Silly travel question

[travelqs]

I’ve only ever been abroad once when I was a child and have managed to save enough to take
my family and I to the Canary Islands this year.

I am quite embarrassed to say that I have no idea how to travel with money

do I take euros in cash, or use a prepaid travel money card? Do shops and restaurants in Gran Canaria widely take these prepaid cards? Will I be charged loads?! Do I need a mix of cash and card? HELP!

You don’t need to make this complicated. We use our normal cards, and would take circa €100 for anything where cards aren’t accepted (taxi if there are no Ubers in that resort for example). We go away multiple times a year and have never used prepaid cards, got a special bank account or changed loads of money.

Which is fine if you already have an account where you aren't charged extra or are happy to waste tens of pounds on unnecessary fees and a poor exchange rate every time you go away.

Are you self catering or all inclusive?

We go all inclusive and take maybe €100 cash - order from Tesco or somewhere - and then have a Halifax Clarity card as back up.

Check you bank before using you card as many charge overseas fees.

Have a lovely time.

I definitely don’t have tens to waste!

We are going all inclusive but do plan to do some eating out too.

thank you, I’m so excited!

Rbs do a travel acc. within your current account. Very easy, you just convert it on your app.
Maybe other banks do this as well.
I found it great.

When are you going and how much have you spent? What’s the star rating of this hotel?

I have a Monzo account just for going on holiday, send over a bit of money as and when I need it, added the card to my Google wallet on My phone which is useful. There's no fees to use and the notifications from the app show you in euros and in £s so you can see how much you have spent

Beware !

If you use your mobile phone abroad, you may get a huge bill

1 For phone calls & texts
2 For using data/the Internet (roaming data)

Suggest ask your mobile provider before you travel what the best thing to do is..

You may need to pay extra or buy an ESIM

Secondly, you could only use the data/lnternet where there is FREE WiFi fi

Beware of abroad charges for interest & .mobile phones & ipads etc

What does any of this have to do with my question?

If you can't use your mobiles abroad for the same cost you can get cheap e-sims which are valid for a set period and cost as little as a tenner for a week

ps I hope you have a fab holiday 😎

I’m in Gran Canaria now and everywhere takes card, even the taxis.

You need to tell your bank that you are going abroad.
Otherwise your bank card may get "stopped" by the bank as they may think that it is being used fraudulently

@travelqs not a silly question at all. I would take a mixture of card and cash.

I use Monzo but start by checking your own bank card as some already offer a good deal on foreign currency.

I agree check money saving expert for currency.

Just use your cards as you do at home. Take some Euros for tips, trolley at the airport etc.

I've never told my bank I was travelling and never had a card stopped,even when used in multiple countries in 24 hours.

Excellent! Hope you are having a lovely time

Thank you very much - it’s overdue!

Definitely get a local sim/esim. Then set it up as a hotspot and use for other phones/kids devices when no free WiFi!

Because op…. With AI is it pretty crucial to go at least 4 star.

Got the passports all sorted?

Has you husband ever been abroad?

anyone got any mobility requirements?

How is this helpful?

Sweet Jesus

if the op said she’d booked a 2 star AI I would be suggesting that she budget enough for buying food in supermarkets and eating out more than if she was to say 5 star deluxe

see?