Another tip is to bring some small bills in local currency with you as you may not find change or foreign exchange as easily as you’d expect.
We recently returned from Italy, and had gone with just a handful of euros and some US cash thinking we could easily find a foreign exchange place there. We have been to cities where there are forex places seemingly on every corner. Buenos Aires was like that, but that wasn’t the case in Italy.
While we were pleased to find that we could use our secure Apple Pay on our phone to pay almost everywhere. The catch was that you could not leave a gratuity on the bill. Gratuities, although not expected in Italy, were always appreciated. We wished that we would have had a few more small bills and some change with us.
Getting change may not be possible everywhere
Our hotel wanted a fixed fee of 15 euros to make change. Even if you only wanted to change $10 or $100! They said we should go to the post office to get change. But when we went, the postal worker told us to come back tomorrow, that they may have some small banknotes then! Ultimately, we made things work by buying the odd thing in cash with large bills and asking for smaller bills to get some change for tips.
Small bills always come in handy
So, if you’re going to go on an adventure where you don’t want to spend time hunting for foreign exchange or trying to make change, prepare yourself by having a supply of smaller bills for tips when you land. It can come in handy.
When converting money, the local forex place we use at home asks us if we’d like small bills or large bills, so we ask for more small bills just for this reason.
We’ve always relied on banks (and as we found out recently the post office) to get local currency during our trip but sometimes it’s not convenient to get to these in order to exchange money. In a pinch bank machines are a good option, but these may not always be available. And a note of caution: Avoid using ATMs unless these are in the bank, we’ve heard of cases where these can be hacked by scammers that try to skim your card information.
Be prepared and bring small bills with you
Avoid the hassle and aggravation of having to hunt for foreign exchange while on holiday and simply pay a little extra for the fees back at home so you have what you need on arrival. This is also useful for tipping the waitstaff, housekeeping, bellhop service, and valet parking upon arrival. After all, you’re on vacation and should consider being generous towards these hard-working people!