Personally we buy Sterling TC's - always have done. I think if you buy Euro TC's you get them at our rate here. If you buy Sterling TC's you generally find you get a better exchange rate out there with no commission.

It could all be swings and roundabouts but we've always gone with Sterling and been happy.

you will get a better deal with sterling cheques as long as you dont pay any commision to buy them in the UK.
There are a few places that will do them commision free. I got mine from TSB

You will find as a rule that most places charge comission for buying Sterling TC's here in UK (the norm is 1-2%). We always get ours from M&S as theirs are 1% but then get a better rate out there.

As an example this year with our commision from M&S taken into account we got approx an extra 60-70€ from our Sterling TC's than we would have done taking Euro TC's as the rate was much lower here than over there.

For us that's a couple of meals out so well worth doing.

i personally use cash , loads of exchange places , loads of banks and cash points too , just take a few euros for taxi etc then look around for good deals

But if you lose your cash you're stuffed surely? At least with TC's they can be replaced. Taking cash is not something I'd consider for that reason.

We always take cash (and hire a safety deposit box) then look around for the best exchange rate

you can't beat TC'S. even if some one does nick them they cant do anything with them. i always feel a lot safer with them than just euros

We went away to Spain in July and used one of those new money travel cards. I must say, that I was slightly put off when went into the post office to purchase it. I was only the second customer to buy one of these - all the staff got involved and they had to use the manual to go through the process!
You have to activate it by telephone before you use it and this took longer than they told me - 36hrs as opposed to 12 - which worried me even more. We ended up thinking have we got our spending money or not??
However once on hols found it excellent. Can use at almost any cash point and never had any problems.
Advice I was given before hand was dont use at free standing machines such as those found at petrol stages etc.
I would reccomend these to anyone, especially if you are going somewhere slightly more out of the way where there are no exchange bureaus or on site facilities for TCs. You can normally find a cash machine anywhere.

Emilyr
How does them cards work do you put money on them over here then just get it out of a bank over there
if so how little can you put on them and how much does it cost

Sorry to come in late on this one but I would get Striling Travellers cheques everytime.

When I travelled to Mallorca recently I foolishly bought traveller's cheques from Thomson, when I went to pick them up I realised they were Euro but as it was only a couple of days to our holiday I took them.

I bought them at 1.38

The rate I could have got with Sirling cheques at my hotel was 1.42

I had to pay commission when I changed them, lucklily this was only 1%.

Thomsons generously offered to buy back unused cheques commission free - thier buy back rate however was 1.62!!

I eventually paid them in at my bank and got 1.41

I won't be fooled again. Having said that I like the security of traveller's cheques - with a card you don't really know what you are going to be charged, and carrying a lot of cash is risky.

Hi James

There are several travel agents who can issue the cards but we got ours from the post office. I think it cost us £20. I think there was a minimum amount you could put on it but I cant remember how much it was, we paid most of how holiday money onto it. £20 seems a lot but you can add money onto it whenver you want but this must be a minimum of £50 each time. Once you have your card it's valid for about 3 years. You dont pay any commission if you put euro's onto it, and when we used it on hols it did'nt charge us any commission when we made a withdrawal - which is good. The only thing to remeber is that you cant cash in any remaining money left onto the card when you come home. So you will need to withdraw it before you come home (I think you will have to pay commission if you withdrew from a cash machine in this country. Alternatively, you can leave any remaining money onto it for your next trip. You can also use it to save money on for your next holiday if you want to. You can get a leaflet from the post office which explains it all - they were very helpful when I got mine.
You can use them at any Visa Electron machine when you are away, almost every machine accepts these cards, we never came accross a one that did'nt. You can insure your card against loss or theft in the same way that you can with TCs.
Eventually, TCs will be phased out, which is why the money card has been introduced.

Hope this helps, happy to answer any more questions if i can help.

emily

I must agree with cash points, no hassle. Just bring enough Euros for you taxi if needed and your first day / night. If you draw your cash dailly you probably will not need a safe in your room, so you are quids in.

Enjoy your holiday

Life is for living

Robert