What is the best/cheapest way to get EURO's in Italy? A friend of mine said he used his regular ATM all throughout Italy to get his EURO's.

Any insight?

Your friend is right. Do a search on "ATM" and you'll find about a billion. All sorts of things to watch out for having to do with the number of digits in your code, withdrawal limits, etc.

Yep, ATMs. That's the simple answer.

topping for by350

1 - ATM
2 - U.S. cash to exchange
3 - Travelers checks for emergency

This combo is fairly foolproof.

Agree w/ everyone unless you're Bank of America. B of A charged my parents $85 dollars ($30 in horrible exchange rate & fees) to take out $50! This was last week. Have fun!

Agree with everyone but just came back from France and suggest a couple more things..if you have B of A they are partnered (along with other banks) with BNP Paribus. Therefore there are usually no additional bank fees for ATM in France and some other countries.. Always call your bank in advance to let them know you will be using your ATM and charge cards out of USA. As mentioned you need the right codes and some bank cards will not work without prior bank notice due to fraud. Always ask your bank for the number to call from OVERSEAS in case your cards are stolen/problems occur. The US numbers on the cards won't work.
Lastly taking american dollars and changing tehm to Euros in France at teh Post Office not at the Change offices seemed to work better and was functional even on strike.

CNmiranda -- There must be more to that $85 Bank of America story. That is my bank too and I've been to Europe 4 times and Mexico 15 times ... using my ATM attached to my checking account always, a single transaction has a $2US international fee and very good rate of exchange.

I have BofA also and have never been charged any transaction fees for my ATM use mostly in France and Italy. Are you sure they didn't use it as a credit card advance..but even then $35.00 seems strange. I'd left my ATM card at the hotel one night and had to use my regular Visa to withdraw some cash and I think the cash advance fee was only $10.00 for about 200E.

When my parents get back from out of town I'll write the specifics. This was in Florence. There was a $6 surcharge for using a foreign bank plus the lousy exchange rate. This was the B of A ATM card.

P.S., we always use our bank atm card and our exchange rates are fair which is why we suggested it to them when traveling with us this time. I don't know why their exchange rate was bad either.

Something is seriously wrong then. I hope you or your parents persue this..you deserve an explanation.

AND A REFUND!

Now I'm wondering if they used their ATM with a Visa logo? Maybe they were charged a Visa withdrawl fee along w/ b of a fees. Anyhow, I'll write back when they return Monday. Also, the currency rate was high when we were there at around 1.20 euro to US. But again the bank exchange rate was terrible. I'll follow up.

As per Jaar's posting -

My bank in Canada is one of BofA's partners (ScotiaBank) and when I travel I always look for one of the 'partner' branches, as there is no transaction fee.

I used the Barclay's ABMs when I was in Kenya & the UK, BofA in the US & plan to use Westpac when I'm in New Zealand in the fall (I've already made a list of where their ABMs are along our route).

This past March I was in Austria & Hungary where there were no 'partners' and I while I was hit with an ABM transaction fee, it was the same as if I'd used a non-ScotiaBank ABM here in Canada.

And as for the exchange rate it has always been very good, while I didn't trach the 'daily rates' while I was away when I was doing my reconciliation after each trip the exchange rate my account was charged has ALWAYS been better than the posted rate that day.

So my approach for the last few years has been -
a) my ABM card everywhere (especially if there is a 'partner' bank)
b) 'pre-transferred' cash to my VISA card (setup to use on an ABM but not linked to my bank account just in-case something goes wrong with my ABM card - as my bank indicated that if the VISA was linked to my bank accounts & I reported my ABM card as lost/stolen then my VISA wouldn't work in the ABM either, its a security thing ... and the 'pre-transfered' cash is effectively prepaying what I think I'll put on the card while I'm away, if I don't use the VISA as an ABM card then my hotel & stuff would already be paid when I get back but if I do need it as an ABM card then I don't get hit with an obscene intrest charges on a cash advance)
c) the VISA card I use in my bank's "classic" card (re: free) with a much lower credit limit than my 'normal' credit cards and I only use it when I travel internationally, that way if something goes 'wrong' with it my credit exposure is a lot lower than if a used a card with my 'normal' card (& I still have my 'normal' card in case of real emergencies)
d) $100usd cash (international food stamps) which can generally bridge any gaps between getting to an ABM & can't use a credit card

... as for travelers cheques, its been a few years since I even bothered, as with the prevalance of ABMs and the ability to use credit cards virtually everywhere in the world I can't think of a situation where a vendor would take a travelers cheque but not an ABM or credit card (in fact most vendors don't want travelers cheques) ... as for the added 'security' of travelers cheques in case they are lost/stolen well you still need to have the receipt & where I used to hide the receipt is where I now put my 'normal' credit card ...

Z

If you want to use travelers checks as a backup or for emergencies, simply plan to go into a bank during normal business hours to cash them (not at a shop, restaurant, or merchant).

Yes I realize there're fees associated using them ... but for all the original reasons they were popular and especially on a longer trip, I still find them useful (along with U.S. cash and ATM's).

American Express traveller's checks can be cashed fee free at AMEX offices worldwide. They can also be cashed fee free at AMEX partner institutions in various countries--list available at AMEX web site.

Hello fodorites, I just wanted to post a follow up about B of A foreign withdrawl charges. My mom had erroneously told me it cost her 85 dollars to take out 50 euros when she was in Rome. The truth is that it cost her 83 (exact) dollars to take out 50 POUNDS in England! Sorry, mom had her memory mixed up as we had gone to Italy and then London. Hope this clears things up.