currency for Eastern Europe
 

We are leaving in 5 weeks for our trip to Europe. I like to have some cash on hand to pay for cabs, tips etc until I can get to a cash machine. I know that many dont think it necessary to do so, just get upon arrival, but I always like to have some 'just in case'.

I was going to go to my bank tomorrow to order some local cash, but wanted to ask first what is necessary.

We start in Prague, so we were going to bring $200 worth of Czech Koruna. Then to Poland so was going to have $200 of Polish Zloty. Not sure where we are heading from there, perhaps Hungary, Romania Albania, Macadonia?? Not sure.

We will be in Croatia and Italy and Spain for sure.
I was also going to get a few hundred of Euros.

Will the Euros work in Eastern Europe in a pinch? I know that in Italy and Spain they will be fine,

Thanks for any help.

We went to Poland and previously to Hungary with no local cash, just found an ATM at the airport.

Italy and Spain's currency is the euro.

Agree with Michael. Went to Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and found ATM QUICKLY at the airport and train stations without any hassles.

Does your bank actually supply Central/Eastern European currency? GBP and Euros would be a given but the other currencies? I'd call before going to the bank. If you can get currency I think $200 Zloty is a lot of money.

Yes - you can use Euros in a pinch, also USD but the exchange rate will be terrible (as will the rate when you order in advance from your bank).

Thanks for you quick responses. I can usually get any currency at my bank (except for Burmese etc).
Maybe I will get only $50 of each. I am the type of person who likes to be prepared in case of the unexpected. We arrive at 11PM into Prague and will have a driver meet us who will expect cash so I dont want to start the trip with any hic-ups. I know it is not necessary, but it is what I always do.

I'm surprised you can get those currencies in the US, also, as the aren't that common. If you can get it at your bank easily, go ahead. But otherwise, the airport will have exchange desks, also, you know, if you are thinking you will have ATM issues. But since you are getting there so late at night, might be a good idea of the first one.


I really would not get all those country's currencies in advance before your trip in the US. If you feel you should get koruna, okay, but then I'd wait and get the next country's currency there while on your trip. There are plenty of exchange places in those cities, if you have some cash to exchange (USD or euro). I really can't imagine why you would need US$200 of polish zloty or the other currency, either.

okay, thanks. I guess I will just get the Koruna and euros. I am from Canada not the US.
I will let you know if I can order them tomorrow just for interest sake.

I'm like you, live42day. When I went to Vienna, Prague and Budapest several years ago, I got a bit of each currency, euros, koruna and forint, from my bank (Wells Fargo). It was nice not to have to immediately search for an ATM at the airport.

thanks Delaine. It is one less thing for me to worry about having a bit of local currency. I am a planner and need to have every thing covered so that I can just relax once I get there.

As an update, I just came from my bank where I was able to order Czech Korona, Polish Zloty and Hungarian money without any problems. I use HSBC in BC/Canada and they buy from someone in Vancouver. Of course the Euros were not an issue

Thanks for letting us know - this is good information.

"I like to have some cash on hand to pay for cabs, tips etc until I can get to a cash machine"

So, how many feet from the exit ramp from the plane do you think the first ATM would be? Maybe 50 feet?

And how many within the terminal? Maybe 15?

Fifteen ATMs. Do you REALLY have to tip the flight attendant?

I got to "Eastern" Europe a few times a year. The local currency can be a bit of a hassle but the exchange rates you are going to get in the US are really, really, really bad. Clear it with your bank and then take your ATM card. There isn't a country you listed where you can not use most major bank ATM cards. I use my credit card as much as possible and pull out cash with the ATM as needed. For the leftovers keep an eye open in the airports and train stations for donation boxes for charities.

Thanks for all your responses. I have ordered the money, that is what I have chosen to do as it makes me feel better to be prepared with a bit of the local currency. Maybe I paid a bit more to do it this way, I dont really care. I am not talking thousands of dollars here. I only got a bit to start me off and then will use ATMS the next day as needed. I think that you are being unnecessarily snarky Tomboy. You can choose to do it your way, I did it mine. Thanks.

DO NOT buy currency in the U.S. unless you like flushing money down the toilet.

Oh, wait. I see you already did.

Well then, for anyone in the future that finds this thread during a search: DO NOT order money from a bank. It's fiscally foolish and a newbie mistake that is 100% avoidable.

Hey Live4... If you don't like snarky, this is the wrong place to hang out (I bet you knew that).

I never exchange money in advance and I wing it on ATMs. Recently we took the train to Zagreb, arrived very delayed, and all the ATMs were behind locked door. In Central Euroep, ATMs are not always on every corner as they are in the west.

Arriving at midnight (vs. the planned 7PM) we had no choice but to walk, which was fine. No big deal - it was a few miles. Having a bit of local currency in my pocket would have been nice.

So while not always "smart" or necessary - I can understand why you do this. And given it is both your trip and your money, who am I to judge?

I hope you have a wonderful vacation. You will see some great new places, no doubt.

Well, they're starting in Prague and there are ATMs pretty much everywhere there to support the hordes of Germans and U.S. servicemen coming to Prague to party.

The smartest thing for OP to have done was to have about 50 Euro in tens, taken from an ATM as soon as they landed in Europe. That would have been plenty to tide them over if they ended up somewhere where it was inconvenient to get to an ATM because shopkeepers and the like are more likely to accept Euros than US dollars.

