money on the road

[mickey76]

hi guys!
live end of april for a 3 months trip through the stan's to mongolia then back europe through russia. is there anyone made a similar trip? and how you manage your money? cash? cb? euros? dollars?
thanks
Mickael

[kawazoki]

Don‚t you worry any of those that you mentioned they are going to be taken from you along the way..they love all world currency's.

safe ride and enjoy the adventure...

[klausmong1]

I used Dollars.

In some countries, also in Mongolia in smaller cities they refuse to change Euro ( and maybe also GBP ).
All they wanted is USD, and even there only new ones and 50 or 100.

In bigger cities they change more likely everything.

In the Stans this was sometimes a real issue to get people to change smaller notes than 50 Dollar, a lot of them refused to do that.
And you need cash, in Usbekistan it is hard to find ATm to get money.

In Russia on a lot of ATM you cannot get more than 8000RUB at one time, in Mongolia not more than 80.000 Tugruk one time.
It depends a bit on the card and which ATM ( called bankomat there ) you use

[PanEuropean]

Mickael:

I can't comment on the Stans, I diligently avoid any country with a name ending in '-stan'. That suffix means 'fecked-up country'.

So far as Russia is concerned, there are ATMs everywhere. I have been to many very small and remote towns in far eastern Russia, and all across Siberia, and never had any difficulty getting money out of an ATM.

I suggest you organize the following for your trip:

1) Two credit cards - one MasterCard, and one Visa. Set up automatic payment with your bank, so the bills get paid directly out of your bank account when they are due. You can review your statements online from anywhere.

2) TWO ATM cards. You need two because if one gets lost or damaged, you don't want to be stuck without an ATM card. If you explain what you plan to do (your trip) to your bank, they should be able to issue you two cards.

Banks that issue ATM cards belong to various interbank networks such as Cirrus, Interac, Electron, Plus, etc. Ensure that the ATM card that your bank issues you works with at least two of these networks. In some countries, individual bank ATMs only support one network, which means that you might have to shop around a bit to find one that works with your card. But, this has never been a problem for me.

I don't suggest you carry large amounts of cash (any more than what you need to keep you going for a week).

Michael

[klausmong1]

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Mickael:

I can't comment on the Stans, I diligently avoid any country with a name ending in '-stan'. That suffix means 'fecked-up country'.


Michael

Well, I can not agree with your way about talking of the "Stans"

For me this are beautiful countries and worth riding it.

Only in Tajikistan and Kirgistan I found corruption with police, but also this is able to handle.

And I never had problems with large amounts of cash.

You say you don't go to the Stans but give advice about money there?

In Usbekistan it is very hard to get money from ATM, there are just very few and you have to find them.

Kirgistan and Tajikistan just in larger cities easy to find if available.

[Ralf1150GS]

As I am using a VISA-Plus card for getting money at ATM bancomats I use this website to find the locations on the map, get the gps-data by comparing at google-earth and transfer that as waypoints to my navigation device. Hopefully it will work even in the Stans next year...

[cliffi]

Further to the comments re the use of ATM's in the "stans" and Caucasus, there is more than simply finding an ATM.

1. In Georgia it is possible to withdraw USD from an ATM and convert it at a kiosk which usually has a better exchange rate than the Bank. In other countries this is not possible and the exchange rate given by the local Bank is awful.
2. Best is to take USD with you and change along the way. USD is still preferred vs Euro, but that may be changing.
3. In big cities like Bishkek, go to the Bank and use their services to withdraw cash. I found there was a much higher limit at the Bank vs the ATM and did find a Bank that would give me USD, which I then exchanged along the way.
4. Not all denominations are given the same exchange rate in these countries, thus I find that taking $100 notes is the easiest and has the highest exchange rate. A smaller denomination is not desired by the exchange kiosks and often the rate is worse, if they will accept the small denominations at all.
5. My suggestion is to keep a few $10's on hand to deal with "problems" such as police and borders.

[mickey76]

thanks for these advices guys !

[Kurvenfieber]

Actually I never had any problems in getting money. I had some small and big $ notes hidden on me and the bike. Most of the times I had some 10$ notes on different locations on me, for bribes.
I use a german DKB Visa card. Free of withdrawal charge at ATMs, except you pay with it i.e. in a hotel or shop/gasstation.
I also carried a mastercard as backup, but never needed it. In none of the countries I visited I had any problems with money: Europe, Russia, Kaz.,Kirgistan, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Balkans, USA.
Getting money was never any problem to me, nowhere.

