Do you need Canadian dollars to use in Vancouver

[stuNYC]

I was amazed to see that the CD is almost at equal to the USD about .95USD/CD. (CD worth about 5% less than US dollar) I thought CD was much lower. I am rt from Vancouver. Did anyone need CD, for example for taxi ride from airport. If so how much did you bring and where did you get them.

[Fblack]

Nearly everyone in Vancouver takes US dollars.

[Cruise Junky]

It's always nice if you can pay in the currency of the country you are visiting. Not everyone takes US happily. I was in a store the other day and the clerk absolutely refused US. Use an ATM and get a couple of bucks. If you use US$ and it's accepted, you'll be paying 5% more for everything as it will be taken at Par.

[Susan-M]

Our dollar has increased in value in the past few months, from ~ $1.18 to $1.05 Cdn/U.S. just since spring. It's been great for Canadian travellers purchasing in U.S. $, but not the bargain that U.S. travellers to Canada have been used to (and unfortunately it's having a negative effect on our tourism industry.)

 

We live 10 miles from the border in Ontario and I think that all tourism related businesses accept U.S. dollars, but because of the values being so close, on an on-par basis.

[Susan-M]

Use an ATM and get a couple of bucks.

 

When converting U.S. to Canadian, you would probably be lucky to get $1.03 Cdn right now (TD is showing $1.0264). On a $100. withdrawal from an ATM, you will end up pretty much equal, or even behind if ATM fees are $3.00.

 

I agree that is a good idea to carry some currency of the country that you are visiting, but in this case it won't save you much money, if any.

[TennesseeTeachers]

Just came back 2 weeks ago and most places take US$. I went to my local bank and ordered some Canadian Currency (took about 3 days) for local vendors, cabs, ect. I was able to use my Visa elsewhere.

 

I did it just to show respect for the country I was traveling in. When in rome ...

 

Darrell Duncan

[englishlee]

I always find this type of question a little strange. When I go to a foreign country, for however short a time, I expect to have to use their currency (unless it was illegal or impossible to take it into their country). After all if I went to a store in St Louis, or Denver or even San Francisco or LA would I expect them to take Sterling or Euro's? - I don't think so.

 

I know that Canadian businesses near the border, and even some further away take US Dollars because US visitors expect them to, but why should a cab driver? What would he do with them, he'd have to take them to a bank to change them to be of any use to him (or her). Can you imagine what a NY cab driver's reaction would be if he or she were offered Euro's or Yen. I can imagine the response and it's not one that should be repeated in mixed company, and New York is a much bigger tourist destination than Vancouver.

 

I must admit that I find it even more confusing when I find some posters asking if Dollars would be taken in Spain or Italy or the UK. Sure some tourist orientated shops will (at a price) and some limo drivers might (at a bigger price). But why would the smaller stores, or the day to day cab drivers that cater to the local market.

 

This is not meant to be a disparaging post to the OP in particular or to US visitors in general, I just find it difficult to understand the mindset.

[TeaBag]

Most taxis accept Visa here.

[paws10]

I just returned from Vancouver and where places didn't accept credit cards (eg Chinatown), I paid in US dollars for an even exchange. Some places gave change and some did not.

 

FYI, Canada has rescinded the refund of the GST tax. Used to be if you purchased $50 or more, you could get a refund.....not any more.

 

I found prices to be very high in Canada. Compared prices from Banana Republic in Vancouver to Bay Area prices. Same pair of capris in USA was $68 and was $90 in Canada (non sale item). Another dress I saw on sale in the US was $49.99 was $149.99 in Canada. Made it a no brainer not to shop in Canada! Why pay more plus the tax?

[Susan-M]

I know that Canadian businesses near the border, and even some further away take US Dollars because US visitors expect them to, but why should a cab driver? What would he do with them, he'd have to take them to a bank to change them to be of any use to him (or her).

 

It's not just a matter of expecting U.S. $ from our visitors from the South (and not all come without Cdn $) but often merchants and those in the service industry here are happy to receive U.S. $. Usually they can charge an exchange rate that makes it worth their while to head to the bank to exchange it to Cdn. funds. We want to maintain good relations with our neighbours and if that means taking U.S. $ ...we seem to be quite happy to do so. It's a little more inconvenient now with the dollars so close, but it never seems to last long and predictions are that the Cdn. dollar will be headed south again shortly.

[nchank]

I saw person ahead of me in a check out stand pay for an item in US $$s but received her change in Can$$s.

