Sydney Travel Forum

Hello everybody!

I hope you can help me.

I'm going to Australia next week coming from England. As it happens I have got around 500 Euro in cash lying around in my drawer and I'm wondering what is the smartest option
-to take the money with me to australia and change it into AU Dollars in Sydney
-to change it at my bank here in London
-to just put it into my bank account and withdraw the money from the cash machine in Australia.

Considering the Pound is quite weak at the moment and the Euro stronger and Exchange Rates what would do? I don't know how the AU Dollar is in relation to that currancies as well.

Propably doesn't make a big difference for that amount and will take the rest of the money just out of the cash machine overther out of convenience, but I'm curious.

Thanks

Usually the best rate comes from an ATM. Just need to check with your bank about any fees. Happy Travels!

The Australian Dollar is very low against the Euro at the present time. Your 500 Euro will almost double. The GBP has decreased against the Australian dollar in recent times as well. Now I'm no banker or financier but I think you would be best to change it from Euro directly to Australian Dollars and probably through your bank account and the Aussie ATM's.

If you change the Euros into Sterling and then change the Sterling into Aussie dollars you will be loosing twice on the exchange. Best to bring the Euro with you and change them there once.

For convenience's sake, just take the Euros with you, in a safe place (not wallet) on your body, such as a money belt. Change them when you arrive in Sydney. Saving peace of mind is sometimes better than saving a few Euros or dollars, and worrying about where to find an ATM machine when you've just flown a long distance and might feel jet-lagged or dis-oriented. Good luck!

When I travel I keep options. ATM is by far the best - I have a regular ATM card, and a VISA credit card. Sometimes for whatever reason the ATM does not want to work - I fall back on the VISA. I *always*, however, bring around 300 US dollars just in case I have issues with the cards I can exchange them. If going to Europe I'll probably bring aroung 400 since the exchange is not as well. It's only a way to have an extra option as a failsafe. Normally I bring my all US currency back, but once I did have to exchange $100 USD in a hotel because the ATM did not work.

As Repleo correctly stated, you lose money with every transaction. And if you change the Euros into AU$, do it in Australia. The rate would even be better in Oz than changing it in a country with Euro currency.

I"m a big fan of bringing your money with you, and getting the best exchange rate when you see at one of the Australian Banks. I also ended up using my visa everywhere I went, it was easy and convenient, and it just took the daily exchange rate.

Thanks to everybody for your advice. Your comments were very helpful!