According to this article, the best rate you're going to get is by using your own debit card at an ATM upon arrival. Has that been your experience? We will be landing in Cancun and driving to Tulum.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/arti...e-ripest-rates

Yes, that is correct.

You want a Mexican bank ATM machine (Santander, Scotia, Banorte, etc.) not one of those stand-alone ones you see in hotel lobbies, shops, restaurants.

It is not quite as good a value, but I like the convenience, and I also order about $300-400 worth of peso from my own home bank in advance of the trip. So I don't have to deal with an ATM immediately.

I also carry some USD as a back up. And of course credit cards in case of emergency.

~suze

sF7,
Yes, that's what I do. I also have CC/debits accounts that refund me any incurred conversion/ATM rates.
It's easier to get money at the airport than at the resort town your going to as many of them only have limited banks and/or ATMs. Some of them run out of money during peak times.

My 2nd trip to Mexico is coming up and on my first, just over a year ago, I did as suze mentions above, ordered $300 before departure so I'd have money on the way and on arrival. It does cost more than an atm, to be sure, but it was worth it for the convenience and I plan to repeat it this time.

I used https://www.travelex.com/currency - delivered to my door in a couple of days.

Be sure to notify your banks of when & how long you will be in Mexico. Any more that is a must to get access your funds via ATMs in Mexico. I did this with Chase today taking less than 15 minutes on the phone. Be sure you daily limit is large enough so you are not getting too many withdrawal fees.

I just returned from P.V. on Sunday. The line at the HSBC ATM at the airport wasn't bad so I stocked up on some cash. Lines at the Banorte ATM on Olas Altas were always long and most times only one of the 3 ATM's had cash. Came home with about 2,500 pesos which I will use on the next trip.

Stewbear makes a good point. I've had many cards shut off because the banks get flagged when you're in Mx. Getting your card is a huge pain.

edit - getting your card reactivated...

<I did this with Chase today taking less than 15 minutes on the phone.>

I can set 'travel notifications' with my regular online account at BoA. No phone calls required. Takes just a second, listing both my debit and CC.

I do online travel notifications for my Chase credit cards but the debit cards are more problematic and usually require a phone call. The reps at Chase cannot tell me why this is the case.

Well, my credit cards are Chase and my debit card is B of A, so I'll just have to do both!

Yes, have always gotten the best exchange rate at an ATM - use only bank owned ATM's, in Tulum I have used ATMs inside the San Francisco and Chedraui supermarkets. Do NOT use any on the beach road.
One year I forgot my debit card and had to use a cambio, got 12.4 instead of the ATM rate of about 13.6.

Since my bank puts a fee on each ATM withdrawl, sometimes I'll use the cambio to change smaller amounts into peso. Yes it's a bit lesser rate, but once I take my own bank's fee into account comes out about the same.

With the peso approaching 22 to a dollar and my daily withdrawal amount is $900 US I can withdraw about 17,000 peso which will last a cheapskate like me a month or more.

Sf7307- when I remember, I order pesos from Bank of America and have them mailed to me. I get them in a few days. Otherwise, I go to Banco Santander or another handy ATM at a BANK when I get to Mexico. I use pesos and my credit card for purchases. You being in SF, you may have a BofA with foreign banking services.

We've always waited to get pesos from the ATM at the airport and never ordered any ahead of time. This week, however, all of the ATMs at the Puerto Vallarta airport were down when we arrived so we had to get the cab driver to stop at a bank on the way. What a pain.

Birdie: Are you from the US? Every cab driver I've met in PV was willing to take US dollars. Sure, you won't get the best exchange rate, but it's probably worth a dollar or two for the temporary convenience.

The taxi booths where you buy tickets for the federal taxis at PVR accepts USD (yes at a lesser rate but they accept them).

I am Vincenzo, but we were going someplace that would not have a bank atm so we wanted to make sure to have to have pesos for tipping and small purchases.

Misunderstanding. I thought you had to stop at the ATM to pay the cab fare.