[muffin]

Yes, they received change in Canadian coins as it is impossible to keep the American coins received by a store seperate. It is indeed a definite "Americanism" that finds folks from the USA thinking everyone will welcome their money around the world. Many do, because they are happy to get the business, but it is disrespectful, and almost always results in paying more for an item. Funny , if you do get some Canadian money to deal with local charges, and have a bit left over on a trip to Alaska, say, would you expect the vendors in Ketchican to take the Canadian dollars? If not, why not? The answer to that question will reflect your true opinion of other countries.

 

Okay, rant ( Canadian style) over!

[Ephraim]

Most Canadians will accept USD bills, at par and sometimes now sometimes with a discount. Coin are always accepted as par (coins under 25c are the same size.) And you will always receive change in CAD for both coins and bills. American bills and change are as useful to Canadians in Canada as Canadian currency is, in the US.

 

Frankly, USD is a major inconvenience for Canadians. We don't use it in our daily lives. And we don't want to hold on to it because it's going down faster than John McCain's presidential campaign.

 

Also, you will find that everyone will check all your USD bills for counterfeit and no one will take any bill over a USD $20.

 

If you can, use credit cards or debit cards to pay if you don't have Canadian currency.

[dam1050]

I was amazed to see that the CD is almost at equal to the USD about .95USD/CD. (CD worth about 5% less than US dollar) I thought CD was much lower. I am rt from Vancouver. Did anyone need CD, for example for taxi ride from airport. If so how much did you bring and where did you get them.

 

Stu- Not all places will accept US funds, nor certain denominations of funds...mainly to protect against counterfeit currency, of which there has been a lot passed off here over the years.

 

You are certainly always best dealing with the currency of the country which you are visiting, or charging to your credit cards and having your banks convert to your own funds when your invoice appears.

 

There are many currency exchange shops around town, at YVR, or any financial institutions.

 

If you do decide to use USD $, I wouldn't expect to receive much or any exchange back at this time, and you will receive any of your change in CDN $ of course.

 

Dave

[Ephraim]

I just returned from Vancouver and where places didn't accept credit cards (eg Chinatown), I paid in US dollars for an even exchange. Some places gave change and some did not.

 

FYI, Canada has rescinded the refund of the GST tax. Used to be if you purchased $50 or more, you could get a refund.....not any more.

 

I found prices to be very high in Canada. Compared prices from Banana Republic in Vancouver to Bay Area prices. Same pair of capris in USA was $68 and was $90 in Canada (non sale item). Another dress I saw on sale in the US was $49.99 was $149.99 in Canada. Made it a no brainer not to shop in Canada! Why pay more plus the tax?

 

The government rescinded the GST refund when the GST was reduced from 7% to 6%. (They promised that it would go down to 5% but still haven't kept that promise.)

 

Some prices in Canada are cheaper than the US and some are more expensive. Doing a comparison at an American chain is useless. They often ship goods from US to Canada and essentially have paid import duty and shipping on the items twice. (Which might explain why so few of them are successful in Canada, they just don't adapt).

 

You will always find that shaving foam, alcohol and linens are cheaper in the US. You will find that many pharmaceuticals are much cheaper in Canada, so is toothpaste, razor blades and many electronics and computers. (You can get small tubes of toothpaste on sale here for 39c a tube).

[cruiseyguy]

I've never been to a country that preferred Canadian currency over US currency. I've rarely encountered a US store or business that would take Canadian currency. Most don't even recognize it. So few Americans travel to Canada anymore that this is only an issue for cruise pax, who can use an ATM if required.

[Cruise Junky]

I've never been to a country that preferred Canadian currency over US currency.

 

It's called C A N A D A.

[Cruise Junky]

So few Americans travel to Canada anymore that this is only an issue for cruise pax, who can use an ATM if required.

 

So few Americans could even point out Canada on a map.

[KevinNYC]

I've never been to a country that preferred Canadian currency over US currency. I've rarely encountered a US store or business that would take Canadian currency. Most don't even recognize it. So few Americans travel to Canada anymore that this is only an issue for cruise pax, who can use an ATM if required.

 

I'd be interested to know how you draw those conclusions. Millions of Americans visit Canada every year and I would venture a guess that the vast majority of them are not cruise passengers. And I would have to suspect you've never been to Canada, then, as that is certainly a country where Canadian currency is preferred over U.S. currency.

 

Call me crazy, but I, for one, would never presume to travel to another sovereign nation and expect them to accept my nation's currency. To me, it makes no sense and smacks of arrogance/ignorance. At the very least, it does a great disservice to those of us who travel quite frequently outside the U.S., yet undeservedly get lumped into the unfair stereotype of the Ugly American tourist......

