How much Euros to take

[socaldonnan]

Heading out on a Viking river cruise next week from Amsterdam. Trip and excursions have been paid. But we will need to tip in our various tour guides. My question is how much money should we bring in Euroes? I was looking at exchanging $400 in Euroes tomorrow at bank. This is our first trip to Europe.

 

[braumeister]

Viking typically recommends about €2 per person for local city guides. Most other tipping you can handle with a credit card at the end of your trip.

So €400 should be fine, to include whatever meals and souvenirs you might want to buy onshore during your trip.

However, assuming you have a debit card with no foreign transaction fee, you'll get a much better deal buying Euros at a bank ATM in Amsterdam when you arrive. I use my Schwab debit card for that, but there are plenty of others.

 

[Bamaman]

To obtain Euros before you go is going to cost you dearly in charges and currency exchange.

We always use our ATM card upon arrival--from a bank ATM. There are off brand ATM's like Travelex and even American Express where you'll also not get a decent currency conversion.

Have a great trip. I've never heard anything but good about river cruises. Amsterdam is also one of our favorite cities.

 

[AllDone]

The first time my husband and I went out of the country together, I waved my hands and said "Oh, we'll just get money out of the ATM machine in the airport." Of course, when we arrived, all of the ATMs at CDG were temporarily out of service. Whoops. We stomped from end to end of the airport to the other, snarling at each other, and they came back on-line in twenty minutes or so, while we were waiting in a long line at a money exchange booth. My husband, who never forgets any of my errors, has insisted that we bring a couple of hundred euros with us when we fly ever since. You're tired, sleep deprived, and anxious to get as far away from airplanes and airports as possible, so at least you have cash for a taxi and a meal. The "high fee" for a little bit of cash is really only a few dollars.

 

[nash031]

I took zip to France last month. ATMs were plentiful with better exchange rates than travelex etc.

 

[audreyh1]

Viking typically recommends about €2 per person for local city guides. Most other tipping you can handle with a credit card at the end of your trip.

So €400 should be fine, to include whatever meals and souvenirs you might want to buy onshore during your trip.

However, assuming you have a debit card with no foreign transaction fee, you'll get a much better deal buying Euros at a bank ATM in Amsterdam when you arrive. I use my Schwab debit card for that, but there are plenty of others.

First time travelers to Europe are far more likely to have an ATM card that adds a 3% fee built into the foreign exchange conversion and perhaps a flat fee of up to $5 as well.

Buying euros before a trip is likely to cost even more, 6-7% built into the conversion rates and likely also a fee for amounts below some threshold.

So comparing the two means 3 to 4% more for the convenience of picking up euros at your local bank. So maybe you pay an extra $15 to $16 for 400 euros plus the bank fee for buying foreign currency.

I just point this out, because us overseas frequent travelers have usually made a special effort to get a no overseas fees ATM card. Plus we are experienced at locating and using foreign ATMs.

I can certainly understand someone wanting to take some euros when traveling to Europe, especially if your only chance is an airport ATM, because the cruise company will have already set up airport transfers. Using ATMs in airports can sometimes be a real hassle. We always take euros leftover from our last trip.

So someone can look at the actual costs and decide if the "convenience fee" is worth it for their peace of mind.

BTW - Amsterdam is one of the cheaper cities to exchange cash. There are a couple of places in Damrak (Pott change) that charge 3% markup on exchange rates no additional fees, which matches most people's ATM cards. But you have too go find them....

 

[eleighj416]

Usually for Europe we carry €200 or pounds and $250 when leaving the USA. We have two ATM cards that we get cash as needed in the countries that we are traveling.

€400 should be plenty to start your trip.

Ed

 

[jerryo]

I've taken hundreds of international trips all over the world and only very rarely found a need to change money in advance. There was that one visit to Buenos Aires a couple of years ago when literally every ATM in town was out of cash over a holiday weekend and a visit to Yangoon a few years earlier before Burma had any ATMs at all, but those were rare exceptions.

