Hi I'm going to Vietnam for 2 and half weeks. What is the best thing to do with travel money is it easy to get cash out of a atm?
Or is it very hard tempted to take cash but the amount of cash from GBP means I'll have a crazy amount of notes to carry.
Vietnam travel money?
You should allway have enough cash to cover at least 1 week, credit cards and bank cards get sometimes blocked without any reason (happend to me and in a different time to a friend, we both got later some compensation money, but that is not helping while you are traveling) or disappear in the ATM. The last time i was in Vietnam (3 years ago) money changers had much better rates . But be carefull, in one hotel i returned early in the evening and the reception men was in my room going through my bags (i was lucky).
ATM is popular in Vietnam now so do not worry about that.
When I last visited Vietnam I had US dollars with me. Some things were priced in US dollars along with VN dong. You will need to change some money to dong so you have small denomination currency for cheap things. (Pack of gum, bottle of water, etc.)
When you leave Vietnam don't bring a lot of dong home with you. Not that easy to change in other countries.
Yes, good idea to have more than one source of spending money. Besides debit cards being stolen or lost they can be cracked and useless in an ATM. Cash and debit cards for normal spending. Credit cards are useful for emergencies that might come up. You might get hurt and need a hospital or need to purchase a flight back home for problems there.
I never use debit cards for cheap things in stores, restaurants and bars. I spend cash money on cheap stuff. My belief is that the less I expose my debit cards for frivolous spending the less chance of credit card fraud.
I always notify my bank/credit unions that I will be overseas with their cards and might be making withdrawals from ATMs. I have read that for some other countries the banks don't care to be notified or even have a method in place for such information. I don't want any problems with my credit unions thinking my debit cards were being used fraudulently if withdrawals suddenly start showing up from overseas.
Up to you.
When I lived in Vietnam in 2004/2005 ATMs were absolutely easy to use and never caused me any problems. The same was true during my second visit in 2008. I know that this is (too) long ago, but I don't think the situation will have become worse.
In any case, try to get lots of small denomination currency - taxis, shops, restaurants can often not change bigger notes (anything from 50,000 Dong) or simply don't want to. I found that 20,000 Dong was the most useful note to have.
Karazyal's last point is important, too - some banks might block your cards instantly if they didn't have any idea of where you will be. I also normally tell my bank when I'm in a more exotic country.
As a security measure, many banks block ATM and credit card transactions abroad unless you've told them in advance that you're traveling to a specific country or set of countries. They also have algorithms that check if withdrawals from one place are preceded by withdrawals from another place impossible to travel to in a matter of hours, which will be flagged as potential fraud. Of course, with online shopping and transactions, some sites will be allowed by the banks, yet others won't. Some cards have a two step authentication process which is usually done by sending via SMS a confirmation code to your mobile phone (assuming it's on roaming), which is an extra step in the online transaction. But that doesn't always happen with ATMs.
In Vietnam I usually get the maximum allowed per transaction (something less than USD 200), and surprisingly, if you pay for the big ticket items with your credit card (airline tickets, hotel accommodations, tours, expensive meals and activities, etc.), you will have quite a sum of VND left afterwards. I prefer ATMs because they can issue the bigger bank notes (200,000 and even 500,000 VND), and usually a cleaner than the smaller denomination notes with may be crumpled or dirty if coming from a money changer.
Just watch out for the service fees that come with transacting with a foreign issued ATM or credit card - too many withdrawals and that will end up a hefty sum of money lost to fees which could have been avoided with a single large transaction. Also watch out for the commissions charged by money changers.
Recently returned from 25 days in 'Nam. Took $AU and found money exchanges to convert to VND (Dong). Suggesst get small amount at arrival airport and then locate changer near you - ask accom for nearby changer.
The size of the account in VND is quite daunting at first. I paid over 10 MILLION Dong in cash for several hotel stays. Even a cheap street eatery costs 60,000 Dong - you'll get used to it - LOL
Make sure you get some smaller notes 10, 20, 59 and use those. 200 and 500 for hotels etc.
Great country to visit - enjoy.
Quoting SirGaw
Make sure you get some smaller notes 10, 20, 59 and use those. 200 and 500 for hotels etc.
I assume you mean 10k, 20k, 50k etc.
Yes, sorry. See, I got used to the money there - LOL Getting a bill in a restaurant was like looking at a phone number - LOL
Cheers for the feedback guys was wondering aswell how much you would take yourself for two and half weeks?