 

-Kevin

[KevinNYC]

So few Americans could even point out Canada on a map.

 

And that, Cruise Junky, does a huge disservice to our friends to the north if we were to paint all Canadians with as broad a brush as you seem to use. I'm glad most of us on both sides of our vast border don't. Just sort of puts you in the same category as the previous poster, now, doesn't it? Life is so short -- I have to feel nothing but sadness for you and the previous poster if that's how you feel.

 

In the meantime, happy cruising (or at least try to do so). I, for one, will happily continue to do so, which includes meeting new and interesting friends from Canada, the U.S., Europe and other areas of this small planet........:)

 

-Kevin

[Cruise Junky]

And that, Cruise Junky, does a huge disservice to our friends to the north if we were to paint all Canadians with as broad a brush as you seem to use. I'm glad most of us on both sides of our vast border don't. Just sort of puts you in the same category as the previous poster, now, doesn't it? Life is so short -- I have to feel nothing but sadness for you and the previous poster if that's how you feel.

 

In the meantime, happy cruising (or at least try to do so). I, for one, will happily continue to do so, which includes meeting new and interesting friends from Canada, the U.S., Europe and other areas of this small planet........:)

 

-Kevin

 

 

Oh don't feel sad for me, it's sadly true. We have TV shows that poke fun at the poor US all the time on this. They interview the average joe on the street and they have absolutely no knowledge of anything Canadian, let alone where it is. They think we live in Igloos. That's what you should be sad about. Ever watch Are you Smarter than a fifth grader? Loved the question "Which Country Borders the US to the NORTH?" poor lady lost a couple of $100,000 when she answered Mexico. I admit I was angry when I posted that, but it's not that much of a stretch.

[Schplinky]

Getting back to the original question, if I were the OP, I would not bother to get my money changed. The difference in our currency is only 5% at current exhcange rates and you can likely use your credit card for almost anything except, perhaps, something from a street vendor. Cabs, hotels, almost any restaurant or store you will visit will take credit cards or US cash. The only caveat I would offer is that most cards charge a 3% fee on foreign exchange so that would boost your exchange costs but it's still fairly nominal for the small amount you will need. In terms of pcoket change, it's true that most stores here won't give US change for US money but that's really just because we use US and Canadian coins as thought they were the same thing, whereas it is difficult to use a Canadian coin in the states. This is likely because the US ones have always been worth more but it's still an unenjoyable experience to have a U.S. clerk throw a Canadian coin back at me and tell me "that's not money."

 

If you are traveling with friends, don't worry about splitting the bill in the restaurant with cash. Most restaurants here will issue a separate bill for each party at the table (except for large groups). We always find this hard to arrange stateside but it's very common here and waiters will not see this as extra work.

 

I'm unsure where the person who said "so few Americans travel to Canada anymore" got his information because we've crossed by land and air recently and the airports and border crossings seem as busy as ever. We've actually noticed flights being fuller. To be sure, the Bush dollar has made travel more expensive and I'm sure tour operators have noticed some down-tick but given that most US carriers are campaigning the Canadian version of the FAA for more flights, I don't think his statement is representative of fact.

 

It is true that Canadian prices are higher than Us prices. Canadian retailers have been gouging the public for months now, since our dollar has broken away from the US one. They continue to charge prices as though they were paying a 40% exchanges rate even though they are only paying %5 more for their goods. The Banana Republic example voiced earlier is a prime example. I think they presume that we don't know the improved rate. Many economic analysts predict parity with the U.S. dollar by the New Year and hopefully more Canadians will show outrage at this gouging.

[KevinNYC]

Aaaaand I rest my case..........and I hope all your future cruises will be with people who think just like you, for your maximum enjoyment. People from Canada, in my travels, have always been so friendly and fun. I'm glad your attitude is certainly the exception, not the rule. (And I'm still sad for you, I can't help it, I'm just that sort of guy. :D )

 

To get back to the OP's question -- yes, do get some currency from the country you're visiting. There are ATMs in every airport and about every five blocks in most cities. Enjoy Vancouver -- it's lovely city with warm, friendly people. Well, minus one........:p

 

-Kevin;)

[Cruise Junky]

Well, minus one........:p

 

-Kevin;)

 

Heh!! He caught me in a bad mood ;) really, I am nice and friendly :)

[KevinNYC]

See???? I knew it was in there somewhere, grumpy-britches!

 

Happy cruising, my friend! And congrats and good luck with the Olympics in 2010!! :D

 

-Kevin