MONEY TRAVEL TIPS: Strategies For Getting Local Currency Upon Arrival in a New Country

international currencies

MONEY TRAVEL TIPS: Strategies For Getting Local Currency Upon Arrival in a New Country

Do you plan a cash strategy ahead of time for your arrival in new country? A plan for getting local currency to use during those first few hours / first day when you arrive in a new country at an airport, train or bus station and suddenly need local currency to function.

You’ll need at least a small amount of local cash to get started. You’ll need local currency to get from the airport or station to your first destination, to eat and drink something, to buy any little personal items you might need, and perhaps to pay for your first night’s accommodation.

Nowadays with ATMs and cash exchange booths at airports and major stations, getting a bit of local cash on arrival is generally really simple. However, there are several easy planning steps you should take to make exchanging and using a new currency less confusing and to ensure you get the best exchange rates.

Following are my strategies for arrival in every country I visit.

Euros

Pre-trip preparations

1. Before you head to a new country, become familiar with their currency, particularly the current exchange rates. You can easily find that information online at various websites. My favorite is Yahoo’s finance pages, which have a currency exchange page. You just plug in the two currencies you want to check and their table gives the prevailing rates.

2. Write down some sample currency conversions in a notebook that you’ll be carrying with you. I usually write down the equivalent amounts for $1, $5, $10, $20 and $100. I also do it ‘the other way around’ by writing down the value of common prices in the local currency. Here’s a sample for converting from $US to Malaysian ringit aka MR:

$1 = 3 MR

$5 = 15 MR

$10 = 30 MR

$20 = 60 MR

$100 = 300 MR

 common prices in MR for things I regularly pay for:

1 MR = $0.35 (drink, sweets)

2 MR = $0.65 (drink, sweets)

5 MR (meal) = $1.65

10 MR = $3.35

100 MR = $33.50

300 MR = $100 (typical amount for me to withdraw from ATM for one week’s expenses)

British pounds

3. Find out the prices in your destination country for accommodation, transportation, meals, drinks and any personal items you might need to buy. You can get this information from guidebooks, travel blogs and other websites.

4. Based on those prices, figure out how much local currency you’ll need upon arrival to get started. I usually figure out how much I’ll need just to get started on arrival and for one week as well.

5. Before leaving for your trip, get some cash in $US, € or £ British at a bank. Make sure you get clean, crisp new bills since some exchange shops overseas are picky about which bills they will take.

Make sure the bills are not creased or crumpled and have no rips, tears, tape, or writing on them. Get a variety of denominations to use in different situations. I usually get a mix of 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 bills. I might need to just exchange a small amount of money upon arrival or at other times during my trip such as an airport lay-over or just before leaving a country.

6. As I mentioned in my travel tips post: Best Strategies to Exchange Money into Local Currencies, I personally recommend against exchanging money in your home country, where exchange rates for foreign currencies are generally quite bad and banks charge fees on top of poor rates. UK is the worst I’ve come across in my travels. UK exchange booths and banks give absolutely horrible rates with high fees on top. You’ll get much better rates after you arrive in your destination country, whether it’s through an ATM or cash exchange.

* With these preparations, you should be all ready to arrive in a new country, get yourself an appropriate amount of local currency, and start using your new cash relatively confidently.

Upon Arrival

I generally follow one of three strategies for getting local cash when I arrive in a new country.

ATM in China

1. If I can use an ATM at the airport, I generally withdraw enough cash for one week, based on the calculations I’ve already made.

In my experience, ATMs give the best exchange rates, better than any cash exchange shop. I keep my cash for back-up when I can’t access money via an ATM for one reason or the other. (See my post:  Back-up Plans for Accessing Money When ATMs Problems Strike )

2. If I have to exchange cash into local currency, then I exchange the smallest amount possible at the airport or station. That’s because airport / station money exchange booths have the absolute worst rates. I highly recommend getting as little cash as possible at the airport and then visit another exchange shop or use an ATM once you’re at your first destination.

How much is ‘as little as possible’ but ‘enough to get started’?

I personally exchange just enough for transportation from the airport/station,to buy 1 or 2 meals, and bit extra. Basically, I exchange what I estimate I’ll need until later that day or the following day when I can visit a money exchange shop or ATM.

3. Use local currency that I already have. If I visited that country before and knew I’d be back, I usually keep some local currency in my cash stash from that previous visit. Quite often I have enough local currency to get me from the airport to my destination and buy a meal. If not, I use strategies 1 or 2.

That’s it. Easy!

Summary:

Making the simple pre-trip cash preparations outlined above will ensure your arrival in a new country is much easier and less confusing when dealing with a new currency.

QUESTIONS: 

Do you prepare ahead of time to deal with new local currencies or do you just wing it on arrival? 

Do you have any other tips or strategies that you use when arriving in a new country? 

 (* Flickr CC photo credits:  Apaleutos 26  /  Images of Money  /  Tax Credits *)

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