I've been wondering if it is practical to exchange my money on the airport or just on a money changer when I reach the country of my destination. I tried the latter, it was not such a bad thing after all. I was guided by my friend, who happened to be my tour guide and told me the best place where to have a good value of my money. She said, I might not get the best value if I exchange my money at the airport. Good thing she was there!
This is true, the airport is a rip-off. Exchange it in money changers in the country that you will land on. That's way better.
Airports are horrific for exchange rates and I would always advise against it unless you're doing small amounts. I always do it in my home country before I go away.
I would always do my currency exchange at the airport. Not only do they usually offer reasonable exchange rates, you are also guaranteed that the money you get there is not fake. I think elsewhere would be very risky. In case I do run out of money after I changed in the airport, I would do it at the hotel front desk.
The rates at airport are pretty bad, they always take advantage of people who arrive there and don't realize that they should have changed money before. Then again in situation like that, who cares about losing a few dollars/euros/whatever? The best solution is to change it at your local bank. They should give you a good rate, however if you are planning on changing a lot of money then you might have to let them know a day or two in advance. What I often do is I go without cash and then get money from a local atm. You pay a small fee for your own bank but quite frankly this is the easiest and most hassle free way to do it.
I usually exchange a small amount at the airport and just use that to get around until I find an outside exchanger. I think nowadays, since all information you'd need is pretty much online, you can be a lot more confident in scurrying around looking for a money changer with decent exchange rates. Back then it would have been more daunting, but nowadays I think it's a lot more practical to do so since like I said you could already possibly get all the information in your smartphone including maps and comparisons and various other details, so unless you really don't care that much for the difference, I'd say it's worth browsing around for a better deal.
It really depends. If you're going to travel internationally, it's worth looking ahead at your specific destination to find tips of where exactly to exchange. When I went to London, I was told in advance that the airport has an ATM in it that will charge a single small fee for a cash withdrawal and it was a lot cheaper than going to any of the local exchange places, both inside and outside the airport. It saved me a fair bit of money!
I would watch out where you exchange your money. Always try to avoid exchanging it at the airport. Believe me, you will end u losing so much money! It is not worth it. Try to exchange it before your trips. In Europe it is best to exchange your money at a Western Union. In USA or Canada you would have to go to a currency exchange office. Usually, you can find them in the mall or big shopping centers.
From my experience, I will usually exchange with my bank, or with the exchange agency. It is wise to ask your bank what currency they could offer you, but also check with a few Exchange agencies to see if maybe they can offer a better price. One thing is for sure, do never exchange money in the airport. I'm not sure if there's anywhere in the world where the airport is cheaper, but definitely not the places I travel too.
This is not to smear the money changer in the airport. But I have to be honest that you only exchange money in the airport when you badly need it. When we went to Vietnam last year, my husband had tested the money changer in the local airport (Philippines) and then he exchanged money in Vietnam's airport - it was very expensive here like we lost about 10% of the amount. We are frequent travelers and I always get local currency from my credit card. That is the most practical and cheapest as per my computation.
Money exchangers are found in malls, too. There's always one near a supermarket where people would frequent. My dad's friend came home from the US and visited him. He gave a $200 assistance for my dad's medication. It's already big money for us and we were able to exchange it at the nearest mart.