<< The smartest thing for OP to have done was to have about 50 Euro in tens, taken from an ATM as soon as they landed in Europe. >>

Can you get Euros from an ATM at the Prague airport?

well, first of all, without knowing what the OP's bank charges, you can't claim it is fiscally foolish. It is not, and most banks in the US charge around 7 pct, which is not that crazy, anyway, to make sure you have some cash if you are landing late at night. There have been some people on Fodors who claimed their bank charged less than that, so you can't say for sure. I actually think that's not a bad idea for the first place. It isn't that big a cost for security at all, especially since many people may pay 3 pct on their ATM card, anyway.

And the OP couldn't "have done" something since this trip hasn't happened yet. I don't remember being able to get euro at ATMs in Prague, but since I never would have had a reason to do that, maybe I'm forgetting. I know you can in a few places (I've seen that in Switzerland). But the idea that you need to get euro immediately upon arrival doesn't make any sense, either, since they are going to be in Prague a while where they would use koruna. They would have plenty of time to get euro later, if they wanted it.

I have been in the position a few times where the ATMS were out of money either because of a holiday or busy weekend.
Stone town, Zanzibar, St. Petersberg Russia, Jaisalmer India all had empty ATMS when we arrived and we had to wait until the next day.

When we were in Luang Prabang had to find three ATMS to get my card to work.

In Mandalay airport (Burma) the money exchage was closed , for no apparent reason, until after our flight left.

I am probably more cautious than I need to be, yes, but thats okay I can live with that. And maybe even sleep better because of it.
We all travel a little bit differently and this is what I have chosen to do. As I said, I know I spent a bit more money but my bank only charged me for one transaction fee for all the currencies and a few percentage points here and there when you are only talking about exchanging $100 is not a big deal (to me) for piece of mind.

Certainly all other travelers can wait until they get there.

As I said in my original post " I know that others wont think it is necessary to do so" I was really just asking if the Euros would work if I couldnt get the local currency.

<i>Can you get Euros from an ATM at the Prague airport?</i>

Dunno. Never flew into Prague. If I did fly into Prague, I'd just grab Kroner out of the ATM. After all, I would be in Czech Republic.

My guess, you probably wouldn't get kroner... But at the rate this is going, you never know.

<i>I have been in the position a few times where the ATMS were out of money either because of a holiday or busy weekend.
Stone town, Zanzibar, St. Petersberg Russia, Jaisalmer India all had empty ATMS when we arrived and we had to wait until the next day.

When we were in Luang Prabang had to find three ATMS to get my card to work.

In Mandalay airport (Burma) the money exchage was closed , for no apparent reason, until after our flight left. </i>

Having had that experience, and deciding that you do not want the risk of not being able to get money out of an ATM, why the original posting?

sparkchaser - I was wondering if Euros were available as you said to get Euros when landing in Europe. I didn't remember seeing that option in Prague and thought I was not paying attention.

I would get Kroner too (and have done); not sure why you advised the OP to get Euros upon landing in Prague.

Koruna are most likely in the ATMs in Prague... But the smartest travelers on the planet all knew that.
Kroner often come out of ATMs in Denmark.

The OP simply wanted to have a smattering of currencies for each of the countries he was visiting. It gave him piece of mind, and he was willing to pay that premium for that piece of mind. Some of us do not require that, others do. Whatever lets you sleep at night is money well spent.

I actually was not aware you could order the currencies in the US, so that is interesting.

Now, we can all move off this post. There are surely lots of new travelers unaware they are complete idiots. We need to go break it to them. (Gently, as you are all known to do).

Michael
the original posting was to ask if I could get by with Euros in Eastern Europe if I was not successful getting the local currency

<i>not sure why you advised the OP to get Euros upon landing in Prague.</i>

D'oh! I assumed they would have landed in FRA, CDG, or MUC first before connecting to PRG. You know what happens when you assume...

<i>the original posting was to ask if I could get by with Euros in Eastern Europe if I was not successful getting the local currency</i>

That appeared to be a secondary question.

<i>I was going to go to my bank tomorrow to order some local cash, but wanted to ask first what is necessary.

We start in Prague, so we were going to bring $200 worth of Czech Koruna. Then to Poland so was going to have $200 of Polish Zloty. Not sure where we are heading from there, perhaps Hungary, Romania Albania, Macadonia?? Not sure.</i>

Each country ATMs will give you local currency on most US ATMs, check with your bank. US dollars and Euros can be used in some situation but changing them is easy as there are exchange houses all over the tourist zones. I would not worry too much about having local currency when you land. The worst exchange rate you will get is in the US, second worst is with taxis and restaurants and then the next worst is at the airports and hotels so use them, but use them sparingly. Best rates will be Credit Cards, ATMs and Exchange Houses. I trace a lot to central and eastern Europe and that is my experience at least

Thanks so much everyone. Michael I guess what I meant to say, and didn't say it well, was would Euros be accepted in countries like Romania and other Eastern European countries in the event that we cant get to an ATM from the train or bus station for what ever reason.

I am in Canada not the US.

My bank does not charge me much to exchange money. It is not much worse than waiting until we got there. It sounds like I am lucky compared to others.

I am not a Newbie traveler. I have traveled extensively for the past 40 years. My health has recently changed dramatically and I need to have as much in place a head of time as I can.

Thanks again for the information.

Enjoy your trip Live42day... What fantastics countries you are visiting...

centraleurope, I like your attitude on everything. Outstanding to have you here.

Thanks bob!