Tom Eckert

Hi. I know. Silly and lazy question but could you tell me roughly what the dollar to Lira exchange rate is?? Thank you.

xxx

I can't, but www.oanda.com can.

NoAnswers4U

I used to believe there were no dumb questions. <BR> <BR>But, yes, your question is dumb, silly and very, very lazy. <BR> <BR>

Art

NoAnswer, If someone asks that same question more than once and has it answered, then maybe that person is stupid or lazy. If Tom has not traveled or no one has informed him re currency conversion sites than it is NOT a stupid question. Someone had to tell me the first time. <BR>Art <BR>

rich

<BR> <BR>Closed yesterday at 2183 to the buck. take off three zeros and divide by 2 and you will be close enough. <BR> <BR>Rich

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Make that 2283, and that is alot different than the divide by two concept

lyv

At oanda.com you can print off a cheat sheet to take with you...very convenient!

rich

<BR>It was 2283 . . but unless you are the Bank of America, you will never see that rate. By the time you pay commissions or card fees, taking off three zeros and dividing by two is going to be close enough unless you are buying a hotel. <BR> <BR>No use making it more complicated than it is. <BR> <BR>Rich

Rex

I disagree that 2283 is a "lot different" than the "divide by two concept". For one thing you will never actually get the 2283 rate. And for rough planning purposes, better that you should count in the dollar being a little weaker in the future - - just in case. And so you get a nice little surprise when you get your credit card statement. <BR> <BR>True enough, 44 cents (100 ITL) is not the same as 50 cents. But it's close enough. And for BIG purchases (hotel rooms, airfare, major shopping) I guess you want to do the math properly. Many of us WOULD distinguish between $880 and $1000 (2 million lire). <BR> <BR>But in general, better to do the math readily and comfortably in your head than to rely on any calculator or cheat sheet method. Eventually you might not even "convert back" to dollars, mentally. You start to think - - I have a hundred thousand lire in my pocket - - and budget your lunch or gelato or newspaper, or whatever, accordingly. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Jake

What "3 zeros" are you referring to? I'm a first timer.

Lazier Than-U

<BR> <BR>Yahoo!'s currency converter loads faster and is easier to use than oanda.com <BR> <BR>But it's not as pretty. <BR> <BR>Go to http://finance.yahoo.com/m3?u

Linda

Jake: If something costs, for example, 22,000 LIT, drop the last 3 zeroes and divide by 2, for $11 USD. If it is 22,350 LIT, drop the "350". The "zeroes" was a figurative (no pun intended) word.

Jake

Thanks, Linda.

Diane

I never really noticed much of a charge -- none on my Diner's Club bill, where over the course of three weeks in May we appeared to get everythwere from a low of 2150 to a high of 2250 per dollar. Obviously it varies daily with the exchange. The highest rate we noticed posted at cambios was 2180. We only used our ATM cards half a dozen times, and there did not appear to be a separate fee. (And we seemed to get rates in line with what the credit cards showed). However, normally we get free ATM usage and we did pay $4.50 as a service fee for ATM that month. I'd suggest for budget purposes you watch for a week, pick a number and assume it may vary by 100 lira over the course of your trip. Funny, but the very best exchange rate we got, 2300/$1 was at the VAT refund window at the Rome Airport. Maybe they inflate it a bit to make up for giving you the odd change in lira?

danielle

Hi! I was wondering about this too - first trip to Italy in August. So what's an easy way to figure it out for Canadian dollars? Take off the zeros and divide by...? 1.5?

Ed

Danielle, that's about as easy as you can do with lire and CADs. Alternative, though, where you see prices posted in euros: add 30 percent to the euro price for equivalent in CADs. <BR> <BR>twenj

sylvia

There is a good currency converter at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

D.

it's about 2 to 1...a cup of cafe(espresso) will normally cost you 1400 lira, that is about 60 cents..you can get an entire large sized pizza for about 10,000 lira..thats 5 bucks..

Gerry

You can find the currency exchange rates for foreign currencies listed in the business section of almost any major newspaper. Much quicker and easier to do than searching the net or asking people on a travel forum. <BR>Does anyone read the newspaper anymore?

Meow

Guess it isn't a dumb question if three grown men are squabbling about it.