My wife and I are Canadian and will be spending equal time over three weeks in Germany, Poland, Austria, and Czech Republic. We will rely heavily on ATMs and Visa, but I am trying to figure the most efficient way of getting the necessary supply of paper money in each of the currencies. My thought is to buy a supply of Deutsche Marks in Canada before we leave. Is the DM a readily convertible currency in Poland, Austria and Czech Republic? Any other suggestions? <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance, <BR>Paul

Deutsche Mark is a strong currentcy and surely accepted in all the countries you mention. But I don't know if it is a wise idea to convert Can$ in DM first and then DM in other currency because you're gonna have to pay twice for the exchange transaction. I think that in the larger banks you can easily exchange Can$ and in Germany and Austria Visa and ATMs will be easy to find. <BR>

Paul, I see no reason to pay extra to have currency in advance. My first stop <BR>at the airport is the ATM and every border crossing has a cambio right there <BR>We just did 6 countries over 8 weeks--- <BR>many the same as you---and never had a <BR>problem. The ATMs are everywhere. In 8 weeks we only had to use a travellers <BR>cheque once.

Bring your own currency. Exchange what you need, you will get better rate at your destination anyway and cash (from any country) you can exchange almost on every corner in banks or exchange booths (kantor in poland). You also may want to get some in Amex Travel Checks excepted in major hotels as well as banks (but may have problem with checks in Poland or Czech Rep. at the private exchange booths - limiting you to banks and their hours).

I have had similar questions in the past and the situation seems to be this: <BR>In the USA if I buy foreign currency, I end up paying about 5% more for it than if I used an ATM machine in a foreign country, assuming no fees were attached. <BR> <BR>The only reason I can think of for purchasing foreign currency in advance is because you do not know that ATM machines will be available to you, or you cannot cash a travelers check, or you know you are going to be socked with conversion fees and a big ATM usage fee. Some banks charge various fees now a days it seems. So the ball game is not played with the same rules it was even 12 months ago. <BR> <BR>American Express sells foreign denominated checks at a price about 1% above the rate of exchange. They are considerably cheaper than currency. <BR> <BR>To reverse the situation, I am visiting Canada this summer for the umpteenth time (like the place). I had to make a down payment on accommodations at a lodge that did not accept any credit cards at all. So I bought a few hundred Canadian dollars in American Express checks to send through the mail as my deposit. I have a few left to use while in Canada. But most of the time I will rely on ATM's for Canadian currency. <BR> <BR>I did not purchase Canadian currency locally because it was 4% more expensive than the travelers checks. <BR>

Word of adviceon't get too much currency in Poland or Czech Republic....their money is worthless outside of their own country.

Paul, We just received a mailing from Chase Bank introducing "Currency to Go". <BR>It says if your total order is $500. or more you get free home delivery. You can pay by charging any visa or mastercard <BR>(with no cash advance fees). The toll free number is 1-888-chase84. You might want to give them a call. Does anyone <BR>know how much the airport ATM's charge? <BR>Also, are there long waiting lines? <BR>

I've never had a problem with lines at an airport ATM. Everyone else is waiting in line to be ripped off at the exchange booth. <BR> <BR>I have yet to find an ATM in Europe that charges a fee as they do here in the US (YOUR bank will undoubtedly charge a fee - check with them). I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they do start charging, though.

Paul, <BR> <BR>I am in Germany now, we went into Austria for a day or so and easily used the ATM's. Most places would take either DM or Austrian shillings. <BR> <BR>****Seperate your $$ by country, even putting them in different places in your wallet.**** My sister didn't & tried to give DM instead of AS many times. She caught herself once & the storekeeper saved her another time. Not everyone will be so helpful though. That would have been a BIG loss if she had given 100 DM instead of 100 AS. Be aware!!

For god's sake, will someone delete these 10 year old posts. No one uses Deutsche Marks these days. !!!

Why did you bother bringing it back to the top, to waste other Fodorites' time ?