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I will be visiting Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos for the next 5 weeks. I have read that US dollars is accepted everywhere. Credit cards are accepted at major establishments with a possible 3-4% service charge added. Traveller cheques are seldom accepted. Based on above should I take as much US dollars that I am comfortable taking? Is there any advantage of using loacal currency? Will ATM machines dispense enough local currency to warrant service charge? All advice greatly appreciated.

You can use US dollars for most things in Luang Prabang, if that is where you are headed. In Vietnam you need to use local currency, dong. There are lots of ATM machines.

in non-tourist areas i doubt that dollars will be the accepted exchange....

in siem reap cambodia and in luang prabang laos, dollars are accetped....small things will be a dollar, change will be given in the local currency....

VN will require dong....some atm machines dispense dollars...

Using ATMs is quite easy in Vietnam and you will become a dong millionaire with very little effort! Not all places charge to take a credit card - check before you chooses how to pay.

Most moderate hotels and restaurants and above take credit cards and do not add a surcharge (but do know what your bank charges for foreign exchange). It's low-budget places that charge for use of credit cards if they take them at all.

I absolutely agree to use dong in VN. Using dollars will mark you as a novice and you will be charged more. The US dollar is the preferred currency in Siem Reap. When I was in Luang Prabang, you really need to use kip rather than dollars for most things, but apparently dollars are much more accepted now.

I agree with most others. In Cambodia they will take USD anywhere. Take a lot of small bills, except bigger hotels and supermarkets everything over 10 or 20 bucks often cant be changed.
In Phnom Penh and Siem Reap they have many ATMs now. So bringing in higher amounts in dollar is not necessary.
Since several years Vietnam like the dong more than the dollar. Not regarding the fact, that there are still around 14000 dong for just 1 buck. But they have now 50000 dong bills. 10 years ago 5000 was the highest. And it is not allowed to bring dong in or take out. In the bigger cities (Saigon, Hanoi etc) plenty of ATMs can be found.
Touristy places more and more accept credit cards. Hotels and supermarkets dont charge extra, many smaller shops and some restaurants do.

For Cambodia, what about bringing $100 in $1 bills, $100 in $5 bills, $100-200 in $20 bills, and then using the ATMs to take out a bit more?

We need money to pay Ponheary for being our guide, plus we're donating a well through her ($120) plus breakfast for the kids (I think $80) but I don't want to be carrying $600 cash. Especially because we have a week of traveling before we arrive in Siem Reap.

(Victor, sorry for hijacking your post.)

Liz

liz---we took about $600 in cash and just kept it in the safe in our room or in our hand luggage when travelling.....its a pain but we were glad we did it that way....we just converted it to B upon our return to bkk....

i took $100 in 1's, maybe $150 in 5's, some tens and several 50's to pay guides etc... i did not use as many 1's as i thought that i would...

We took a lot of cash to cambodia- $1s,10s, and 20's- and ended up getting quite a bit more out of the ATM. We really went through the $!s for shopping, tuk tuks and eating, but there were 4 of us.

In addition, our second hotel in Siem Reap was having a feud with VISA and told us (right before check-out) that they couldn't take credit cards that week. We maxxed out the ATM and cashed some travelers checks at a little exchange shop as the hotel's TC surcharge was something like 5%.

I like to use ATM machines, but after one trip where our card wouldn't work, I've now bring two separate ATM cards. Vietnam has tons of ATMs; you won't have a problem finding one. Siem Reap has only a couple and they're all the same network, so it may be a problem if the network is down.

I bring along a few hundred dollar Traveler's Checks on each trip. Rarely use them, but I figure they're secure and good in a pinch.

I do not think you should travel with that much cash,
get AMEX traveler's checks & take clean, unblemished US$ bills... if they are blemished or torn or folded, they won't take them in Siem Reap.

FYI, Ponheary will take you to a money changer who will change your AMEX traveler's checks into US $ for 1% fee. Our guide Tek knows one too. They you just need change as much as you want.

Banks in SIEM REAP charge 2% to change AMEX into US$ & our hotel (Raffles) charges 3% (disgusting).

If you use your ATM your bank MAY charge you a fee & a percentage even if you are getting US$ on it!

