Currency for multi country trip

familyof4_3

I'm planning a trip to China, Australia, New Zealand, and back via South Africa.
I will obviously need cash in all locations but don't want to carry loads with me (and not knowing how much I'll need in each currency). Should I take a small amount of local currency for each country (I'll be spending about 7-10 days in each)?

I've read about the Halifax clarity card - do you think this will be suitable?

I hate thinking about stuff like this so any advice whould be really appreciated.

Mark_Hewitt

Take as much cash as you'll need for a taxi ride from the airport and meals for the first night in each country. Other than that you should be able to use your debit card.

familyof4_3

I'm just trying to work out the cheapest way to withdraw money in each of those places (and avoid hefty bank charges). At first glance it looks like this Halafax Clarity card is going to be the best option but I wondered if anyone had any other advice?

themightysloth

I'd say Halifax Clarity isn't a bad bet.

you may want a little money changed in advance in case there are problems at the airport in getting hold of money.

I used the Clarity Card in South Africa and Namibia recently to pay for stuff and also to withdraw cash and it worked perfectly... no commission charges, no withdrawal charges, no foreign spend charges.

you do pay a little interest on what you withdraw so ideally spend in shops / hotels / restaurants on your card rather than taking out lots of cash... but the interest i paid was minimal (78p for £300 withdrawn).

very jealous of your trip!!

familyof4_3

Thanks. I wondered if I could pre-load it before I went but I called the helpline and the advisor seemed to think I'd still incur interest. Sounded strange to me but they should know I guess.