currencies used in baltic countries

[sumguy1]

Will go on a baltic cruise next summer and would like to go on our own (not with cruise excursions). I was told that I would need each country's currency to use for taxis and such. Did anyone go on his/her own? What did you do with currencies? Thanks

[JodiBB]

We just went to the Baltics this past summer and did every country on our own with the exception of St. Petersburg, which we used Red October. Before we went on the trip, we got about $50 worth of currencies from each country through AAA. We couldn't get monies for St. Petersburg or Tallinn. St. Petersburg, we really needed the exchange, as many places, such as the museums, only took local currencies for postcards and the like.

 

If you are a member of B of A, they have access to Rubles and Tallinn's money as well. AAA didn't, but in Tallinn, exchanging money was easy and accessible.

 

At the end of each country, we kept the leftover currencies and rather than exchanging them back, we used the currencies for part of the gratuities as the crew would be able to make due with the currencies much more than we could! About $50 per country worked perfectly for us!!

[mycruz]

Most everyone accepted Euro's or US dollars when dealing with street vendors. I used my check card in the stores that I purchased items in. Found it was really not neccessary to have the countries currency even in Tallin. One big tip, make sure you have some Euro's for the toilets, that was the only place that would not take US money, credit cards or debit cards. We were on the Star and there was an exchange machine on board, it was very easy to use. St. Petersburg Red October stores accepted, Euro, Rubles, US dollars and most credit cards except for American Express.

[Andee]

In St. Petersburg, we used Red October, and our guide paid for anything when rubles were required. We settled up with her at the end of the two days.

 

For evey other port, we stopped at an ATM in the morning to get what we call, "walking around money". We used our debit card as often as possible, as that gave us the best exchange rate, and no additional fees.

[mike35]

We were on a Baltic cruise in August of this year. The Scandinavian countries all accepted US Dollars. A few shops in Tallinn refused to take dollars, but they took credit cards. We had a wonderful private guide in St. Petersburg, who paid for everything in rubles, and we reimbursed her in dollars. She asked that the bills be as new as possible, as the Russian banks insisted that they not be creased, folded, or have any holes in them whatsoever (remember "do not fold, spindle, or mutilate"?).

 

Mike

[sumguy1]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Where the dollar is accepted, do you get a 'reasonable' value for the dollar? Of course it wont be the bank rate, but should be close to normal at least, or do they just throw numbers in the air to get the sale done?

[mike35]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Where the dollar is accepted, do you get a 'reasonable' value for the dollar? Of course it wont be the bank rate, but should be close to normal at least, or do they just throw numbers in the air to get the sale done?

 

We found the vendors to stick close to the official exchange rate; of course, everything is "negotiable";)

 

Mike

[JodiBB]

Most everyone accepted Euro's or US dollars when dealing with street vendors. I used my check card in the stores that I purchased items in. Found it was really not neccessary to have the countries currency even in Tallin. One big tip, make sure you have some Euro's for the toilets, that was the only place that would not take US money, credit cards or debit cards. We were on the Star and there was an exchange machine on board, it was very easy to use. St. Petersburg Red October stores accepted, Euro, Rubles, US dollars and most credit cards except for American Express.

 

We had SUCH a different experience when we went to the Baltics this past summer!! First, the only country that widely accepted Euros was Helsinki, as that's their official currency. In Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, you could find stores that would accept Euros as well, but they were more the "touristy" stores...go into a back canal street pastry shop in Copenhagen and they wanted their Krones.

 

In St. Petersburg, if we wanted to purchase postcards in a church, only Rubles were accepted...nothing else. Our guide didn't offer to pay for them, but fortunately, our friends had gotten Rubles before we left, so they were more than happy to help us out and we paid them back when we got back on the ship.

 

We pre-purchased about $50 worth of the different currencies, which made it easy to use restrooms, purchase food at eateries and the like. With the exception of Copenhagen, which we could've used about 10 Krone more, $50 USD worth of currencies were more than sufficient.

 

I agree if you wait to purchase items in the RO, then you could use your Euros, USD and the like, but we found that some of their prices were high and we found better deals at the local port shop for items that we were looking for.

[sumguy1]

Jodibb

Did the $50 worth of currency include museum admissions and trasportation (taxi or bus)? I think it is good idea to buy some currency before leaving, and sure thing convenience costs; whether buying from touristic stores, or even at the ship (in my opinion). Thanks

[JodiBB]

Jodibb

Did the $50 worth of currency include museum admissions and trasportation (taxi or bus)? I think it is good idea to buy some currency before leaving, and sure thing convenience costs; whether buying from touristic stores, or even at the ship (in my opinion). Thanks

 

Actually, prior to leaving for Europe, we had bought City Passes for Oslo, Stockholm and London, which included admission for most attractions (at least what we wanted to see!) and transportation throughout the cities, which would include trams, trains, busses and sometimes ferries. We never needed to take taxis in any of the cities. So the $50 was really just for food and incidentals (restrooms, etc.). The exception was London, as we were there for 3 days prior to the cruise, so we brought $150 USD worth of British Pounds for food and the like. But the London Pass was good for 3 days and we bought a 3-day travel card (both in advance) which gave us access to the Tube, trains, and busses unlimited during those 3 days.

 

In Copenhagen, we took a walking tour instead of going with the bus tours. We found the walking tours through http://www.copenhagenwalks.com and it cost about $12 pp, which is why we could've used another 10-20 Krone, as you cannot pre-book this walking tour...oh well...live and learn...no big deal.

 

Hope that helps!!!

[Alessandro]

Well, better to used to official currency, Germany and Finland use Euro (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will later), Sweden vote no and

use their own currency, Denmark also got their own currency.