATMs next to each other, I had to use the smaller one.

There was a sign in Hebrew, but it switched to English automatically when you put in the US ATM card. I used ATM-only card, not a debit card.

Many Israeli businesses take US$ without problem, but give change in shekels. Depending on the vendor you can get a good rate. You should exchange a bit of cash into the local currency in whatever country you visit, good policy. Hotels, taxis, duty free stores, many restaurants and tourist attractions can be paid in dollars.

Chako, the most of Israeli businesses accept Shekel only.Maybe in some markets (like Arabian Shuk in Jerusalem) you can pay in $, but I am not sure if they offer a good rate.

Except in the few countries where the dollar is the de facto currency you are almost always better off financially using the local currency, and it is certainly more polite.