Thanks Judy. Between my Credit Union w/ very low fees (50¢) and another bank w/ pretty low fees ($1.50) I manage fine. I don't use my WF accts for cash overseas. Was just curious how Delaine manages. Maybe it is a geographic thing??

That could be.....our daughter's in the DC are and we're in Norfolk.

This seems pretty up-to-date:

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2012/...n-transaction/

We have received discounts for cash – but they are mostly very small. In total, the cash discount may have been about 20 or 30 euros over a two month period. It’s not worth carrying a heap of cash just to get a little discount. You can pull 500 euro from an ATM in a single transaction, so even if your bank charges 2 or 3 euro per transaction, it’s not too costly.

You're going to need a credit card to rent a car.

Other than that, sure you can carry around all your cash for your entire trip. I would suggest a money belt worn under your clothes.

But as others mentioned, how are you getting the euro in the first place? If you're buying them at home (in the US or Canada) you will be paying a fee and getting a lousy exchange rate).

Might as well use an ATM and pay a few bucks there for the safety and convenience.

I'm with you, Socaltraveler, on the benefits of earning miles with credit card purchases. I've been a little slow to get with the program; prided myself on never using credit cards---except where necessary, such as car rental. About 6 years ago I started putting everything on my two travel reward cards and paying them off in full every month. I'm traveling now an average of 5 times a year and doing the majority of it by redeeming miles or receiving nice credits off my statements.