Sri Lanka - sterling or dollars

bunty109

So with the Sri Lankan rupee a closed currency I need to buy this when we get there and I'm getting conflicting opinions as to whether to take sterling or dollars to exchange. Sterling seems sensible rather than exchange into dollars first, but had a few people saying dollars are recommended.

Anyone with any recent experience?

eDicky

bunty109 wrote: »

Sterling seems sensible rather than exchange into dollars first, but had a few people saying dollars are recommended.

Remain sensible and ignore such people. No need to lose on converting twice.

Even more sensible, take suitable plastic that exchanges to rupees at the ideal rates without fees:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards

Baby_Angel

Don't bother with converting twice. We never buy dollars. Sterling is just as good. I have used UK debit cards and credit cards, some with no commission. You can convert your sterling to rupees in the airport if you are not comfortable with local shops. We are local so know places where we can get a good exchange rate.

bunty109

Thanks both. I have a Halifax clarity to use but like the idea of taking some sterling to exchange too. Are ATM charges high for credit cards?

Baby_Angel

Charges usually are ( I think) about 2-3% unless you have 0%commission. Depends on the bank. Cash is the best option generally.

eDicky

bunty109 wrote: »

Thanks both. I have a Halifax clarity to use but like the idea of taking some sterling to exchange too. Are ATM charges high for credit cards?

Baby_Angel wrote: »

Charges usually are ( I think) about 2-3% unless you have 0%commission. Depends on the bank. Cash is the best option generally.

I think Bunty is asking whether the actual ATMs in Sri Lanka make any charge for the use of a foreign card. (Personally I don't know.)

The Clarity credit card has no fees for foreign use and gives the straight MasterCard exchange rate, so using it to withdraw from an ATM would be significantly better than exchanging cash, as long as the ATM does not levy a charge.

Baby_Angel

As far as I know, Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted and the local banks (ATM owners) don't charge any transaction fees for using them. Not sure of other types of cards.

paddyrg

I was there a month ago - Colombo airport has several ATM's, although not all take Visa/Mastercard so a selection of cards is no bad thing. When going overseas I always just hit the cashpoint and grab £200 in notes (or £400 for longer trip) for backup in case ATM's/card machines are down. I usually come home with those £200 intact (and indeed, it's handy when I get back home!).

Any money changer will take GBP, so don't go 'via' USD or you just waste money. If you happen to have some USD lying around, it makes things easy getting your visa on arrival, but it's really not a challenge anyway, and you could do it online in advance to save £3 if you wanted to.

bunty109

Thanks everyone!

paddyrg wrote: »

I was there a month ago - Colombo airport has several ATM's, although not all take Visa/Mastercard so a selection of cards is no bad thing. When going overseas I always just hit the cashpoint and grab £200 in notes (or £400 for longer trip) for backup in case ATM's/card machines are down. I usually come home with those £200 intact (and indeed, it's handy when I get back home!).

Any money changer will take GBP, so don't go 'via' USD or you just waste money. If you happen to have some USD lying around, it makes things easy getting your visa on arrival, but it's really not a challenge anyway, and you could do it online in advance to save £3 if you wanted to.

Paddy, I will take your advice and take cash but use the cards.

As everyone has been so helpful, can I ask what you'd all recommend for a tip for our driver for the fortnight? I've no idea what the going rate is. Driver is included in our package but obviously want to express gratitude at end of trip. They will be with us for the duration.

bigadaj

We just hired a driver for three days when we were in Sri Lanka in 2012, think it was £100 for the car and driver and I think the tip was £15 so around 15% was a ballpark figure, alternatively £5 per day.

Have a check on the relevant tripadvisor forum and you will get more detailed advice.

eDicky

Doesn't the size of a tip depends on the quality of service received? So in this instance, driving skill, local knowledge, general behaviour etc? It would for me...