I will be spending 4 or 5 days in Denmark. Do they take US currency or do I need to get their currency before I go? I assume I can use my visa for lodging & larger items. Thanks

Any bank takes US Dollars and you will encounter the first bank in the airport's arrival terminal.

You can also withdraw Kroners from ATM - ask your bank first which of your cards support European ATMs.

VISA and MasterCard are common in Europe and are accepted by practically every hotel, but be always prepared that a restaurant does not accept credit cards.

juede, just use your ATM card, assuming you have one.

I would try to pay with USD in the stores. It will endear you to the locals. I am sure the Danes also love those obnoxious Germans who try to pay in EUR when they set foot in stores in Denmark. Serves the Danes right - what are they thinking - being a small nation and having their own currency?! Ultimately everyone would surely be glad about being paid in USD.

Don't bother with USD. Just take cigarettes and nylons. And do ask every man you meet the price of his daughter.

I am trying to decide if you are a genuine newbie or a troll with your two posts

Hmmm let's give the benefit of the doubt here.

OK. Answer this. Can you use Danish Kroner in the USA? So, now guess what the answer is about other countries accepting US dollars.

Unless they depeg their currency from the €, they don't have their own currency anyway, just a rebranded Euro.
I'd use clam shells for paying anyway!

Nona1
The US does not take Peso's but Mexico takes US currency as well as some other countries I have been in. I did not expect to get rude answers to a legitimate question from you and a few others.

Here are some hopefully helpful answers:

1) USD will not be widely accepted. You might be able to use it at some place like Tivoli or Magasin or Illum, but you will want some DKK.

2) You can either use an ATM to get cash (at the very least, Danske Bank and Nordea seem to work fine with US cards) or there are currency exchange booths at the airport. The one in the baggage claim area is particularly useful. There are also several in the terminal and a Danske Bank in the public area of the airport, in the walkway between T2 and T3. It is not worth getting anything before you go.

3) Credit cards are very widely accepted. Most restaurants take them, any hotel that doesn't charge by the hour, virtually all stores, and virtually all cabs, as well. In stores, just tell them that you don't have a PIN and they will know what to do - except for at grocery stores, where you might encounter an exceptionally poorly-trained clerk.

4) Restaurants and cabs do charge the transaction fee for foreign credit cards. I believe it is 3% or so. This is universal (might even be the law) - don't waste your time trying to find somewhere that doesn't charge the fee.

5) Bring a lot of money. Denmark is very expensive, though the recent decline in the Kroner has softened the blow a bit.

Travelgourmet
Thank you. You have been most helpful.

juede, I realize the US$ is widely accepted in North America and most of the Caribbean islands, but that really isn't the case in most other parts of the world. If someone does agree to take your US$ they will do it at an extremely unfavorable exchange rate for you. You really need the local currency in Denmark and any other part of Europe.

You have received some great advice from travelgourmet, I hope you will enjoy your trip. Denmark is a great country.

LOL HSV, I will try to pay with USD in the stores too on my visit in August. I am at an advantage here as I won't understand the "choice words" that will be lost on me

when I was in Copenhagen in 2007 and 2008 many of the stores I visited had notices at the cashier stations indicating they accepted USD (or not). The bigger department type stores all did, whereas the smaller shops did not. Best to have some local currency for small purchases and use a credit card/debit card for larger expenditures. And, as others mentioned, the exchange rate offered by the stores is NOT going to be in your favor....

Not sure why Nona1 and others are being so hostile to a simple and legitimate question.

juede -

Sorry - that question is NOT legitimate. If you don;t understand the difference between Denmark and Mexico I think you need to do a lot more reading. (You do know prices will be about 4 times higher don;t you? That's it's a wealthy and fully developed country - not one stricken by poverty and living off tourism?)

The only places I've been in europe where dollars were welcome was in airport duty free shops (at a hideous rate of exchange) or in cabs in Russia (ditto).

In Denmark you pay for what you can with your credit cards and pull walkng around money frm an ATM with a debit card linked to your checking account. (Trying to change cash will lost you about 10% of it;s value.)

Juede, I'm sure you and most of the Americans on this forum would have been just a little bit miffed if I had asked if I could spend GBP in the USA. Denmark is not Mexico, and the question does have a hint of "ugly American", sorry but it does.

I am always amazed by the bullshit which is written here.

>>>any hotel that doesn't charge by the hour<<<

Of course, those hotels take credit cards. How else could they charge $300 for a bottle of cheap champagne and §700 for an hour in a room with service?

"I am always amazed by the bullshit which is written here.

>>>any hotel that doesn't charge by the hour<<<

Of course, those hotels take credit cards. How else could they charge $300 for a bottle of cheap champagne and §700 for an hour in a room with service?"

I like this forum because its participants have experiences in all walks of life - even in charging practices of hotels that let their rooms by the hour.

Juede, I wasn't trying to be rude. I did say I was giving you the benefit of the doubt (it's also a popular troll question) and all I did was reverse the situation for you, to make you think about it a bit more.

Countries that share borders often accept each others currency. But not ones halfway across the world. Unless they are, as others have said, totally desperate for stable currency like some of the developing world. So that's why people got miffed by your question. It's a condescending attitude to expect dollars to be wanted elsewhere...albeit one made from ignorance rather than malice...but, yes, it does have quite a big dollop of 'ugly American' in there. Some questions offend people, that's all.

Anyway, Denmark is a lovely country, so have a great trip. Go to Aarhus if you get the chance.

nytraveler - No need to be so nasty. Seriously.

And, FWIW, several famous stores in NYC began accepting GBP and EUR a couple of years ago, in order to cater to foreign tourists. I'm not sure why everyone reflexively thinks that the Danes are so stupid that some wouldn't be happy to do the same if it made it easier to separate tourists from their money. Indeed, now that I think about it, I would not be shocked if many of the establishments catering to the cruise crowds (such as those on Langelinie, or some of the other shops that offer cruise discounts) do actually take USD (at God know's what fx rate). Again, I think the best option is to get some DKK, either via the fx booths at the airport or from an ATM, but the question isn't as ridiculous as some want to make it seem.

This is a business transaction, not an insult to a culture. FWIW, the Danes are far less uptight about "ugly Americans" than many of the Americans on this board.

Hi travelgourmet - yes, in any country you will find a few big stores that accept other currencies to grab those tourists. Especially near cruise ship stop-offs. Business is business.

That's nothing to do with a foreign currency being generally accepted in a country. That's like expecting to use Australian dollars at a local shop in some littel town to buy a coke. Or to buy a newspaper with Yen at a suburban supermarket. That's really not a reasonable expectation.


If they said 'I'm on a cruise ship stopping for 3 hours at wherever -do I need to get Kroner?' that would have been a much more understable query. But The OP was asking if they needed ANY local currency for a 5 day trip, or if dollars are universally and equally accepted as a complete substitute for Kroner in every and all situations. That's why they got jumped on, as it is an offensive expectation.