Quite honestly, this is a problem which I know no good solution to - I frequently face exactly this very same difficulty. Carrying around large amounts of funds (even travellers cheques, not to mention cash) is a big liability anywhere, especially in developing countries. The best solution I know of is to use friends as intermediaries in the locality, but that is very rarely an option. I have asked the places I intended to stay at to act as intermediaries (I would have money sent to them in advance and then they give me the cash on my arrival) but this has not generally worked because they have auditors who complain that the books get screwed up, not to mention fear of the accusation of money laundering. In fact, when 10 years old my son was refused a UK bank account facility because there would be a regular deposit arriving in his account - reason, money laundering fears (absurd, is it not?). There is no way that I can think of to do this sort of thing without some cost. Western Union is expensive, and I would rather aim to go straight to the local banks on arrival. There I would ask to speak to the most senior person available to explain the situation. In some countries where cards are not easily usable, it is still possible to withdraw cash at banks that have a facility - there will be a charge (in addition to the cash withdrawal premium charged by your card) and you have to decide what you are prepared to accept (depending on how pressing the need). You may be able to persuade them to allow you to send money directly to them by some means, but in fact the various rules, especially those governing foreign currency, are likely to block anything simple.