Hi Everyone,

With the extensive help from my friends on this forum I have just about finalized the itinerary for our visit next year. It's now time to start working on details. I've had to opportunity to travel around the world for business but this is the first time leaving the States where I will be footing the entire bill. The first 2 questions of probably several more has to do with money and electricity.
When I traveled for work, I just charged everything on the company' corporate AmEx. I never worried much about exchanging currency. I know that the airports and hotels will exchange US for AUS, but they will give the worst exchange rate. I know my wife will want to have spending money in her pocket shortly after arriving in Port Douglas, which is where we will be starting our visit. Any suggestions on where to go for the best exchange rate?
Next question concerns electricity. I read this forum on nearly a daily basis and read many conflicting stories concerning electricity. We will have several thing that we will need to plug in and recharge. I've read horror stories concerning equipment (mobile phones, ipods...) that never worked right again because they charged them on their trip through Australia. Any suggestions on the best power converter to use would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Everyone!

Hello Scudam,
I usually just buy a small amount of mixed denomination currency at AMEX or my bank before I leave ($100 - $200 worth). That gives me enough for the first day and in the case of unfamiliar currency, allows me to familiarise myself with it well before I arrive. Rate doesn't matter that much on small amounts, but being able to walk out & avoid faffing around at an unfamiliar airport on arrival is, as they say in the Mastercard ad, "Priceless".

I've found the best way from then on is to use my debit cards in ATMs for cash, and credit cards for restaurants, hotels & most other purchases, as we both did when trotting around the world with Corporate Amexes. (FF points). I take Visa, M'card, 2 Amex (I have one for my business) and 2 flexi-cards with a link to my cash accounts. On arrival, I take 2-3 with me & leave the rest in the hotel safe for backup in case of loss or malfunction. Visa & m/card are almost universally accepted in Australia; Amex sometimes not in some smaller places because of the merchant fees. The usual caveats about keeping an eye on your cards & watching out for skimming devices on ATMs apply here too, of course. You'll have seen discussions regarding ATM fees on this board recently, and you might want to check with your bank.

Electricity: Others will chime in with more technical & specific info, but you may find some of your devices already have 220/110v capability, with a screw that just needs turning to the 220v for Australia.

ATM cards and credit cards are the way to go IMO. I live in Australia and routinely use my US issued ATM and credit card. I'm only charged a 1% conversion fee on both. Our first stop when we travel is the ATM in the airport at our destination.

If you're renting a car in OZ, you'll want to check the rental car coverage on your credit card. Mastercard Assist has issues with rentals in OZ and NZ, Visa doesn't. Visa will even cover the excess for a covered loss, and the excess in OZ is steep. $2,500-3,000 isn't unusual.

Regarding electricity - Most of our electrical items are from the US. Check the plugs/cords on the items you plan to bring. If you see 100/240, or 110/240 on the plug or elsewhere on the item, it will work here with a simple adaptor. Suggest you bring an adapter from the US, they seem to be cheaper there. Radio Shack and luggage stores carry them.

You'll need a 110/240 compatible battery charger for items like Ipods and cameras. We picked one up in Singapore a few years back - it charges AAA and AA rechargable batteries. We just plug it in the wall with an OZ adaptor. Works great.

Most laptops are 110/240 compatible and just need an adaptor. I have no idea about cell phones - never use one.

We learned the hard way. On our first overseas assignment, we fried a telephone/answering machine by plugging it in with an adaptor before checking to see if it was 240 compatible. It wasn't. Oops.

Your cell phone (or mobiles, as they're known here) charger should be 110/240v - I've never seen one that wasn't, anyway.

On using North American phones in Australia and most other places, reams have been written on the subject in this and other forums. If you have any doubts you can turn up the threads by using the search function (see top of this page). If you plan on buying a prepaid SIM card in Australia you'll need an unlocked GSM phone operating on the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands.

www.kropla.com/electric.htm provides illustrations of the plug configurations used in various countries, Australia included.

Agree with others - get off plane, go to ATM to get cash. There is at least one in every baggage claim/main arrival area. Finding them is not rocket science.

The best travel item we own is a AA/AAA battery charger which plugs into the cigarette lighter in the rental car. It charges our camera batteries in about a hour, and you'll often drive at least that. I use the hotel provided hair dryer and don't have a need for other appliances. We don't use mobile phones or a laptop, but bring along one transformer and appropriate plugs for a medical device my husband needs.

Re: Mel's note on rental car costs/excess, take a look at Cruising Car Rentals out of Cairns. Terrific family owned company with minimal excess charges.

We had cameras with chargeable batteries on our last trip to Australia and N.Z. and both of them stopped working during the trip. This may be due to problems of charging them with the different current, even though noone has confirmed that this was the case. We ended up buying a new camera in N.Z. (it would have been too frustrating to go through the rest of the trip without a camera) and got one that takes AA batteries. It's a bit larger than the ones that use the rechargeable batteries that many cameras come with, but we have great confidence it's going to work.

Hi Everyone,
Even though I use my debit card for everything here, I never thought about using it to get cash while I'm on vacation. I checked with my bank and they told me that I can use it in Australia. I just have to give them the dates of my trip. I'll do the same thing with one credit card. Great suggestions, thanks.
About electricity, you think I would know that about the 110/240 switch. On a business trip, I brought a electronic balance. When I got to the plant, I plugged it in and proceeded to fry it (thanks for reminding me Mel). As we won't be brining many electronic devices, it should be easy to check everything.

Thanks Guys!
Scott