Need Pesos on Mexican Riviera cruise?

[Wagonmaster]

Taking a cruise down the Mexican Riviera in January. Should I get pesos in advance to buy things on shore or will they take US dollars?

[Rosefloater]

Taking a cruise down the Mexican Riviera in January. Should I get pesos in advance to buy things on shore or will they take US dollars?

 

I have never had a problem using dollars anywhere in the tourist areas. The exchange rate is anywhere from 10:1 to 12:1 (pesos:dollars)

[MSN-Travelers]

US paper money is welcome, not US coins. It is best to bring smaller US currency: 1's, 5's & 10's. Vendors will give you Pesos in change.

 

If you do find that perfect goodie, you will always get the best deal with a cash transaction (USD's or Pesos). ATM's are plentiful and will spit out pesos at a very good exchange rate.

 

Enjoy!

[riffatsea]

IF you are buying something from a nice shop you can use your credit card. You can get pesos easily from a cambio on shore(money exchange place). They will have rates posted and usually come out pretty close to the interbank rate you'd get from an ATM because your ATM bank will usually charge a fee to exchange money.

[Gunner22aa]

You won't need them. In fact the merchants would rather take US dollars. Just bring small bills, nothing over a 20 and preferably smaller. Was in Esenada three weeks ago and visited a dozen places between stores and restaurants and all of the prices were in dollars. Have found the same in all Mexican ports that we have visited as well as Cancun and Playa del Carma as well.

[Hlitner]

You won't need them. In fact the merchants would rather take US dollars. Just bring small bills, nothing over a 20 and preferably smaller. Was in Esenada three weeks ago and visited a dozen places between stores and restaurants and all of the prices were in dollars. Have found the same in all Mexican ports that we have visited as well as Cancun and Playa del Carma as well.

 

Interesting observation. We live in Puerto Vallarta about 2 months a year (for many years) so I guess we can always learn new things. But our experience is that although US Dollars are widely accepted, a majority of merchants and restaurants will give "less then ideal" exchange rates. We have even seen some restaurants and shops giving the old 10:1 rate when the official exchange rate was over 13:1. So if you do not mind paying a 20-30% premium then you are right that merchants would prefer US dollars. Who would not want to make a nice profit on the exchange rate? :)

 

There are some exceptions to the exchange rate issue in PV. The Cheeky Monkey and Sea Monkey still sell beer (Corona and Pacifico) for $1..no matter what the exchange rate. And Walmart does give a very good exchange rate (they post it on a large board in the store).

 

Using a credit card is a good option...especially if you have a card that does not charge any foreign exchange fees (such as the CapitalOne MC).

 

Hank

Edited December 20, 2013 by Hlitner

[Laurie S.]

Same in San Carlos, they'll take dollars, but you'll do better with pesos.

[downsized]

Taking a cruise down the Mexican Riviera in January. Should I get pesos in advance to buy things on shore or will they take US dollars?

 

We've only been on one cruise to the Mexican Riviera (5 years ago). I bought Pesos before we left, and took a bath! Our bank not only gave us a horrible exchange rate, they actually charged us a fee, as well!

We now travel to Cabo twice a year for ten days, or so, at a time. Although we now buy Pesos either through a local Cabo bank, or through a Cambio, you can get by with $US quite well. It may cost you a bit extra, but in all of our trips, we have never been quoted 10:1 except in Yalapa (which has no roads and everything is brought in by boat.)

Small US bills will work okay. If you make a big purchase, use your credit card, but be aware that most CC's charge you 3-3.5% "foreign transaction fee". If you pay a vendor in US, you might receive Pesos in change, but with small bills, you should not have to worry too much about that.

If you decide to buy Pesos once there, go to a bank, or a Cambio, but make sure you have your Passport with you, otherwise, they will not be able to sell you Pesos for your US dollars.

