What curriency is used in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and Poland? For anybody who has recently visited any of these countries, from a financial standpoint how do these countries compare to other places in Europe?

http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/currencies.html

Prices somewhat lower than western europe - but the dollar is tanking everywhere - and that will obviously affect costs.

The official currency in the Czech Republic is the krona, but I am finding that some places will accept euro. Case in point: I received an offer for a private car to take me from the airport to my hotel. The rate was competitive. The offer quoted the price in both euro and krona and stated that either was acceptable.

I would not automatically assume that I can pay with euro notes, but obviously some places will accept them. The one currency that is rarely mentioned is the US dollar!

It has plunged from prince to pauper. I don't think anyone considers it to be a "hard currency" these days.

The Hungarian currency called the Forint.

Poland is missing. Their currency is the Zloty.

The currency in the Czech Republic is the koruna, not "krona".

At lsst report, beverage alcohol was less expensive in the Czech Republic than in Poland. Poles travel to CR to buy it. The money in CR and P trades at equal value. I don't know about Budapest. Try the McDonald's index.

From a finacial point Poland is in a mess while the other two are doing well.

Czech is a small country so the uplift in Prices from Prague is most powerful. Hence even in the boondocks you will pay higher prices. Even so friends of mine from outside of Prague would find it very expensive.

Hungary in the boondocks still buy a glass of wine in a bar for $0.5

ttt

I'll be in Prague, Budapest, Krakow and Warsaw for a three week period in August. When and where should I exchange my curreny upon arrival? Any recommended approach will be helpful...(is there any way to do some exchanging beforehand, possibly somewhere in the US, to cut down on my risk of getting ripped off?).

Hi W,

Bring a credit card and charge everything that you can.

Make sure that the charge is in the ;ocal currency.

Do not let anyone do you a favor and charge you in USD or Euro. They will give you a very poor exchange rate.

Bring your ATM card and get your cash from an ATM machine.

So as long as I confirm that my charge is being made in the foreign curreny, I should be fine using my credit card as much as possible? I had a thought that this may be the best way to do business, especially since the countries i'm visiting all use different currencies.

These ARE fairly popular places, so they must have an ample amount of ATM's around...I don't mind spending a few extra bucks, but I don't want to get screwed.

It is no problem exchanging cash at major train stations and the fees will be small compared to the same thing in western european countries.

You will find few places that take credit cards outside of Prague and the highly touristy areas.

Make sure you have cash (koruny) if you go outside the tourist traps.

In general, ifyou can walk a few blocks away from the tourist places you will save a lot of money and get better service.

Hi ggnga,

If you have a new laptop from Dell then the wireless card will already be installed at the factory. It's part of the Dell package.

Well...the last message belongs on another post - sorry!

Any other ideas towards the best way to spend money in a foreign land, i'm certainly leaning towards credit card as much as possible. A friend of mine told me to get a small amount of the foreign currency from my local bank before leaving, and us ATM's and Credit the rest of the way.

Don't change at train stations in Budapest. Try to find the hidden exchange shops, and you'll get a very nice rate (above 100 USD to Forint). The official rates (from the National Bank) are:

https://www.otpbank.hu/OTP_Portal/on...0100000000.jsp

i didnīt think the ATM in Keleti station, Budapest, did me wrong.