I checked with Washington Mutual & for ATM withdrawals in foreign countries, even if you are getting US$, they charge 1% fee PLUS they just (as in Feb. 08) added a $2 for every transaction, & they said the foreign bank may charge an additional fee too!

So call your bank & make sure you ask all the questions a nearly all US banks charge for using your ATM in foreign countries, even if it's at a bank.

Staff break into hotel room staffs all the time. I work in the film biz & I could tell you horror stories of laptops being stolen out of locked, hotel room safes... if they steal your AMEX TCs you are covered.

The ONLY US credit card company that does not charge a fee for foreign credit card transactions is CAPITOL ONE. Citibank, BofA, all charge 3% on MasterCard & Visa charges, there are banks that charge this fee EVEN if you are being charged in US$ if the charge is being made in a foreign country.

Be aware that if you do a cash advance on a credit card, you will be charge their loanshark interest rates from day one.

Tim and Liz, Like Bob, we carried that much cash with us with no problem. I'm one of those people who at home never has a lot of cash in my wallet, so it alwayd feels a bit odd to me to be carrying that much cash. We brought 100 $1 bills, and similar other bills that you are proposing. Frankly, I haven't used travelers checks for at least a decade. I find them to be a hassle, and there is always a surcharge to cash them.

I'm sure your hotel will have a safe so you don't have to carry all that money with you all the time.

You absolutely need cash for Laos. NOT traveler's checks!! There is one ATM machine that I am aware of in Luang Prabang and it did not process VISA cards as of last month. You can get a VISA cash advance (I've no idea of the rate or surcharges). I found it helpful to have lots of cash on my recent trip to Laos, Vietnam...I certainly did not leave it in obvious sight in my hotel room!

Thanks, all!

This all great advice and I will making a few changes in what money to bring. When taking out local currency from the ATM in Vietnam what is the maximum amount VND that one can withdrawal at one time? I believe there is a service charge of about $5.00 each time you use an ATM.
Thanks again everyone for the great advice. I am sure that this info will be helpful to all new travellers to this part of the world.

Victor, when I was last in VN, the ATMs charged about US$1 per use of the ATM. Check and see what your bank charges you when you take money out of a foreign ATM.

How much you can withdraw from an ATM is generally determined by your own bank, although occasionally the local ATM will have a lower limit. You should check with your bank when you tell them you will be using your card abroad (you need to do that for your CCs as well) to find out what your limit is. If it's too low you can ask to have it increased.

i have found limits in many places on withdrawals at atms........india and bali are two places that come to mind instantly....they do both allow multiple transactions however, but then the fees really add up...

make sure however that you have at least a $500 w/d limit on your cards with your bank....many have less and if you have never attempted a large transaction you might not know how your card is coded....

We used a Washington Mutual ATM in Siem Reap and had absolutely no charges or fees- When we withdrew 400 dollars, we had a $400 withdrawal on our bank statement.

Wow! Washington Mutual has an ATM in Siem Reap? I think I'll buy some more stock!

Never head of this bank being in Siem Reap. As far as I know only the following have ATMs.
ANZ Royal Bank
Union Commercial Bank (UCB)
SBC
Canadia Bank

Maybe lcuy meant that a Wasington Mutual bank card was used.

Ah! That makes more sense.

oh my... I used a Wash Mut ATM CARD at the Canadia machine in Siem Reap!

Lcuy, what is so funny to me is that you wrote that there was a WaMu there and I believed it, as unlikely as it seemed.

Do you have a bridge you want to sell me?

;-)

BIG THANK YOU for everyone's advice. My plan is to bring a quantity of small new US bills (1s,,5s,10s,20s and a few 50s)for use in Cambodia and Laos. I'll use Visa credit card at any major establishments that will take it. In Vietnam, I'll use the ATM machines to withrawal the max limit for VNDs since most of our time will be spent in Vietnam.

Best regards to all for your advice.

Sort of echoing everyone's perspective, I brought about $1,000 in cash on my trip last year to Vietnam and Laos. Mostly $1's, $5's, and $20's, with a couple of $100's thrown in for hotel stays.