[Hlitner]

Buying Pesos in a bank is no longer a simple process because of a recent Mexican law aimed at preventing money laundering by the cartels. Technically you need your Passport to exchange money at a bank (not an issue at most cambios). The easiest way to get Pesos (and probably the cheapest) is to simply use an ATM. We have spent over a year living (cumulative time) in PV and have yet to exchange any money....since we rely totally on ATMs and fee-free credit cards for all of our needs.

 

Hank

[Wagonmaster]

Thank you all for posting your comment. Very helpful!

Merry Christmas

[Marigold252]

Have you ever compared an English menu with a Spanish one in a restaurant? Usually the Spanish one in pesos is cheaper for the same meal than the English one in dollars.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[ronrythm]

Hi Hank,

Would you know if there is a Santander ATM close to the port? I will be in PV on January 1 and would like to get some pesos. Santander has an agreement with my bank for no fees but I don't read Spanish (or speak it for that matter) so I can't find locations on their web site.

Thanks for all your help.

Ron

Edited December 21, 2013 by ronrythm
spelling

[riffatsea]

Here is a description that I found on the cruise port insider web site:

Santander Serfin: At the Plaza Genovese, south of the Marina; and on Ave. Mexico, at the south river bridge, in Old Town Vallarta. People with Bank of America accounts aren't charged a fee when using a Santander ATM.

 

You can also just use a cambio(money exchange).

They will have rates posted and will be close to the bank rate.

[Hlitner]

Hi Hank,

Would you know if there is a Santander ATM close to the port? I will be in PV on January 1 and would like to get some pesos. Santander has an agreement with my bank for no fees but I don't read Spanish (or speak it for that matter) so I can't find locations on their web site.

Thanks for all your help.

Ron

 

Just reacting the previous post...in that the Plaza Genovese ATM would be about 1 mile from the cruise port (hardly worth the hassle). And in all fairness we should have mentioned a little more about ATM fees in PV (and Mexico). Up until the past couple of years the fees assessed by the ATM (be it a bank or privately owned) where relatively cheap (usually about $2). But in the past 2 years there have been some banking changes in Mexico and the ATM fees have increased. When you use an ATM in Mexico the screen will display the associated fees (this would not include anything charged by your own bank) before you finish your transaction...and if the fees look too high you can simply cancel. Whether you would do better just changing money at a Cambio (these are privately operated kiosks or small offices that exchange currency) depends on the rate/fees charged by the cambio (and it varies from place to place).

 

So what is a cruiser to do? If you want Pesos it probably makes sense to get enough at your first Mexican port. Even if you lose a few dollars getting Pesos, you will likely do fine since you will save some money each time you use Pesos vs dollars. If you are not planning on spending much money, you can simply use US dollars. Whatever you do, we are not talking about a lot of money unless you are planning on major expenditures. For those of us who live in Mexico it is a different situation since we spend thousands of dollars per year. Since the local ATM fees are generally "per transaction" and not based on the amount withdrawn, the fees are not a big deal when we pull out 6000+ Pesos (about $500) at a time. For a cruiser who is planning on only spending a few dollars I guess one could make a good argument to just use dollars. But if you plan on using dollars we would advise that you get a lot of small bills (on the ship) so you do not have to deal with getting tons of change in Pesos. And by the way, if you are in a restaurant or shop and want to pay in dollars, it does not hurt to ask if they can give you change in dollars (maybe yes...maybe no).

 

You are going to lose some money (on the exchange rate and fees) no matter what you do...so you just have to evaluate the situation and do what is best for your own spending habits.

[Ine]

All said by the others.

Just a reminder, the $ sign is usualy used for Pesos. If the price is for US$ it will say so.

[downsized]

Buying Pesos in a bank is no longer a simple process because of a recent Mexican law aimed at preventing money laundering by the cartels. Technically you need your Passport to exchange money at a bank (not an issue at most cambios). The easiest way to get Pesos (and probably the cheapest) is to simply use an ATM. We have spent over a year living (cumulative time) in PV and have yet to exchange any money....since we rely totally on ATMs and fee-free credit cards for all of our needs.

