currency exchange in Portugal
 

I'm traveling to Portugal, arriving Lisbon on a Saturday & leave the city for a 5 day country tour on Sunday. Question- how easy/convenient is it to get Euros in Portugal? I'm trying to decide if it's better to get all of them at a bank in town, it's a additional charge of 3% per Euro at the day's rate, or wait & get some at an ATM machine, hopefully there's one at the Lisbon airport or located within the city center on a weekend. I have some Euros already. Thanks for the advice, mv

We have about 10 million threads on the best way to exchange currency in Europe, but what the heck, let's go for one more. :-)

ATM, ATM, ATM, ATM, or ATM. Unless it's an emergency, under no circumstances should you ever exchange at a bank or exchange facility. No smart traveler does this anymore. ATMs will give you the best exchange rate with the lowest fees, not to mention, it's a lot more convenient than any other means of exchange.

I cannot imagine there is an airport left on this planet without an ATM.

Have a good trip.

I almost forgot--notify your bank in advance that you will be using your ATM card in Portugal. This way they will not flag it as irregular activity. If your bank is Bank of America, look for Barclay's machines. When I was in Portugal I used the Barclays machines and paid no fees due to an alliance between B of A and Barclays. Yes, I know Barclays is based in the UK, but they have them in Portugal too.

If you have American dollars to change there are lots of exchange kioske in the tourist areas in Lisbon and I always get a good rate. I change British pounds to Euros and I visit Lisbon at least twice a year. Don't use the banks! Can be expensive using an ATM unless you get a large amount.

BarbBelle I'm curious--do you realize this question was posted almost 2 years ago? I'm sure you were trying to help, but the OP has long since come and gone from her trip. :-)

Based on the fact that you have exchanged £s to €s I presume you are British so it would appear that British banks charge much higher fees than US banks. I don't know about ATM fees at British banks but for Americans there is no question that ATMs are the cheapest way to exchange money. Exchange kiosks should be avoided except in emergency situations because they are a major rip-off. My ATM card charges 1% plus a $1 flat fee which is about as good as it gets because nobody will do it for free. Exchange booths have a mark-up anywhere from 7-10%. So not only are ATMs cheaper, but they are available 24/7.

British banks foriegn withdrawal fees are low. Nationwide for example does not charge at all for withdrawing money from foreign atm's. If you take a reasonably large amount out on each occasion and minimize the number of withdrawals you'll easily beat the charges of kiosk exchange. The rate you get is normally the interbank rate for that day.