us dollars into Dominican dollars

jockettuk

We off to the Dominican in june

Just wondering what all you professional travellers think of buying Us dollars now as the exchange rate is high and turning them into Travellers cheques or local currency..

anything to make holiday money go further me was thinking

martindow

I don't think it will make sense to change into US dollars and then into Dominican dollars as changing currency twice will incur two sets of losses as the money changing people take their cut.

lynzpower

you you mean you are goig to dominica or to the dominican republic?

I havnet been to dominica but I have been to RD, and as I recall getting VFM ot an issue, I had some crackig meals for a quid or so, fags were about 70p, a beer about 40p.

I agree, you have 2 lots of losses there adn its not worth bothering with.

Voyager2002

Firstly, there is no reason to believe that the US dollar will rise against sterling in the short term, so no particular urgency about getting your currency.

Secondly, if you are taking an "all-inclusive" holiday you will probably find that you have few expenses once you are there, and so could end up with stacks of un-used dollars to change back -- another expense.

Try to find out how recent visitors there got hold of pesos (the currency in DR). I would imagine that a Nationwide debit card is the best solution, unless you are going somewhere far from the nearest ATM.

Check whether you still need to pay a fee at the airport in US dollars, and if so, make sure you have the necessary banknotes.

pattycake

I have been to the Dominican Republic many times over the last 10 years. We always take dollars bills these days. That is the currency of choice there. You can always change to pesos at the hotel if you need to. However, many things are priced in dollars anyway.

A good tip is to make sure you get plenty of low denomination bills, ie $1, to use for tipping. This is not compulsory by any means but it is a Third World country and the staff really appreciate your appreciation.

If you use your travel company for excursions you can use your credit card although they impose a surcharge which if I remember rightly is 2%. The trips are priced in dollars and you can pay in cash. If you intent to use your credit card, take care where you use it. The hotel is usually fine. You might also want to inform your credit card company beforehand that you are going to the Dominican Republic. I have heard tell of cards being stopped after a couple of uses as fraud was suspected.

jockettuk

lynzpower wrote: »

you you mean you are goig to dominica or to the dominican republic?

I havnet been to dominica but I have been to RD, and as I recall getting VFM ot an issue, I had some crackig meals for a quid or so, fags were about 70p, a beer about 40p.

I agree, you have 2 lots of losses there adn its not worth bothering with.

dominican republic lol

jockettuk

so were is the best deals for currency at the moment?