Money Exchange for Hungary & Czech Republic

[Janice621]

We will be taking Avalon Waterways Danube Discovery. I thought I could obtain Hungarian currency and Czech currency from my bank to start and end the trip. Unfortunately, the bank cannot provide those currencies. I live in south Florida. Does anyone know where I could obtain these currencies? We are leaving on July 5.

 

Thanks.

[letsgo39]

You really don't want to use a bank anyway as even if they were willing to do it the banks charge a fortune in fees to exchange money. The best way to get local currency is from a local ATM at the airport in the arrival hall. I have done this many times.Make sure your bank who carries your ATM card knows you are traveling in Europe and that your PIN is a 4 digit NUMBER not letters. Your money must also be in your checking account not savings as you cannot access savings accounts from foreign ATMs.

 

ATMs are everywhere in Europe and you will have no trouble finding one.

 

DH and I are traveling in a couple of weeks Budapest to Amsterdam and plan to get a small amount of Euros when we connect at O'Hare in Chicago and than use ATMs for the remainder of our trip. Don't bother getting travelers checks as they are just about impossible to cash in Europe. In addition tuck a few $20.00 usd away for an emergency and you should be fine.

[macca]

DH and I are traveling in a couple of weeks Budapest to Amsterdam

 

Letsgo39

 

We are on the MS Sound of Music Budapest to Amsterdam leaving on 12th July. Staying Sofitel in Budapest & Grand Elysee in Hamburg after rail from Amsterdam.

 

Thanks for the good advice on local currency & look forward to comparing notes here on our return.

 

Macca

Tasmania

[debbie p]

Just returned early May and were in Slovakia and Budapest. Both countries do accept the Euro. We were advised by our cruise director not to bother exchanging our money (we were in both for only a full each).

One thing to be careful of in Hungary-they will try and tell you they have 'no change' or 'forget' to give you change if you purchase anything, beware!

[debbie p]

Letsgo39:

 

On our trip-folks were going to get some Euros while in JFK airport and the exchange rate was so high, they didn't do it. You can get your money exchanged onboard-that's what most did. To be honest, we didn't see that many ATM's unless in the larger cities. We used our credit cards almost exclusively-in fact-our Euro's went to the tip!

[gbs]

We belong to AAA and just went there to get money for these countries. We got about $100 for each country we were going to so we would have it on arrival. We were in each country for about 3-5 days and that was plenty for us, given that we mostly used our credit cards. It takes up to a week for them to get the money.

[letsgo39]

I have changed money many times at O'Hare and although the rate was high I like to arrive with a little money in my pocket. I know they will also take Euros in Hungary but they do charge you to do the exchange so it will be more expensive so be careful.You are much better off using the local currency of HUF's

It is the custom in most Europeon countrie I have traveled to that you must tell the server how much change you want back.Steamboats posted about this just a couple of weeks ago.Nobody is trying to rip you off it is just the way it is done there.

I am surprised you had trouble finding an ATM as I have traveled to 13 Europeon countries and always been able to find an ATM with no problem. Of course I would not look for 1 everyday as I am not a big shopper either.LOL!:D I can't imagine that one would really need a lot of cash on these cruises seeing as all the meals are included etc.

It is of course good to use your credit card if possible but tell them you want it charged in the local money not USD.

Also notify your credit card companies ahead of time and make sure they won't charge you a big fee to use the card out of the country.I think a fee of 2 or 3 percent is about average.

As all can see there are many ways to handle your money as there are people traveling. I guess it is silly to worry about $10.00 when you are spending $12000.00 on the vacation!:eek:

[WIT]

We will be taking Avalon Waterways Danube Discovery. I thought I could obtain Hungarian currency and Czech currency from my bank to start and end the trip. Unfortunately, the bank cannot provide those currencies. I live in south Florida. Does anyone know where I could obtain these currencies? We are leaving on July 5.

 

Thanks.

Janice621 - We did the Amadeus Christmas Markets cruise last Dec. which started in Budapest and ended in Prague. We were able to get Forints from our bank in Chicago, but could have also got them from an ATM as we waited for our bags in Budapest. Photos of this trip are at:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

WIT

[Bobblsc]

As stated, use these. My bank is typical with its $2.00 service charge per ATM transaction. My CitiCards add a 3% charge for foreign transactions, but the exchange rate is good. Some, such as Capital One, charge only 2%.

 

As stated above, forget the traveler's checks. I found a few years ago in London that banks will give a better exchange rate for cash than traveler's checks. It doesn't matter now anyway, because we don't bother with checks in Europe anymore. Incidentally, in the Orient you get a better exchange rate with traveler's checks than cash.

 

Watch the taxis in Budapest. Some will have multiple ways to cheat you. It is best to have the ship people call your taxi, if they will. Our ship had an agreement with a cab company for set fares which were reasonable.

 

If you like opera, don't miss the Budapest State Opera. The building is beautiful and the productions are outstanding. Get your tickets as soon as possible on the web because they sell rapidly. The cost is low. When we went, the best I could find was third row stall, but we could see all the stage and the price was $2.00 each. That is not an error. It was $2.00 each.

 

Bob :rolleyes:

[steamboats]

As stated before in both cities most touristy spots do accept EUR too but you might not get any change (or get it in local currency). If you´re staying in Budapest or Prague for 24 hours only do not change any money unless you need some for a cab ride. But in that case I´d get some cash at an ATM. I saw a lot of exchange offices in downtown Prague and Budapest. But you definitely have to compare the rates there!! Do only get small amounts of local currency just in case you like to have some ice cream or ride the subway/tram/busses. Pay any of your more expensive purchases with your credit card.

 

steamboats

[magmorr75219]

We found you can cash traveler's checks and change money on board the Avalon ships. I don't think they charge a fee, either. We mainly used credit cards for shopping, and ATMs a few times to get cash. We did have a difficult time finding an ATM machine in some of the cities, but now, I couldn't tell you which ones. Some of the smaller street vendors only take cash.

[2travelers]

Last year I was able to buy Euros from our bank at a charge of $15.95. I didn't want to wait until we got to the airport in Turkey because we did a pre-cruise in Istabul and in case we had a problem using the ATM we would not have the currency for the cab. (we were able to get New Turkish Lira from a friend). I like the security of having a small amount of the currency with me. This year we went to an American Express office and were able to purchase Rubles for a fee of $4.00. I was not able to get them at any bank in the area. Didn't even think of an Amex office until my BIL told me he had just bought currency there for his trip to Africa. Credit cards do give you the best exchage rate, but for small purchase it is always good to have euros. Enjoy the trip...Budapest and Prague are fabulous...just watch out for those pastries or wear pants with elastic waists!