Travellers cheques or not?

I travelled all three countries without traveller's cheques and using debit cards to make withdrawals instead. One of my friends had traveller's cheques at the beginning in Quito and it took a whole afternoon just to find somewhere that would change them! Not sure about Peru and Bolivia but I would say avoid traveller's cheques if possible as cash is so much easier. Banco de Pichincha in Ecuador and Banco del Pacifico in Bolivia don't charge for withdrawals on debit cards - just be careful of security at ATMs. Best to take an emergency second debit/credit card and always keep it hidden in your bag - that way you'll have a back-up if yours does get stolen. You could always look into setting up an account with a bank that doesn't charge for withdrawals abroad before you set off - Nationwide doesn't charge (if you're from England?) Reply to this

Hi Mags,
You should be ok on that budget as long as you don't want internal flights or anything like that - just keep in mind that the exchange rate is terrible at the moment. When I was in Ecuador this summer I was getting two dollar to the pound - it's going to be a lot less! Have fun! xx Reply to this

The exchange rate for £ to $ is a bit rubbish right now.

If I draw money from an ATM are the rates of £ to the local currency as bad?

The 'credit crunch' has been a bit of a bummer for us as the interest on our savings for our trip has plummeted and so has the exchange rate for the £. 😞

Let us know how you get on with Nationwide. I was going to look into that, as well, as it could save a bundle on withdrawal fees. Reply to this

So, will you be taking a stash of dollars with you or just using the local money?

It sounds like, from the above, it will be better to stick with withdrawing money from cash machines and avoid the dollar?

Or am I mis-reading that? For some reason stuff like this makes my head spin!! Reply to this

oh and i think dollars will still valuable to have in case of further drop of the pound! Reply to this

Hello,

I also had the same issue with not knowing what is best regards to cash in SA. I wish I knew about the Nationwide account before (I fly out on Wed) unfortunately I couldn't risk swapping my Barclays to Nationwide in case the debit card didn't come through in time etc. So instead I got a travel card from Barclays, but in the denomination of dollars when I withdraw from ATMs. Unfortunately there is still a withdrawal fee, but hopefully the dollars with go further! Reply to this

I've never used travellers checks ('did' South-America for 8 months last year by the way). Instead I left home with 2 cards (debit and credit) and a emergency line with my bank (the Netherlands) able to provide me with extra cash in case I run into trouble. The week before I left home I had both of my cards changed (new magnetic strip). Also I gave my parents full acces to my bank account, so that they could act on my behalf I would run into trouble.

Unfortunately I ran into a lot of trouble. About 4 months into my trip (inside Bolivia) my creditcard died. Well it didn't die. The magnetic strip just got damaged. So I called my bank and my parents. Great, they could send me a new card. Asked my hostel to see if they could send it there. They could. I was happy. In about a month a new card would be waiting for me and the bank had a number of secret codes and stuff to activate it, so I wouldnt have to worry about safety anytime soon.

A month waiting is long, but since I was already planning on staying in Bolivia for another month, living in a place where I wouldn't spend much it didn't seem bad at the time. Besides, what else could I have done? I needed that card to purchase things, and my debit card didn't work on most of the ATMs.

So I waited, and waited.. The card never came. Am not sure who do blame. Maybe it was my dodgy hostel (though they seemed reliable at the time, there were all kinds of strange things happening), the card got stuck in mail somewhere or there was something else wrong. Whatever it was.. I decided to continue traveling with just a debit card and my emergency line. 6 weeks later my debit card died. Called the bank again. 'We're very sorry for your inconvenience but your credit and debit card are linked. We have send you both cards by mail, and our policy is to cancel old cards 6 weeks after the new ones are send. We can send you new ones if you want but it'll take you another 6 weeks.'
That was pretty shitty and unexpected. So I called my emergency line (I was already traveling with some extra money, didn't feel comfortable with just one card). 'Can you send me some money please?' 'Sure, which country are you in right now?' 'Brasil' 'Oh let me see. Wait... Unfortunately our bank doesn't do business with Brasil. You'll have to go to another country to collect your money.'

It all turned out fine. I went to Paraguay, got some money. Luckily I only had 2 weeks left on my trip when my second card died, and I'd been traveling with enough money to be able to go to Brasil. Had my plane ticket home, and all I had to do was enjoy and guard my money carefully.

Met some other travelers who also ran into money issues. One of the guys I met there was actually traveling from bank to bank (he lost both of his cards but luckily his bank had offices all across south america. All he had to do was show his passport.). Of course, most travelers didn't have this kind of luck, and were traveling with others who could help them (I was all by myself for the most part).

Looking back on my trip there are many things I'd do differently. First of all: Getting at least 2 creditcards from different banks. Secondly: look up if my bank has offices in the countries where I'm traveling to (offices mean passport are sufficient, and passports can be given within a week by your ambassade. Getting cards send over is much more difficult) Third: See if banks offer an emergency line where they can send money within 24 hours (VISA apparently does). Fourth: Travel with a bit of emergency money at any time. Fifth: If you lose cards don't forget you can still purchase a lot of things with just the numbers (for instance: for making hostel reservations all you need are the codes. You never need to show anyone the actual card). Sixth: Look up whether traveller cheques are a good option and read other people's experiences. Seventh: Give someone you trust and who lives in your country of residence full acces to your bank account. It might sounds unneccesary but in case you do run into trouble, banks have additional means to help you.

Wow. This message turns out to be pretty long. Anyway I hope it is of some use. Reply to this