The $US has such a bad exchange rate at the moment I would'nt go for the $$ I would use the pesos.
We are off to the Dom Rep and are taking their pesos even though everything seems to priced in $$$. We have been going now for the last 6 years and even when the $$ was high we still kept to the Dom. Rep pesos.

Angie.

Hi - we're going to Jamaica in a few weeks and just wondering whether to take US$ or Jamaican $. I have heard that most of the tours are priced in US$ but just wondering about shops, restaurants, etc that are outside the resort itself. Maybe I should just take both to be on the safe side!

US dollar now at $1.54 with Ice. Economists say, expect it to reach around $1.75 by the end of the year. They are almost certain it will not reach $2 as before.

First time to Mexico, What would you take?

Mexican Pesos or US Dollars.

having just returned form the DR I would say take Pesos we found they were offering 50 pesos to the £ but only 35 to the $ and shops preferred the Peso, they teneded to put a premium on paying in $

we changed some sterling in to Pesos and brought dollars home with us although you need to pay entry exit tax in dollars

Yes definately take pesos peeps to DR have always taken them and will continue to take them on all our trips. As of today M&S rates are 56.73 = £1 so at the moment you get more for your money exchanging here in the UK, which is unusual.

Angie.

Hi all in HT land!

Forgive me if this question has already been asked (and answered) elsewhere but can anyone tell me what the difference (if there is one) is between Cuban Peso's and Cuban Convertible Peso's?
Many thanks.

David

David,

Info here in this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_convertible_peso

Cheers Angie

David

Hi Dave,

If you have further questions about currency in Cuba it's probably better to post within that thread on this forum rather than here. Some of the info on the Wikipedia link above is out of date and of questionable accuracy. For example I've never heard CUCs referred to as 'chavitos' - many Cubans either still refer to them as 'dollars' (and the $ sign is still used to distinguish prices in CUCs from prices in National Pesos) but on the whole most now refer to them simply as 'convertibles'. Shops which trade only on CUCs are widely referred to still as 'dollar shops' as opposed to 'national shops'.

The terms of the US enforced embargo mean that American banks are forbidden to trade or have any dealings with Cuba, hence why all credit cards issued by American banks/companies are useless in Cuba. The CUC is not traded in the world currency markets hence why credit card transactions are conducted in US dollars but also why you'll pay over the odds - in my experience by the time the transaction shows up on your credit card statement you're likely to find that you've paid nearly 20% more than you were possibly expecting. This is because you'll have been charged an artificially high rate for the conversion from CUCs to US$s at the point of sale (to cover the Cuban government for the lower rates they'll get from the non-US banks that they have to deal with) and then your card company will also have charged you on top of this for the transaction as well. On the whole, I would advise you to never use your credit card in Cuba if can avoid it and to certainly never use it for drawing cash except in dire emergencies.

Every so often rumours circulate that the Cuban Government will switch over to pegging the CUC to the Euro and the rate of exchange in 2007 did seem to follow the Euro more closely than the US$ but whether this happens will I suspect depend a lot on how far Obama is prepared to go in thawing relations between the US and Cuba. In early 2009 the exchange rate was pretty close to £1/1CUC - by the time I was there in July it had improved and I was getting around 1.20CUCs to the £. But it has been as high as 1.40 CUCs to the £ in the last 5 years.

The rate of exchange between CUCs and National pesos has remained pretty steady at 25 Nationals the CUC and whilst most visitors to Cuba have no need of 'nationals' they are the currency you'll need to shop in local food and produce markets or when buying from street food vendors. There are no legal restrictions on tourists obtaining them and you can get them at any Cadeca in exchange for CUCs. Don't bother getting more than 50 at the absolute maximum - the Cadecas won't change them back and you won't find much to buy with them. I usually get a very small quantity and give any that I'm left with at the end to Cuban friends and aquaintances. Cuban friends generally joke that the way to tell whether a price is being quoted in CUCs or 'nationals' is that if you want to buy it then it's probably being priced in CUCs! This is not just a reference to the fact that tourists are expected to deal only in CUCs but to the fact that most of the goods that can be purchased in 'nationals' are likely to be of inferior quality. In other words if it's worth buying then it's likely to be priced in CUCs. Of course most Cubans don't have the choice and are restricted to what is available in the 'national' shops. Hence why tips is CUVs are so highly valued.

On the whole, the easiest thing is to take sterling (Bank of England notes only - not Scottish or Irish ones) with you and change it as you go along. You'll get exactly the same rate whether you change them in the hotels, banks or the cadecas. It's also increasingly easy to draw cash from ATMs using your debit card (Visa is more commonly accepted than Mastercard) as long as you don't bank with one that has strong American connections. I've never had problems with my BoS/Halifax cards but I understand from friends that HSBC cards won't work. I used to also take Thomas Cook sterling travellers' cheques but American Express now seem to have a monopoly and so this is harder to do. Also, because of concerns about fraud and whether the issuer will honour TCheque transactions, Cuban cashiers have a tendency to refuse to cash them if there are even slight differences between the two signatures on them.

SM

Hi SM

Many thanks for the in depth info.
As you recommend, I'll probably end up taking a good supply of Sterling and T.C. travellers cheques (if available).
Cheers for now.

David

hi,
I am going to Barbados. Is it best to take barbados currency or us dollars. I have been there before and I took us dollars and changed them over once there although most places accepted us dollars, which is the best way round.
Thanks
Karen

hiya guys i need some help

what currency do i take???

im going to playa carr in january but need to know what to take! dollers or peso

am i better changing money here in uk or over in mexico??

also if i change in playa carr wheres the best place place to change thanks for your help

booked Mexico AI how much would you take and what currency, departure tax is it cheaper peso than dollars. going for two weeks. it is easy enough to change sterling

What currency is best to take to Aruba? Also any advice on where to get the best rate much appreciated.

Hi, I'm joining the band of people wanting to know if it's best to take dollars or Mexican Pesos to Cancun please. My son's off in 3 weeks and was wondering what is more widely accepted in Cancun. We made the wrong choice in taking pesos to Dom Rep last year as the hotel had trouble issuing us with change. In the end we changed the pesos to dollars which the hotel were happier taking.

We are going to cancun next week and are wondering if anyone has recently returned from there and if they can tell us what sort of exchange rate you can get over there for changing £

been home from mexico two weeks the exchange rate for sterling to peso was slightly better there than here, but youre better off if you pay in peso,s even over the dollar 10 min taxi ride was 100 pesos [abouy £5.75] or $10 [about £6.30],even paying the exit tax you were better off not paying in dollars, they accepted sterling or the euro.

thanks a lot