lots of different currencies

[rbrettg]

Hey so im going for a month, and my first stop is iceland. Do they take american, canadian or euro? Should I bring their own currency? I am also going to london so i will need pounds, i will need euro because i am going to a lot of eu countries. I am going to switz so i need their money too. I am going to hungary and czech republic too. Do i actually need to bring all this money? I am with a canadian bank so i don't think it is a good idea to bring my debit card because i can not withdrawl because there is no banks in europe with my chain. I will be in hungary for 3 days, czech for 3 days, switz for 1.

[rbrettg]

im with scotiabank canada

[Jules80]

um just because your company isn't in europe doesn't mean you can't take your atm card with you and take out money!!! no way should you be carrying around significant amounts of cash with oyu! scotia bank has agreements with banks all over the world so you can take money out without fees. ATMs basically work everywhere. and yes you need the money of the country you are in.

[me]

if your debit card works in canadian atm's, why wouldn't it work in Europe's atm's? atm withdrawal is the best way to change money. just call scotiabank canada and make sure they don't charge a big fee to make withdrawals in Europe. if they do, try to find a new bank that doesn't. [this doesn't mean you must close the scotiabank canada acct. there's no reason not to open a 2nd acct for while you're traveling. you can close the new acct when you get home.]

edit: Jules is absolutely correct! (didn't see her post before i'd written mine)

[pointofnoreturn]

ScotiaBank (my mother's bank) has a partnership with Barclay's in the UK I think.

Please bring 2 copies of debit cards. It'll save you money on currency conversions (which you tend to get poor deals on anyways).

Withdraw money from a ATM every couple of days or preferelely, once in each city that will last for the duration of your stay in that particular city.

Always carry extra money on hand. I would probably keep $100 USD in emergency funds just in case.

Bring credit cards as well.

Avoid traveller's checks.

Enough said

[rbrettg]

wouldnt it be beter to bring currencies though cauce i can get better exchange rates?

[madamtrashheap]

Icelandic currency is the Krona (ISK or kr). Have a look at www.xe.com for the exchange rates to other currencies. Some shops accept US$ CAN$ and Euro but will use the exchange rate of the day to give you change in krona.

Taking cash with you to get a better rate of exchange doesn't really work as well as it used to, but taking some as a backup (if you card doesn't work all the time) is a good idea. Don't take too much as you can't claim it back on insurance if it's stolen/lost, as you can with cards (cancelled) and traveller's cheques.

On another note, Switzerland has its own currency, CHF or Swiss Franc, but again they will accept Euro and give you change in CHF.

The points made by the others on ATMs, cards, etc are perfectly correct - take note! Oh, one more thing, take some Euro cash with you so that you have the local currency with you when you land and aren't stuck first up.

[pointofnoreturn]

Bring enough money to last you for the first few days in your first city, nothing more. Then withdraw money using ATM's for the rest of the trip.

If your debit card has a PLUS logo or CIRRUS logo on the back of it, then you're fine. 99.9% of ATMs have that.

Bringing two debit cards is good because you'll be assured you'll have a back-up if anything happens to the first one.

Please don't exchange all of your money before crossing the Atlantic. You'll get a very poor exchange rate.