Use EU cash machine, or buy Euro in the UK

Segwell

Would I get more Euros for the pound, if I take money out from an EU country's cash machine (Croatia) than doing the exchange in the UK.

NoodleDoodleMan

ATMs in Croatia are very likely to take fee for withdrawing currency - from online reports it's universal.

You also have to consider any fee which your UK bank will take - best ones are the so called "user friendly" debit cards which don't - such as Chase and Starling etc.

The best ideal scenario is use your debit /credit card for contactless (or PIN) transactions where possible.

https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/croatia-cash-remains-king-electronic-payments-rising-slowly/

Hopefully other members can advise, Croatia is not somewhere we have experience of recently.

Segwell

NoodleDoodleMan, Thanks for your input. I am aware Croatia is catching up (for better or worse). Perhaps taking a small amount of cash, and using the card for certain payments will be the way to go.

NoodleDoodleMan

Yes, there is always a place for some cash IMO - better to have it and not need it, rather than the opposite way around.

Especially somewhere cards are not as widely accepted as in other tourist destinations.

Out of interest do you have an advantageous "user friendly" debit and/or credit card ?

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

or

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/06/martin-lewis-spending-abroad-travel/

Segwell

I don't feel any card will ever be friendly enough for ordinary folks. I only have a Mastercard debit. Surprisingly, from the travel agent in Croatia, my card was accepted over the phone for my flight payment. The person said that normally they only accept credit cards. It seems Croatia is indeed catching up.

NoodleDoodleMan

Some are more "user friendly" than others.

Martin has flagged up debit cards from hell on his website advice.

I would recommend Chase, it's a regular best in class debit card.

bagand96

Segwell said:

I don't feel any card will ever be friendly enough for ordinary folks. I only have a Mastercard debit. Surprisingly, from the travel agent in Croatia, my card was accepted over the phone for my flight payment. The person said that normally they only accept credit cards. It seems Croatia is indeed catching up.

There are a plenty of cards that are "friendly enough" for ordinary folks.  They're discussed in the articles helpfully linked above by @NoodleDoodleMan

It's not Mastercard/Visa or Credit/Debit that makes the difference for the card being a good card for travel or not.  It's the issuing bank that makes the difference as they make the charges.  Well worth 10 minutes of your time reading the articles.

zagfles

Changing cash in the UK is usually the worst option. Typically there's a 5% markup on the interbank exchange rate, even at places that claim they're "commission free", and another trick they pull is display rates which look reasonable but the small print says those rates only apply when you change a ridiculously large amount like £500 or £1000.

If you're going to change cash, usually better to do it abroad. Or get a fee free card and withdraw from ATMs, some charge but it tends to be a flat amount so the charge will be usually be fairly insignificant if you withdraw eg EUR200.