[klausmong1]

Because he was asking for the Stans, it is a problem in Usbekistan to find ATM ( there are some, bot you have to find them, they are only in big cities and then they need to be filled also )

And in the countries it can happen that there is no internet connection for the ATM for days, it happened to me definitely in Mongolia. ( in more cities on the way for 3 days )
Then you cannot get money from ATM

[Kurvenfieber]

True words, you can´t get money if there is no electricity.
And I don´t have travelled to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, I mentioned the countries I experienced above.
And you can run into a ban of bills, like I did in Goa in the night from 08th. nov.2015 to 9th. Nov.2015.
It was a hell of a job to get enough money for fuel and food...that can happen anywhere, same as shortage of fuel. But as many have mentioned, if you have small dollar bills in such a case, everyone will be happy to accept 5$ for a meal!
Those occasions are unpredictable.

[klausmong1]

Well, it happened to me many times, that they refused to take bills smaller than 50 to change.
I had 10 and20 $ Bills and wanted to change, no way.
They where only good for bribing police.

I was in India in November, no Bills less than 50 $ were accepted, and here also only new ones.

Smaller bills only in official exchange facilities with a bad rate.

[maria41]

Main borders will have ATM machines to get cash.


Russia: SberBank's ATMs usually always deliver money (my Russian teacher recommended that bank the 1st time I crossed Russia). There is a limit at how much you can get (Sometimes as little as 5000 rubbles) but you can repeat at least once. Other Banks can be hazardous, sometimes they will work for a foreign card sometimes not.


Kazakhstan: most towns (even small ones) will have a bank and an ATM. Sometime finding the bank can be the tricky part in small towns! Rubbles are very easy to change in the Stans, so even if you have left overs, it is no problem.


Uzbekistan: as mentioned already, finding an ATM machine is a nightmare. And one that works even worse. Don't rely on banks or Luxury hotels ("machine doesn't work" or " we ran out of dollars" are usual excuses) Bring enough dollars/euros for your stay! Make sure you do not declare more currencies when leaving Uzbek than when entering (you will have problems!).


Kyrgyzstan: easy to get cash and sometimes USD from ATMS machines. don't expect to find many banks that will change your left over Soms though in Kazakhstan, (maybe in big cities only) so get rid of them before leaving the country or exchange with travellers.


Tajik: never made it to There (failed 3 times in 2014 and 2016 - complicated stories!) However we got Tajik Soms just before the border. Left over Tajik Soms will not be exchanged in Banks in Kyrgyzstan. But we managed to get them changed at the money changers in Osh, main market. So as you will certainly stop in Osh, one way or another, you can also buy/Sell the Tajik Soms from those guys. Rates ok.


And of course you can meet other travellers going the other way and exchange currencies with them.

Those "Stans " countries are safe to travel to, in case you worry. Very friendly welcoming people, but crazy drivers. Keep an eye on your mirrors and you will be fine.

[maria41]

Ah forgot to add: Add the wonderful app Yandex to your phone/tablet/Pc.


Yandex is the Russian answer to Google, and it is wonderful to find anything local and for routing/planning itinerary. More so in Russia but works also not bad in central Asia. There is an english version. It will show you the location of ATMs, Hotels, restaurants, shops, anything, even in the smallest place. Better than Google I found!


Great satellite maps too of Russia, so you can see the sort of road and what to expect, calculate distances between selected points, and offer various options.

[Kurvenfieber]

Originally Posted by klausmong1

Well, it happened to me many times, that they refused to take bills smaller than 50 to change.
I had 10 and20 $ Bills and wanted to change, no way.
They where only good for bribing police.

I was in India in November, no Bills less than 50 $ were accepted, and here also only new ones.

Smaller bills only in official exchange facilities with a bad rate.

Well, Klaus, believe me, if I say I encountered the ban of 500 and 1000 Rupee bills. and everyone was happy to accept some dollars for a meal or other payment such as Taxi. they couldn´t change big $ bills. And they had no Rupees to change either.
For changing you are right, but as I said already:it´s good to have some small bills for such a case. I never changed my $ bills, I didn´t have too. But occationally I could pay with dollars. (i.e. all over India, Oasis, Biker Bar Bishkek and Russia...).
So please believe me, that I only talk about stuff I experienced myself.
Seems to be the same story as when you didn´t want to believe that the FSB was arresting me and interviewed me for hours in Stepansminda, remember?