It's nearly always cheaper to get local currency in country and/or to pay with a credit card. Just try to get an ATM card that has local branches or waives local fees (my Citibank ATM card, for example, is fee-free at nearly any 7-11 worldwide) and a credit card that doesn't charge international transaction fees. Also, beware (particularly in Europe) of credit card transactions that give you an alternative of paying in dollars rather than local currency -- the exchange rates and/or fees are usually quite high if you pay in dollars.

That said, it can be convenient to have a little local cash... Sometimes, the lines at the airport ATMs are just too long or you're tired after a long flight and just want to crash at your hotel and deal with getting money the next day. So, where possible, I'll bring along $20 or $50 or $100 in local currency to deal with such circumstances. It can also be useful to bring along some U.S. cash....in a pinch you can exchange at a hotel or on the street or people will just take it....

 

[Sunset]

Heading out on a Viking river cruise next week from Amsterdam. Trip and excursions have been paid. But we will need to tip in our various tour guides. My question is how much money should we bring in Euroes? I was looking at exchanging $400 in Euroes tomorrow at bank. This is our first trip to Europe.

We just got back from our Viking cruise. We took our Schwab debit card and simply pulled out Euro's from various ATM's during the trip.

There are ATM's in the airport, and you can find some on your very first tour (just ask the tour guide to point them out).
The machines offer a choice of language at the beginning, and then it works easily.

Any payment (at end of cruise) on the ship can be done with your CC.

I took out 500 Euros during our trip and ended up coming back with 300 , We used our CC (no foreign transaction fee) for larger purchases.

The really important thing will be to get coins, 0.50 euro coins are great, as nearly all toilets are payment required (attendant can give change for small euro bills) but some places are coin operated turnstiles.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

As usual i have a story. We had a neighbor, a nice elderly widow that had 5 weeks time share in Aruba. After dinner she would take a cab to the casino, as a tip, she would give the driver her left over food from the recently finished dinner. You cant make this up. Im assuming they took it not to cause a scene with an elderly lady. When she told me this i was howling, i thought she was pulling my leg. Other neighbors went to stay at her time share i think for 10 days, they verified her tale of giving left over food for a tip. So i guess you dont need any Euros for tipping , just wrap up your left overs, hahahahahah.

 

[socaldonnan]

Thanks all for your input. Based in everyone's thoughts we'll probably get $350 exchanged. We'll also take two different credit cards. Believe it or not our two ATM cards from two different banks charge exchange fees. Will check our credit union to see what their policy is. Looking forward to cruising on a smaller ship and going to Europe.

 

[braumeister]

You should enjoy it greatly. Viking is an excellent river cruise line.

 

[Sunset]

Thanks all for your input. Based in everyone's thoughts we'll probably get $350 exchanged. We'll also take two different credit cards. Believe it or not our two ATM cards from two different banks charge exchange fees. Will check our credit union to see what their policy is. Looking forward to cruising on a smaller ship and going to Europe.

If you are planning to ever travel out of the country again, check into getting a bank account with someone that doesn't charge ATM fees, and a no fee CC with zero foreign transaction fees.

We found the Viking River Cruise to be excellent and met a lot of nice folks too.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Thanks all for your input. Based in everyone's thoughts we'll probably get $350 exchanged. We'll also take two different credit cards. Believe it or not our two ATM cards from two different banks charge exchange fees. Will check our credit union to see what their policy is. Looking forward to cruising on a smaller ship and going to Europe.

I take it that the left over idea is out of the running.

 

[Aerides]

My parents just got back from that exact cruise last week, said everything was "6 star", have a great time!

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks all for your input. Based in everyone's thoughts we'll probably get $350 exchanged. We'll also take two different credit cards. Believe it or not our two ATM cards from two different banks charge exchange fees. Will check our credit union to see what their policy is. Looking forward to cruising on a smaller ship and going to Europe.

