What currency do I take ?????

[Tac123]

:confused: As a Brit visiting Taiwan (3 stops ) China ( 1 stop ) Vietnam (3 stops ) do I need seperate currency for all these stops or will US dollars suffice ? any advice welcome. Thanks.

[paul929207]

In Vietnam, US$ are widely accepted. Bring small denomination bills so you have exact amount.

 

We used local currency in Taiwan & China, but we were in both places for several days and a week respectively.

[j2ink]

I don't know about Vietnam, but I believe you need local currency in Taiwan, and especially China. If you do happen to find any tourist places that will accept US dollars, you can be sure that you are paying too much. I don't believe any non-tourist related business would consider accepting US dollars in Taiwan or China. And none of the taxis will accept US dollars, with the possible exception of the taxis at the port that can be rented for the day. (And I not sure even they would accept US dollars.)

[vaitape]

Am curious.....do most of you order your currency before you leave home, purchase it onboard, or are there ATMs handy portside? We are going to 7 different countries in Asia beginning late Feb and we are perplexed at what the easiest, most cost efficient way is to obtain each country's currency. A fellow pax says they order theirs from their bank before leaving home but if possible, I would prefer not to travel with a lot of cash.

[paul929207]

First check to see that you will need the local currency. In many ports, US$ are widely accepted.

 

If we need the local currency, we use ATM's to et it.

[gerton]

I will need four different currencies on my next trip. I always get about 100 Aussie dollars worth of each before leaving just in case we have no immediate access to an ATM and then get the rest out as I need it. I do not like to carry a lot of cash.

[chipmaster]

:confused: As a Brit visiting Taiwan (3 stops ) China ( 1 stop ) Vietnam (3 stops ) do I need seperate currency for all these stops or will US dollars suffice ? any advice welcome. Thanks.

 

Taiwan and China is local currency, an ATM is a wise choice. The good thing is in those two places things are advance enough that anything that requires a lot of $ will almost surely take the big 3 credit cards and also nice unlike Europe the little odds and ends you might want to buy; snacks and souveniors are very reasonably priced!

[j2ink]

As I recall there was no problem with Taiwan ATMs accepting our US ATM cards, but in Beijing, there were very few ATMs that accepted US ATM cards. I don't know if more of them accept Western European cards.

 

In any event, if you need local currency for a taxi as soon as you step off the ship, you may need local currency before you can get to an ATM. The ship's exchange rates usually are very unfavorable, and there are not always ATMs in the passenger terminals. (However, in Taiwan, a large bank set up a tent next to the ship and offered very good exchange rates. It was also there when I returned so I could exchange the local currency I didn't use. However, I didn't know that ahead of time.) Because of that, I usually take at lest a small amount of local currency with me for each country. However, you may find that some of the currencies of the smaller countries are not available at your bank.

[janina]

We just went to asia on princess in October. You will need local currency in China and Taiwan. We did not bring any currency in advance, and had no problems with atms. In Vietnam they take us currency, bring lots of dollars. To help figure out prices, since I love to shop, I brought little pocket size exchange sheets that I printed off the internet at a currency exchange site. This gave me a good ideal of what the items cost in us currency.

[Tac123]

:) Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated.

[vaitape]

Yes, thanks for your help everyone!