Money !
 

first off sorry if this is in the wrong sub forum but not really sure where to ask.

anyways..coming up to my first euro road trip and was wondering what to do about the money aspect of things.

rough route is ...England-France-Belgium-Ger​many-Czech Republic-Slovakia_Hungary_​Slovinia_Croatia_Bosnia&He​r zegovina_Montenegro_Serbi​a-Romania-Hungary-Poland then home.

not really sure on whether to change into local currancies as needed...use euro's or just use the bank card and take a hit on transaction fees? :confused1:

one suggestion is to use pre loaded credit cards but i can see that causing me problems

i would personally like to have some local coin to hand as i feel it would be be an ideal way to interact and also pull me out the crap should a problem arise.
the only thing thats putting me off is the hassel factor.

any insights please folks? :helpsmilie:

Cash and Caxton
 

We used a combo of both local cash and these caxton FX cards that worked 95% of the time in the following countries. The country we had the most trouble was Poland.

England-France-Belgium-Ger​many-Czech Republic-Slovakia_Hungary_Poland

Which Pre Paid Holiday Travel Card is best for me? | Caxton FX

I used credit card for fuel in czech and poland but they also will take euros in cash, you might have to haggle a little for rates.

+1 on Cash and Caxton
 

We use that combo too, along with a couple of credit cards as back-up (one of each, i.e. a Visa & MasterCard).

We were a bit nervous about our Caxton FX cards at first (we have one each), but the system does work. We experienced a small problem with our online running statements, insofar as the arithmetic simply didn't add-up for a while. Phoned Caxton in the UK (from Oz) with our concerns; spoke to a real person within three rings, who knew exactly what she was doing and what the problem was. She sorted out the issue there-and-then; AND followed-up with a re-assuring e-mail within 30 minutes. Now how different is that from what we're used to!?

Tip: When pulling cash out of ATMs with our Caxton FX cards, we did notice some banks provided better exchange rates than others; and some charged a transaction fee, whereas some didn't .. so these aspects need to be monitored (and exploited).

Good luck - enjoy your trip

KEITH [& ELLEN]

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Hi,

I live in Antwerp, Belgium, and this is what I would recommend:

VISA and MASTERCARD are accepted almost everywhere, also at gas stations. You won't have any problems in W-EU with this.

For CASH, go to a BANK, NOT an exchange bureau, banks give you a better conversion, although you need sometimes to order them in front...

If you come to Belgium, and stay here a day or night, give me a mail! (seb@fotografix.be)
I can help you with a few things if you're interested...

Having done european trips for the last 5 years this is the best option of me

Go to Tescos that have the travel bureau

Ask for 2 Euro cards... then you can hide one on the bike as an emergency

you can put on as much cash as you like and you can top it up on line when your away
heres the website

Travel Money Card – Carry your Foreign Currency Safely with Cash Passport Card

I use cash for campsites and food
For fuel I use my Santander o% visa card, this does not load any money on it for foreign transactions

For cash in non Euro countries I use my normal santander cash point card though I do end up paying a couple of quid charges

I do believe Halifax do a Zero charge Visa for cash withdrawals abroad, this is something im looking into

Any probs give me a shout.. looks like Im from your neck of the woods

Cheers
Geordie aka Will

No! The tesco currency exchange, in store gives bad rates!!!

Cheap Travel Money: Top cards for spending abroad...

this will tell you where you can get best to be delivered

I used an ICE prepay card, round europe in June, but the customer service before travelling was a bit of a nightmare, only open 9-5 to sort out pin nos, etc. Out of these hours, it just goes through to one of their shops at the airport.

hi folks

thanks for all the replys :)

some great advice given and from doing some research it looks like a caxtonfx global card would be the best for me.

@keith1954...thanks for the tip about ATM exchange rates/fees...any chance you can remember which ones gave the best?:confused1:

@00-seb-00...thanks for the offer of help.just passing through belgium on the way out but may give you a shout on the return leg :thumbup1:

@geordie_e...cheers bonny lad...ahm jus ganning aboot getting stuff sorted like but ah might gi ye a shout te pick ya brains.ahllweys got a fancy fer a dog catcher or two doon the toon if ya fancy like jeiger
(lets see if others can decipher that)..lol

Only used Caxton FX down in Aus (for the first time, earlier this year).

Commonwealth Bank of Australia .. always did us proud. No transaction fee, plus a good exchange rate.
http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-R.../i-RK4BXQC.gif
.. rocks! .. :thumbup1:

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