cash in russia
Jun 29th, 2006, 10:25 AM
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cash in russia
Hi Fodorites,
This is actually a question for my somewhat computer novice sister and husband, who are going on a barge cruise between St Petersberg and Moscow. In the literature that was sent to them for their September trip, the travel company suggested they bring $1000 in cash (American dollars, that is). They are very worried about this- in her travels through out Europe, this has never happened.
So, can someone help us with this? My sister can't believe that ATMs are not accessible in the airport or the cities. I do know that, in Sicily, tourists are told that it is difficult to use credit cards and sometimes risky to use ATMs that are not in a bank. Is this true for Russia as well? My sister and brother-in-law are reluctant to carry so much cash, feeling that this is risky in itself. So, how does one handle money in Russia?
I have used the European forum for several years and am extremely grateful for the generosity of the members. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
-Margret
This is actually a question for my somewhat computer novice sister and husband, who are going on a barge cruise between St Petersberg and Moscow. In the literature that was sent to them for their September trip, the travel company suggested they bring $1000 in cash (American dollars, that is). They are very worried about this- in her travels through out Europe, this has never happened.
So, can someone help us with this? My sister can't believe that ATMs are not accessible in the airport or the cities. I do know that, in Sicily, tourists are told that it is difficult to use credit cards and sometimes risky to use ATMs that are not in a bank. Is this true for Russia as well? My sister and brother-in-law are reluctant to carry so much cash, feeling that this is risky in itself. So, how does one handle money in Russia?
I have used the European forum for several years and am extremely grateful for the generosity of the members. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
-Margret
Jun 29th, 2006, 11:31 AM
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When friends went to Uzbekistan they were also advised to take a fair amount of dollars. That turned out to be good advice, as banks--and especially ATMs--were very scarce. It's different from western Europe.
Does the ship not offer currency exchange?
Does the ship not offer currency exchange?
Jun 29th, 2006, 11:45 AM
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I'm going to Russia and the Baltics in 2 weeks, I have several friends that have been in Russia and aswell as my travel agent had told me ,there is ATM machine with different language choices all over both ST.PET. and Moscow.- The russian travel agent told me not to worry and to use ATM.
I would probably take a couple hundreds
ea. and the rest I withdraw from the machines, the reason why they like people to take that much cash, is because having to take a entire boat group to get cash is to much time consuming.
I would probably take a couple hundreds
ea. and the rest I withdraw from the machines, the reason why they like people to take that much cash, is because having to take a entire boat group to get cash is to much time consuming.
Jun 29th, 2006, 11:59 AM
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Whatever you're deciding to bring, make sure that you declare all amounts that you're bringing.
I have a co-worker went to St.Petersburg to meet and bring back a Russian girl to marry. He brought a bunch of money in Trav.Cks but didn't report this. It was somewhere well over $10,000.00. He was caught and they put him into the slammer until he could arrange a lawyer. This took some time and money. He finally found a better lawyer which costs more money.
He spent about three weeks trying to clear this business. Finally he was allowed to leave, without the money.
Lesson learned-do not hide bringing money.
Blackduff - not sure what happened with the Russian wife
I have a co-worker went to St.Petersburg to meet and bring back a Russian girl to marry. He brought a bunch of money in Trav.Cks but didn't report this. It was somewhere well over $10,000.00. He was caught and they put him into the slammer until he could arrange a lawyer. This took some time and money. He finally found a better lawyer which costs more money.
He spent about three weeks trying to clear this business. Finally he was allowed to leave, without the money.
Lesson learned-do not hide bringing money.
Blackduff - not sure what happened with the Russian wife
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:39 PM
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What about credit cards? Do the Russians just not use them?
I think the explanation of the barge organizers not wanting to take time for 200 or so people cashing checks is certainly plausable. Are there so few ATMs-even in Moscow and St Petersberg?
I think the explanation of the barge organizers not wanting to take time for 200 or so people cashing checks is certainly plausable. Are there so few ATMs-even in Moscow and St Petersberg?
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:45 PM
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By the way, you also have to declare amounts over $10,000 when you ENTER the U.S. It's not just other countries that have this "rule."
