my wife and i will be traveling to europe for the very first time in april to italy for 15 days. you all have responded most helpfully concerning dress, luggage and restaurants. hopefully these will be my last questions. should we buy euros a day or so before we leave from the u.s. (currently the one euro equals $1.22 which is most unfortunate for us since we had planned on 1 euro equalling $1.00) or should we wait until we get to our first city venice and buy the euros at a bank there with us dollars or travelers checks? i assume the best exchange rate will be at banks vs. shops or exchange rate kiosks. Secondly, will it be necessary for us to carry our passports everywhere we go or can we leave them in our rooms at the b & bs at which we will be staying? again thanks in advance for your sound advice.

Don't buy euro anywhere (except for maybe $100 worth to get you through the first few hours). The best exchange rate BY FAR for getting cash is with your ATM / Debit card for your checking account.

You can leave your passport in the hotel IF they have a safe. Do not just leave it in your room. You can carry a photocopy of the info page in your wallet if you want a back-up.

The Venice airport has an ATM machine for cash. Follow Janis' advice above.

Yes i agree the best rates are at an ATM, get money at the airport. Should the machine be out of order you can always use your Visa or Dollars to get cash from a currency exchange. Venice has ATM's all over the place. Remember to take as much money as you need but not more than you can afford to lose! You bank and the ATM bank will probably add a fee. Call your bank. I also like to use my credit card for a lot of purchases. You credit card and bank will both take their share of fees so be sure to call and ask what percent Visa add and waht pervent you bank adds. This can be up to 4%! The cash is usually translated near the current market rate before fees are added. With all this in mind it is still cheaper than using those currency exchange places.

I have never had an ATM bank in Europe charge me a fee. Nor does my own bank charge me - but calling your bank to check is a good idea.

rayb, I would only take some $$$ and travlers check to use only in emergencies. If you try to exchange them for Euros, you will get raked over the coals with a crappy exchange rate plus exchange fees.

I would use credit cards for purchases, hotels, restaurants, and the like, and use an ATM debit card to get Euros for local spending, taxis, coffee shops and small merchants who do not take credit cards.

Some advise to get some Euros in the States prior to your travel, but I would not get more than a few. Those exchange rates and fees also stink. I would get the bulk of my Euros from ATM Machines in Europe.

Listen to Janis, she said it right. I'd get the 100 Euro before leaving. You never know if the machine will be working, and it's nice to play it safe instead of sorry.
Have fun!

I've never had the European ATM add a fee, but my "home" bank does, it's $5. Since my daughter is currently living in Paris and needs to make frequent withdrawals, I called around to different banks before she left and discovered that the rates banks (in my area, New England) charge range from $1 per withdrawal to $7.50. Quite a difference. She obviously switched to the bank with the $1 policy. Probably doesn't make that much difference if you are only going for a week, but if you travel to Europe frequenty you might want to consider finding the best bank (in terms of fees) in your area. Same goes for credit cards. Capital One and MBNA america do not add extra.

You should probably carry your passport with you on your daily sightseeing rather than leaving it in the hotel, even if they have a safe - you may need it as ID when using a credit card or travelers checks (should you choose to use TC). I recommend making 3 photocopies of your passports before leaving home - one to leave at home with a friend or relative, one in your luggage, and one on your person but separate from the original. It's called CYA!

I personally never take any more euros with me than what was left over from the previous trip.

If the ATM machines at the airport happen to be broken, there will be a money exchange booth (at least at most airports I've been in), and you can exchange a few $$$ there for taxi's/porters, etc. until you get to one.

You will certainly get a much better exchange rate in the country than what you will get at the airport in the States.

Regarding passports, upon check-in at each of our hotels in Italy, we were advised by the desk clerk to lock our passports in the room safe. For identification, we carried our US Drivers Licenses and photocopies of our passports which we had made before leaving home.

Carry a photocopy of the key pages of your passport and leave the original with your hosts at the B&Bs. In four trips to Europe in the past 4 years, I've never been asked for my passport when using a credit card. And, when I made purchases and was filling out the form for a VAT refund, a copy of my passport was good enough for the store.
Heed the others' advice about using ATMs. It's definitely the way to go.

Do I understand correctly that stores require your passport as ID when using a credit card? I've never heard of that before.

When I was at Pompeii last year, my wife wanted to "rent" one of those receivers to listen to the descriptions of the various items in Pompeii. We couldn't rent them because they required a passport and are passports were locked in our room.

I had never encountered that before and don't think it's common, but you might want to think about it.

No,I've never been asked for any sort of ID to use a credit card in europe - and cetainly never a passport. However, banks often do have to see your passport before they will cash traveler's checks - just another reason not to use them.

For a basic financial strategy:

Take $100 in euros (get at the US aiport) just to have something to start with

Carry a little US cash ($100-$200) in case of emergencies

Charge whatever you can

Take csah from ATMS for whatever yuo can't charge

This will not only be least expensive - but also safest in terms of preventing potential loss (of cash or travelers checks)

I have never needed to show a passport to use a credit card in Europe. I always leave passports in the hotel or apartment. Some places do require a picture ID as deposit for audioguides, but a driver's license worked fine.

My understanding about credit cards is that all cards charge a 1% currency conversion fee that is paid to VISA or Mastercard, but that many banks add an additional fee, frequently around 2%. When I last checked my cards, MBNA and Capital One did not add the additional fee.

I have never been charged a fee for using an ATM in Europe, neither by my bank nor by the European bank. If you can find a bank at home which does not charge a fee for ATM use, that will provide the best rate for converting currency abroad.

One time my husband did have occasion to change dollars at a bank in Paris and found that the banks actually offered worse rates than the currency exchange booths.

good advice!

And don't forget to call your credit card companies before departing on your trip and advise them where you will traveling and the dates you'll be away from home.

Of late, the credit card companies are known to put a hold on your card/s when they see usage in a foreign country. This could put a damper on your holiday.

$1.22 where did you find that rate. Last time I checked (Yesterday) it was $1.27. I believe $1.22 is the bank rate for exchanges over $1.000.000. Please send link for rate.
Thanks

My wife has been asked to show her passport to make a credit card purchase a couple times while in Europe. Twice in Madrid and once in London. I don't know if a driver's licence would have worked or not since she had the passport handy and showed it. These were very small purchases.