Changing money abroad

[~Wingnut~]

Hi!

We are going to Portugal in a few weeks, our first family holiday (mine and hubbys first holiday since our honeymoon 9 yrs ago!) so we are kind of new to this travelling lark.
We have changed some money to euros already but have been told by a couple of people to take sterling with us and change it when we are out there as it will be a better deal? Is this the best thing for us to do?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but like I said this is all relativley new to us.

Many thanx xx

[amonty1144]

There are plenty of places in Portugal to buy currency but it is usually more expensive to use hotels, andnever use anyone who approaches you in the street and ask if you want money, you usually get ripped off. There are plenty of banks and bureau du change so just shop around for the best rates. If you can get a safe deposit box in your hotel or apartment and keep your documents and money safe.

I've never feel it's a better deal changing money abroad , if you want you can use some debit cards in atms but check with your bank about what fees they charge, I think Nationwide are the best, also check if it is cheaper to use credit cards, cos this is usually a safer option than lots of cash.
Hope you enjoy your holiday

[~Wingnut~]

Hi Amonty!
Thank you for your reply , very helpful :o)

[wired]

We used a card, highly reccommended by several tourism sites, which you get from the post office.You can buy it on line, it's a cash card which you use a pin number for and you decide how many euros you buy.Sorry not explaining it well but we found it works well! Have a good trip.

[~Wingnut~]

Hi wired!

Thanx for your reply! I know exactly what your talking about so you did explain it well :o)

[sddsddean]

If you go to the Nationwide and open a Flexaccount, you get a debit card with this that does not charge commission fees or withdrawal fees on ATM's. So you can get money out of the 'hole in the wall' at the 'correct' exchange rate, fee free. This is what we do on hols.