Back in the day before ATMs existed in the part of Eastern Europe where my mother is from, we used to carry very large amounts of cash! (This was in the 80s.) Traveler's checks were tough to cash, and sometimes took days. The best way to get around was with cash, and the country (Czechoslovakia) even REQUIRED you to bring in a certain amount of currency per day when you were staying there.
If you get a moneybelt and divvy the cash amongst the travelers, you should be fine. (As opposed to one person carrying all the cash in a wallet that could be pickpocketed.) If the literature recommends the cash, I'd follow that guideline.
FYI - my parents are currently in Eastern Europe - traveling around various parts over the past couple of months. Their ATM card has not always worked for them! Granted, they are in some more obscure places - but it should not be taken for granted that every ATM card is going to work everywhere in the world.
Back in the day before ATMs existed in the part of Eastern Europe where my mother is from, we used to carry very large amounts of cash! (This was in the 80s.) Traveler's checks were tough to cash, and sometimes took days. The best way to get around was with cash, and the country (Czechoslovakia) even REQUIRED you to bring in a certain amount of currency per day when you were staying there.
If you get a moneybelt and divvy the cash amongst the travelers, you should be fine. (As opposed to one person carrying all the cash in a wallet that could be pickpocketed.) If the literature recommends the cash, I'd follow that guideline.
FYI - my parents are currently in Eastern Europe - traveling around various parts over the past couple of months. Their ATM card has not always worked for them! Granted, they are in some more obscure places - but it should not be taken for granted that every ATM card is going to work everywhere in the world.
Jun 29th, 2006, 12:54 PM
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I'm just back from StP. We saw a lot of ATMs in town so there's no problem there. We also got some roubles at Heathrow airport in London before we went. And we took several $100 notes. Our Russian friend changed these for us with men in the street 'no questions asked' for a great exchange rate.
Jun 29th, 2006, 01:31 PM
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We took the Volga River Cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg (hopefully they are not with the same company) about five years ago. We were told that there were few ATM's and that since most of the sights would be seen on the ship company's bus tours, or on stops for museums etc.. we would have a hard time getting to ATM's
Tell them to 'jump ship' ocassionally, especially in St. Petersburg - if they feel comfortable doing that. There are some wonderful restaurants that can easily be reached by taxi to and from the ship. They can leave the tour bus in the afternoon before it returns to the ship, walk around and enjoy the City and then have a wonderful dinner.
There's nothing like a fabulous dinner with oysters, champagne and cavier, at half of what we would pay here.
We were also advised to bring about $1,000 in new money, mostly $1's and $5's. Boy did we have full money belts!
Even though I am a shopper with a capital S, there really wasn't that much to buy, except for the ship gift shop, which had decent prices, better than a lot of the stores we were in. For the first and only time, I bought $$$ home and had no credit card bills to pay
Beware of the amber - if they are interested, do a little homework first - it is everywhere and a lot of it is plastic. DON'T LISTEN TO THE GUIDES, tell them to use their own common sense on any purchase. If it seems to cheap to be true ..... it is.
We bought rubles there and used them almost exclusively for shopping, eating off the ship, cab fare etc. We bought relatively small amounts each time, so as not to get stuck with rubles, which, at least at that time, couldn't be sold outside of Russia. We saved quite a bit by using rubles instead of dollars.
Every so often, we used our $1.00 bills for street vendors or when we considered their dollar prices to be fair.
This was the first trip that we paid cash for everything, never used our credit card, ATM, or the traveler's check that we carried in case of an emergency.
One item in one of the shops that the shipsguide took us to (hmmmm, I wonder why she picked that particular store -kickback time) gave us a price of $8.00 in dollars, which we gigged at when we did the math. When we paid in rubles at the register, they charged us the equivalent of $1.50!!!
The most important thing ... they should each buy and WEAR a comfortable money belt at all times, except when sleeping or showering ;-) No wallets in back pockets or purses. Test them first, as DH has had a few that he absolutely hated wearing for various reasons. A good travel store will have a different types and they can be tested at home and returned if necessary. Of course this holds true when traveling anywhere - not just Russia.
