4 currencies in a week

wannabreak

I've booked a one week holiday which takes in Prague, Vienna, Budapest and a stop in Bratislava. How on earth do I decide how much of each currency to take? Are euros accepted in all four countries? Would the best plan be just to use a card and pay as I travel?

dzug1

Vienna and Bratislava are euros anyway.

In the others you may get away with euros some of the time, at a disadvantageous exchange rate, but the card is the best way to go - particularly if you have one with low/no charges.

Have some sterling to change as a backup might also be an idea.

PolishBigSpender

dzug1 wrote: »

Have some sterling to change as a backup might also be an idea.

Why on earth would you bother when Sterling is so volatile anyway?

Take Euro, and prepare to change some into Koruna and Forint...tourist places will happily accept Euro, but you'll struggle to get ordinary shops to accept it.

sturll

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Why on earth would you bother when Sterling is so volatile anyway?

Take Euro, and prepare to change some into Koruna and Forint...tourist places will happily accept Euro, but you'll struggle to get ordinary shops to accept it.

How can you call the £ volatile then recommend the Euro?



You are on a one man mission against the UK.

PolishBigSpender

sturll wrote: »

How can you call the £ volatile then recommend the Euro?

Quite easily. Sterling has been all over the place in the last 20 years, whereas the Deutsche Mark and subsequently the Euro has been incredibly stable as a whole. There was the blip after the introduction of the Euro (but before the physical release of the coins/notes) - but once the currency came into existence, things settled down.

As a currency, the Euro is an incredibly stable reserve currency. Even with the economic crisis, the Euro is standing firm - and the predictions of many (including myself!) that countries would crash out of the Euro hasn't happened.

The Pound on the other hand is remarkably volatile.

benjus

I don't think volatility (especially 20 year volatility) is going to be much of a concern over a one week holiday. Anyway, I think we can assume that the OP is converting from Sterling in the first place, so I don't really see the point of talking about volatility.

If you take Euros and then convert them into Forints etc, you will be paying two sets of exchange fees. So unless the bureaux de change offer a MUCH more competitive rate for Euro/Forint than for Sterling/Forint, it's better to take Sterling.

As others have already mentioned, the best way is likely to be to use plastic. If you have a Nationwide debit card this will give you the best possible rate. Other cards will be more expensive but probably comparable to using a bureau de change.