 

Hank

 

Yes, even at a Cambio (at least in Cabo) you have to present a Passport, and then there is a limit of $1500US per month, but that is only for each Cambio.

We were in Cabo in November, and had no problem buying Pesos at a Cambio, or a bank, but we did have to have our Passport. As for ATM's, our bank, and our CC, charges us a "Foreign Exchange Fee", which quite often offsets any loss we might occur in a lower exchange rate when buying Pesos with US cash.

We traveled as a family of ten to Cabo, so I simply sent my grandkids to the Cambio with cash (and their Passports) to avoid the $1500 limit.

[Hlitner]

Yes, even at a Cambio (at least in Cabo) you have to present a Passport, and then there is a limit of $1500US per month, but that is only for each Cambio.

We were in Cabo in November, and had no problem buying Pesos at a Cambio, or a bank, but we did have to have our Passport. As for ATM's, our bank, and our CC, charges us a "Foreign Exchange Fee", which quite often offsets any loss we might occur in a lower exchange rate when buying Pesos with US cash.

We traveled as a family of ten to Cabo, so I simply sent my grandkids to the Cambio with cash (and their Passports) to avoid the $1500 limit.

 

You are soooo right about fees. Since we travel an awful lot (usually out of the country about 6 months a year) we are really anal when it comes to bank fees for accessing own money. Several years ago we moved our accounts to an excellent Credit Union which not only does not charge fees, but actually rebates fees charged by other institutions where we use our Debit Card. We have also obtained 2 Credit Cards (a MC and a Visa) that have zero foreign exchange fees. Consumers do have a choice...and we have never understood why some folks will stick with banks that charge them a fee for darn near everything.

 

Hank

[riffatsea]

I did not know that you need your passport to exchange money at a cambio. Thanks for that info!

I agree about finding banks that offer cards withOUT foreign exchange fees. IF you travel a lot it is important .

IF you travel out of the country less frequently you might just consider the fee to be part of the cost of your vacation. Depending on how much money you use/spend it may not really add up to very much.

We now have one Visa that doesn't charge any fees and a special Wells Fargo account that allows 2 ATM withdrawals free per month anywhere in the world.

I am sure there are other possibilities around if you do some searches in your local area.

[downsized]

Another thing that travelers often overlook is that quite often when dining at a restaurant, they will provide you with the bill that is in both US$ and $Pesos.

We always carry both, but look carefully at the bill...as the bill is often quoted

in that day's exchange rate. If I bought my Pesos at a bank or Cambio, and only received 12.5 to the dollar, and the restaurant is quoting 13.8, then although it might not be much difference, I pay in dollars!

My rule of thumb is to pay in the currency quoted. If they first quote in dollars, pay in dollars. When they figure the exchange rate, it will almost certainly favor them, not you. That is not meant to be disparaging, it is a simple fact of commerce.

[mexico8]

Have you ever compared an English menu with a Spanish one in a restaurant? Usually the Spanish one in pesos is cheaper for the same meal than the English one in dollars.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

It is usually best to pay with the currency of the country you are in. Imagine trying to pay in pesos in New York City. I bet the exchange would not be great. Also, keep in mind that currency rates fluctuate day-to-day at banks so the menu is based on the currency of a different date. Simply a courtesy for travellers who don't pay in pesos.

[downsized]

It is usually best to pay with the currency of the country you are in. Imagine trying to pay in pesos in New York City. I bet the exchange would not be great. Also, keep in mind that currency rates fluctuate day-to-day at banks so the menu is based on the currency of a different date. Simply a courtesy for travellers who don't pay in pesos.

 

See my answer, above. We are not in NYC (thank God). Pay in Pesos, if you wish, but do the math. I'm not cheap, and I almost without failure tip, but if I were in NYC and the waiter said "you can pay us $45, or $52.80"....I would not have to think about it, too long.