sallO

Hi,

I'm not a very experienced traveller, but off to India around August time during my uni break. I've heard you can't take rupees into the country? In which case how can I sort out my travel money? Is a card the only option?

I typed in rupee card and this came up > http://www.icicibank.co.uk/personal/travel_card.html

Has anyone had experience buying from here? Not sure if I'd rather go with an English bank I trust, but they don't appear to do them.

Any advice welcome, thanks.

Sall

kaimurholidays

You can bring dollars .

Kathie

You don't need a rupee card. Use your own bank card to withdraw rupees from an ATM in India. Getting the local currency in country (rather than in your own country) is always the way to go. You get a much better exchange rate. You can also take GBP with you and exchange them at banks or exchange windows, but using ATMs is easier.

Do check with your bank, let them know you will be in India (so they don't turn off your card) and ask what you will be charged for using a foreign ATM.

thursdaysd

What Kathie said. The first time I went to India, in 2001, ATMs hadn't spread and I took traveller's checks. Getting them exchanged was a major exercise in patience and withstanding bureaucracy. When I went back in 2010 I was very happy to just use ATMs. I came overland from Nepal and may have changed some currency at the border (don't remember - it was no big deal) but if you're flying in I'm sure there will be an ATM in the airport.

Craig

Yes, use ATM's. There is one at the airport...

gertie3751

Don't know where you're flying from. I got rupees at Heathrow airport!

rhkkmk

much cheaper buying in india using an ATM

cwn

We just go back from India. We bought rupees through American Express as we didn't want to have to worry with finding an ATM in the middle of the night or waste time looking for one the next day. We had no problem taking rupees into India.

Our travel experience has been that while there are usually ATMs somewhere in most places we have visited, they are not always easy to find and we have wasted a lot of time looking for a machine in some places. We find having some cash in our pocket for the country we are visiting when we arrive relieves a lot of stress as we are not having to change money first thing.

In the case of India we figured the cash we would need for site admissions, driver, tips and a little for market shopping (things we knew could not be charged) and got enough rupees to cover that amount. We charged our food, hotels and purchases (when we could). As it turned out, I made a good guess and we never needed to find and ATM. The tip for the drive to the airport when we left took the last of our rupees.

We never saw an ATM, but I am sure we could have asked our driver to take us to one. It was nice however not to waste our time doing that. The credit card exchange rate was very good. Over time, we have found using a credit card, if possible, is best for the best exchange rate...better than ATMs since sometimes those service fees can be high.

There are lots of differing opinions on this subject so do what makes you comfortable as you can take up to $10,000 in rupees into India without any question.

Marija

Has the law about bringing rupees in to India changed? It used to be that only Indian nationals were allowed to bring rupees into India. Of course the law wasn't enforced. The AMEX office at Heathrow actually refused to sell us rupees. Walked over to the next place and they sold them to us without any problem. ATMs are everywhere. Citibank has branches in India.

thursdaysd

"better than ATMs since sometimes those service fees can be high."

Only if you bank somewhere with high fees...

If you think you may have trouble finding an ATM you can check online for one, but banks are pretty common.

sallO

Thanks for all the responses!! Much more useful than Google

I'll stick with ATMs if available at airports. I just like to have a bit of actual cash on me as soon as I get there. The thought of having none as I land scares me a bit

I am flying from Heathrow so if I can pick some up there that's great?!?

Good tip about informing my bank - my parents had their card blocked for a few days in Africa because of 'suspicious activity' - but hey, it's really good that they do this. Just not very convenient when relying on your card to get by!

Thanks again,

Sall

Kathie

Buying rupees in Heathrow will be relatively expensive (bad exchange rate). Between your gate and the ATM in the airport, I'm not sure what you would spend money on. I've flown into countries many times with no local currency and have obtained it at the airport, usually at an ATM, but occasionally at an exchange window. I've been doing this for decades and have never had a problem. But if you will be more secure with some rupees, go ahead and buy some at Heathrow, but don't buy too many.

gertie3751

I got a few rupees at LHR because I didn't know if there would be an ATM at Kochin where I was flying into. Small airport, didn't see one. Availability at Heathrow seems to depend on who has come in from India with rupees to sell. That's what the people at the exchange counter told me anyway.

rhkkmk

atm are all around.. some only dispense small amounts of $$ at one time--do multiple transactions in that case