Like Kathie I don't usually carry cash in the U.S., and felt weird with this amount of $$. The upside is it is easy to settle bills with American dollars -- they are desirable in Vietnam and Laos. The downside was in college I was an English major so figuring out the % taxed my poor innumerate mind, but in the end I was happy to have that cash on hand -- I think it saved me about 10% on my trip. Keep half in a money belt on your person and the rest in the safe at your hotel.

Luang Prabang is the epicenter of the $1 USD. Everything, except hotels, can be negotiated with that denomination. I met someone whose credit card was eaten by the ATM in LP and she waited 24 hours for restitution....

There is only one ATM in Luang Prabang (close to the night market)that will accept an internatuinal bank card that is either a master or cirrus card. Visa will not work. It dispenses only kip and not US dollars. That was in December/07 so they might be more now.

Hi everyone, we are now in Hoi An, Vietnam and can report back that the US dollar is accepted almost everywhere. However, I suggest that you also get VND at ATM machines since some smaller establishment prefer it. There are quite a few ATM machines in Vietnam but you may have to go to a few before you can find one that accepts your particular card. To minimize the service charges I withdraw the maximum amount which is less than my banks daily limit. In Siem Reap, the american dollar rules. As suggested, bring a lot of smaller bills, especially $1.00 bills for tips. Most hotels will also exchange larger US denominations for smaller bills. We'll be going to Laos in a few days and will report back on the money situation there. I would also suggest bringing 2 ATM cards from 2 different banks. I have encountered the situation where one ATM card would works and the other did not. Cheers

I am now in Luang Prabang. Despite the fact that the US dollar has dropped significantly. It is still accepted as a form of payment. I have found 2 ATM machines on the main street in LP. One is always closed and the second one is open until it runs out of cash by the afternoon. If you want local currency (kips), I suggest you access this machine in the morning. Although the US dollar is accepted, I think you get a better deal when paying with the local currency. Since the amount of withdrawal from your bank is limited by the local machine, you can make at least 2 withdrawals one after the other. LP is a wonderful city and I highly recommend it as a place to see. It is so relaxing compared to Hanoi and Saigon and the people are so friendly.

Recently returned from Vietnam & Cambodia. We also took small bills USD to use in Vietnam. Initially our guide told me she only accepted Dong (Vietnam currency) then in a later e-mail told me she would accept USD. Every place we went they wanted Dong. ATM's are every where and it is easy to get local cash.

In Siem Reap they took USD and the ATM's only gave USD. Change was given in local currency even when paying in USD.

We used credit card to pay for hotels and to pay local tour companies but be prepared to pay an extra 3% when using credit cards with some tour companies. Restaurants will take credit cards, however, we always used cash taken from ATM's.

Found the same thing about Vietnam, dong is preferred, esp in North. Atms everywhere. 20,000 dong ($1.25) ATM fee. 3% CC surcharge (Amex higher) everywhere except high-end restaurants, shops, and hotels.
Be aware of a scam where the vendor tries to use 2 different exchange rates. Paid for hotel in dong and $. Transfer was listed in dong, converted to $ by hotel. When I tried to pay with dong, clerk used a different higher rate to convert back to dong. I challenged and she backed down and used the same for both parts.

Siem Reap has several ATMs which dispense only $ with $2 ATM fee. The ATMs I used only distributed $20 and $50's. In restaurants and regular shops, I was able to get change back in $ when I specified. Under $1 was riels. Markets were different, change in riels. No CC surcharge noticed. 2% surcharge for TCs.

Luang Prabang's 2 ATMs now accept both VISA and MC linked ATM cards, 20,000 kip ($2.25) fee with max withdrawal of 700,000 kip (about $79). BCEL bank gives comparable rates to ATM with no commission for cash. They will even exchange dong.
You need kip for smaller purchases. They will take $ but at a bad exchange rate, usually 8000:1 vs bank 8819:1. THB is also accepted at good exchange rates. 3% CC surcharge everywhere except high-end hotels and shops. Most restaurants have this surcharge too. Some even try to make it 10% (3 elephants cafe).
Be aware of the 2 exchange rate scam that is also done in some places in LP. Meal $8, converted to 80,000 kip (10,000:1). Drink 20,000 kip. Yet total converted to $12.50 (8000:1) instead of $10 (3 elephants cafe).

Use all kip, riels, and dong while in country. They are not exchangeable once you leave (except dong for kip).