Definitely do what is easiest. It can be time consuming hunting down an ATM machine at times, especially when you are tired, jet-lagged, dragging your luggage, and not familiar with an area.

I did two trips to Europe before I started using ATM cards over there. My first issue was that BofA charged 3% plus $5 for the privilege of using their ATM card overseas. The second was I had figured out where to exchange cash in Amsterdam for 3% or less and no fee, so I did that instead. I did have a no foreign transaction fee credit card, and that's what I used for the bulk of our spending.

Eventually I opened checking accounts that provided ATM cards with no foreign transaction fees on ATM withdrawals. Fidelity Cash Management offers such a service - that's a great option if you already have a Fidelity account. And Charles Schwab investor checking does also, but you have to open a brokerage account to get investor checking. So I only use ATMs now, but we usually return home with at least €200 to take on the next trip to help out that initial day or two until we have a chance to visit an ATM. It's just nice not having to deal with finding ATMs at the airport when you are tired, hauling luggage, etc.

 

[Fedup]

The first time my husband and I went out of the country together, I waved my hands and said "Oh, we'll just get money out of the ATM machine in the airport." Of course, when we arrived, all of the ATMs at CDG were temporarily out of service. Whoops. We stomped from end to end of the airport to the other, snarling at each other, and they came back on-line in twenty minutes or so, while we were waiting in a long line at a money exchange booth. My husband, who never forgets any of my errors, has insisted that we bring a couple of hundred euros with us when we fly ever since. You're tired, sleep deprived, and anxious to get as far away from airplanes and airports as possible, so at least you have cash for a taxi and a meal. The "high fee" for a little bit of cash is really only a few dollars.

I always bring dollars and exchange to a few Euros at the airport just in case.

 

[socaldonnan]

I ended up getting $200 in Euroes. We'll be taking CC that have no transaction fees. Based on everyone's comments, I was putting way too much thought into this and I decided not to fret about how much to take with us. We aren't novice travelers but we've not ever been to Europe. In the end it's all going to work out, right? We're going on a wonderful trip and I talked DH to get a private limo to drive us to the airport and not deal with LA traffic - life is good.

 

[Sunset]

I ended up getting $200 in Euroes. We'll be taking CC that have no transaction fees. Based on everyone's comments, I was putting way too much thought into this and I decided not to fret about how much to take with us. We aren't novice travelers but we've not ever been to Europe. In the end it's all going to work out, right? We're going on a wonderful trip and I talked DH to get a private limo to drive us to the airport and not deal with LA traffic - life is good.

Here in Chicago, I like to book flat rate taxi's to/from the airport, as I'd hate to be stuck in traffic watching the meter run up for 1/2 an hour..

 

[Sunset]

.....
Eventually I opened checking accounts that provided ATM cards with no foreign transaction fees on ATM withdrawals. Fidelity Cash Management offers such a service - that's a great option if you already have a Fidelity account. And Charles Schwab investor checking does also, but you have to open a brokerage account to get investor checking. So I only use ATMs now, but we usually return home with at least €200 to take on the next trip to help out that initial day or two until we have a chance to visit an ATM. ......

Right about Charles Schwab, so I simply transferred some long term holdings from Vanguard to Charles in kind, just over $100K , so that Chuck would pay me a bonus $300. Then I opened the checking account and moved over some of the div's that the account generates for spending money.

There is no need to trade in the brokerage account.

 

[audreyh1]

Right about Charles Schwab, so I simply transferred some long term holdings from Vanguard to Charles in kind, just over $100K , so that Chuck would pay me a bonus $300. Then I opened the checking account and moved over some of the div's that the account generates for spending money.

There is no need to trade in the brokerage account.

Right - in fact you don't even need to fund the brokerage account, so it's mainly just a lot of extra paperwork. And I didn't fund it for a couple of years. I did eventually, but just for a quite small investment.