money needed in Ireland for 2 week trip
 

Plan to exchange money for euros before we leave. How much is reasonable. I saw $500 and my husband thinks $1000. We are traveling in western and northwestern Ireland and will be on a tour 12 days and driving on our own for 3. Also do gas stations take credit cards throughout Ireland?

Why are you planning on taking so much cash? Why not use ATMS when you get there? Much safer, and possibly cheaper.

There are ATM's everywhere for easy access to Euros.

We usually start out with $300 in Euros but you will pay a premium to get Euros at home.

We use a Capitol One credit card that doesn't charge a fee and works in all the ATM's.

Yes, we charged gas in Ireland.

I no longer buy currency before a trip. Just get it at an airport ATM. Do you have an ATM/debit card with the logo for Cirrus or Plus on the back? Those are the major networks. Most ATMs in Europe don't charge a transaction fee, at least the airport ATMs and the bank ones. Your bank may charge such a fee as well as an exchange rate. Credit unions don't charge a fee and the exchange rate is a minimal 1% over the interbank rate.

Re: credit cards as opposed to debit/ATM cards. if you use a credit card for a cash withdrawal, interest is charged starting immediately.

Special note about credit cards in Ireland. There's a scam called DCC where, when you make a purchase abroad, your credit card is charged in your home currency instead of the local currency -- using an excessive exchange rate. The merchant makes money, somebody else makes money, and you lose. The merchant touts this as a service to you, his customer, but it's really a ripoff. Insist on local currency; if the clerk doesn't know how to do this, ask to speak to the manager. DCC occurs elsewhere, but it's particularly common in Ireland.

I agree with above posters -- get money at an ATM. We found most lunches in pubs or restaurants to be around 10 to 15 euros per person. That said, we usually would just buy one meal and split it -- the Irish were very accomodating. Dinners were usually 20-25 euros for a more upscale meal. Obviously, you can eat cheaper than this if you shop around. Entry fees to the attractions were from 5 to 10 euros per person. I would think then that you would need over 1000 euros for the trip.

Make sure you notify the credit card companies and your bank (ATM card) that you will be traveling and using the card internationally.

Cash machines (ATMs) are readily available at the Dublin airport. The same is true for Shannon.

http://www.ifly.com/dublin-airport/ATM-banks-currency

Wait until you arrive before you bother changing $$$.