I hope they enjoy Russia as much as we did.
Nina
Tell them to 'jump ship' ocassionally, especially in St. Petersburg - if they feel comfortable doing that. There are some wonderful restaurants that can easily be reached by taxi to and from the ship. They can leave the tour bus in the afternoon before it returns to the ship, walk around and enjoy the City and then have a wonderful dinner.
There's nothing like a fabulous dinner with oysters, champagne and cavier, at half of what we would pay here.
We were also advised to bring about $1,000 in new money, mostly $1's and $5's. Boy did we have full money belts!
Even though I am a shopper with a capital S, there really wasn't that much to buy, except for the ship gift shop, which had decent prices, better than a lot of the stores we were in. For the first and only time, I bought $$$ home and had no credit card bills to pay
Beware of the amber - if they are interested, do a little homework first - it is everywhere and a lot of it is plastic. DON'T LISTEN TO THE GUIDES, tell them to use their own common sense on any purchase. If it seems to cheap to be true ..... it is.
We bought rubles there and used them almost exclusively for shopping, eating off the ship, cab fare etc. We bought relatively small amounts each time, so as not to get stuck with rubles, which, at least at that time, couldn't be sold outside of Russia. We saved quite a bit by using rubles instead of dollars.
Every so often, we used our $1.00 bills for street vendors or when we considered their dollar prices to be fair.
This was the first trip that we paid cash for everything, never used our credit card, ATM, or the traveler's check that we carried in case of an emergency.
One item in one of the shops that the shipsguide took us to (hmmmm, I wonder why she picked that particular store -kickback time) gave us a price of $8.00 in dollars, which we gigged at when we did the math. When we paid in rubles at the register, they charged us the equivalent of $1.50!!!
The most important thing ... they should each buy and WEAR a comfortable money belt at all times, except when sleeping or showering ;-) No wallets in back pockets or purses. Test them first, as DH has had a few that he absolutely hated wearing for various reasons. A good travel store will have a different types and they can be tested at home and returned if necessary. Of course this holds true when traveling anywhere - not just Russia.
I hope they enjoy Russia as much as we did.
Nina
Jun 29th, 2006, 04:03 PM
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I was in Moscow and St. Petersburg this past May and used ATM's with 4 digit pin numbers. Just make sure that your bank knows that you will be in those cities ahead of time and that the ATM is a part of the network on the back of your card;i.e. Cirrus, Star, or whatever. You should have no problems using them.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 08:28 AM
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1- You should have no problem to find plenty of ATM's in Moscow and/or Saint Petersburg. However, as menioned in previous post, it is well advised to inform your bank and/ Credit Card company that you will be in Russia.
2-Credit card are accepted at all major hotels, and most restaurants, and at most of the larger department stores. However, some of the small boutique shops and so on may not accept them.
3-Take as new/crisp of bills as you can. In most currency exchange venues if a bill is slightly worn,torn, or a corner missing, that bill will probably not be accepted. They don't need to be brand new bills, but they do need to be in very good condition.
4-Regarding declaring $'s. It is required to make a declaration of any amounts over $3000. However, if one is taking as much as $3000 it would probably be advised to make a declaration, unless one was planning to spend most of that cash while in Russia.
2-Credit card are accepted at all major hotels, and most restaurants, and at most of the larger department stores. However, some of the small boutique shops and so on may not accept them.
3-Take as new/crisp of bills as you can. In most currency exchange venues if a bill is slightly worn,torn, or a corner missing, that bill will probably not be accepted. They don't need to be brand new bills, but they do need to be in very good condition.
4-Regarding declaring $'s. It is required to make a declaration of any amounts over $3000. However, if one is taking as much as $3000 it would probably be advised to make a declaration, unless one was planning to spend most of that cash while in Russia.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 09:05 AM
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A little news: as of July 1, the rouble is fully convertible, meaning that it can now be bought and sold outside of Russia. So if you end up with extra roubles at the end of a Russian trip, you can (in theory, at least), exchange them even after you've left the country. It might take a little while for some exchange facilities to start handling them, and of course are exchange fees as with any other exchange transaction.
