Try xe.com. The only downside is that you must open an account (no deposit involved) with it as if opening a bank account. But it tends to be cheaper than a bank transfer from what I am reading: no added fees, just an exchange rate slightly higher (2%?) than the daily rate.

Maybe I should be asking about people's preferred way of carrying cash concealed on their body........ :-D

I wouldn't stay in such a place. I stayed in a modest B&B in Amsterdam about 30 years ago and didn't have to pay cash. I've never used travelers checks to pay for anything directly, even when they were popular way back then, I just used them to get cash at an exchange bureau.

But if this is such a cheap place, the money over a week can't be that much, can it? should be less than 700 euro, I hope. I can get that much out of an ATM from my bank, at most two withdrawals.

'I find that cash on arrival is the norm in Europe'
No. And most countries have limit for cash transactions.
But it seems to be the habbit for US to pay cash upon arrival.
I just come back from Slovenia, booked an appt and paid by credit card.
I never - never - pay anything cash, I never have cash on me.

Apartments in Rome are usually cash on arrival, and not just for Americans. I've never exceeded the €1000 limit, but I haven't stayed in such an apartment in about five years. Now booking sites tend to also have apartments, and those apartments usually allow payment by credit card. Some of the apartments for which I paid cash gave me a fiscal receipt, so it wasn't always a tax dodge.

We stayed in an apartment in London a few years ago, and all the apartments I saw required payment by bank transfer a month before arrival.

Cash on arrival is certainly the norm in Europe. Yes it is possible to substitute a bank transfer or credit card via PayPal in advance, however it is much more costly to do it that way (ballpark 15% higher than paying cash), at least for someone without a European bank account.

Here's a recent (18 month) summary of European rentals:

UK: 1 credit card

France: 1 credit card / 2 cash

Denmark: 1 cash

Italy: 1 credit card / 2 cash

"Maybe I should be asking about people's preferred way of carrying cash concealed on their body........ "

Here's a recent thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...allets-etc.cfm

Americans want to pay for apartment and house rentals with credit card or personal check (never cash). Bank transfers are what Europeans renting lodging want, but a transfer from a U.S. bank to Europe is expensive, awkward, and rare. I have 2 bank accounts. One (Capital One 360, I set it up just for free European ATM withdrawals) will not send money to a European bank at all, and my normal bank charges $50 + 3%. Using PayPal is less but not by much. So Americans are using cash by default. I can't believe that there isn't a cheaper electronic system. Maybe soon.

I'm puzzled as to why Cowboy1968 repeatedly posts on Fodor's an implication that the Gaza Strip is prone to thievery (unless he is trying to remind people the land has been stolen from its people). I know of no reason to make this illusion, other than to insult the people already living in a tragic situation.

allusion (or slander, really).

<i>Bank transfers are what Europeans renting lodging want, but a transfer from a U.S. bank to Europe is expensive, awkward, and rare. I have 2 bank accounts. One (Capital One 360, I set it up just for free European ATM withdrawals) will not send money to a European bank at all, and my normal bank charges $50 + 3%. </i>

They exist, you just have to look for them.

I understand the problems as we experienced something similar. Two years ago I rented a place in Paris for a couple of months and I transferred a deposit but the chap wanted the balance in cash on arrival, clearly a way to avoid tax. Anyway we had a bit of a dilemma about it because it was a lot of cash. Initially we were planning to take out several hundred euro over a ten day period which seemed a hassle.

However, I was astonished to find (having called our bank) that they will up your ATM limit for specific days. WE had them up the limit and took the money out on one day which made things much easier. It seemed the cheapest way to change the money to.

Of course that should have been "too" at the end!

Michael: I set up an ex.com account just for this purpose, to get a check in euros to mail to an apartment for the deposit. Problem was apartment owner wouldn't provide a mailing address so dead end.

sandralist

I am sorry that my comment disturbed you.
Nevertheless, thanks for following my posts so loyally.

<i> Problem was apartment owner wouldn't provide a mailing address so dead end.</i>

That is weird because all you need is the bank name and the account number, which apparently does not compromise the account. All businesses do that, and my rental in Amsterdam was done that way for the deposit.

Ther are more economical ways to transfer money from bank to bank. I use xoom.com to transfer funds between my US bank and my Italian bank. The exchange rate isn't brilliant, but they're very fast, and less expensive than a bank transfer. However, they don't handle commercial transactions (or didn't a few years ago when I tried to pay for an apartment in London using their service).

Best proposition seems to contact your bank to raise your ATM limit for a day or two. My international bank transfer cost $48 and more than a week of hassling last year. (Request had to be made in person, on the day of transfer, and before 1 pm if I recall correctly).
Duh, I know I'll call MY bank to raise my ATM limit THIS year ;-)

Unfortunately, my bank (at least for now) is Bank of America, who have been really impossible to deal with, at least locally. No one answers the phone, no one is available at the local offices, or if they are, they barely know what they're doing. But I may try the national number for this. (I can't use XE or xoom because I don't/won't have an account in Europe.)

Thanks all for the enlightening discussion and comments.