Currency Update - Canadians:

You post underscores the undesirability of exchanging money in the hotel complex or nearby. They figure you are exchanging there because you are afraid to leave the area. The rate of exchange at the exchange banks on main street of Sosua during the period of your visit was 12.30 for $Cdn, and you very likely could have done better than that at Vimenca.

The one way rate to or from the airport with Tech Taxi is 150 pesos. That is what I paid on November 17 when my visitor from the US arrived. If you paid 400 pesos one way, you must have used a tourist taxi.

Just a note.....

we've found we get the absolute best exchange by taking cash withdrawals with our bank card or credit card. Especially now that they can be used at Dominican ATM's ( when we first started coming down you had to go into the bank and hand over tons of ID). It always works out better than what we could have gotten even at the exchange banks!

So think about doing it this way next time you come.......

Bill-Ont said:

The purpose of my thread is to state facts, and not what I should have done. I care less in this regard. I dont have a clue what tech taxi is, nor do I care. Regarding exchange,I wasnt going to Sosua, so what is the point there.

If this info is of no use, then I wont bother contributing to this board. But - I do believe, someone will benefit.

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Why so touchy, Bill-Ont? Should all Canadian readers of the thread you started take it as gospel that the exchange rate for their money is 10.51, 11 if they are lucky? When it isn't? The fact you chose to change your money within the resort complex or in the same general area at an exchange bank that is competing with those inside the resort is why you got less than you could have. Your post indicates you went into Puerto Plata. Had you changed your Canadian dollars at one of the exchange banks in the city, you would have gotten the same or more that you would have gotten at an exchange bank in Sosua. Canadian visitors need to know that so that they can get the best possible exchange for their money if they choose to do so.

I won't comment on your threat to take your ball and go home if you aren't treated better,

Fellow Canadian but I Agree with Ken

A: Nobody should exchange within a hotel , really an AI hotel which is not a hotel but a resort where of course they are getting whatever money they can out of you since you do not have to buy the basics. "Banks" and cambios 100 yards away are the same thing. You gotta go into town.

B: In any event I would not always count on a decent peso/CDN $ rate ( to be the arithmetic equivalent of the peso/US$/CDN$ rate) since no doubt the cambios then have to exchange CDN for US$ which is what they want to begin with. It could be but maybe not.

So the moral is to take US$ when you go and go to cambios and not mini-banks in AI's nor over the counter in AI's either.

The implicit message was a problem with the general fairness of exchange rates when in fact it was the typical AI story that was the culprit. The Sosua reference was to be illustrative as I am pretty sure at the time Puerto Plata, Boca Chica and the capital would have been closer to the Sosua rate than the AI rate.

I am sure they would like Japanese and Korean business too but they are not likely to start changing yen and won, per the initial point that to get Canada's cusotmers they have to take Canada's dollars.

You are right, ricktoronto, the Canadian dollar seems to be treated like a step sister. Lately, the dollar has been moving up almost daily, the euro weekly, and the Cdn dollar once in a great while.

I don't know how much you lose by changing your dollars into US dollars, but for purposes of illustration, if you were landing in Sosua today, you could get 20.60 from an exchange bank on main street for US dollars and 12.30 for Canadian dollars. If the premium you pay to buy dollars would have made that worthwhile to do so, then you can see what you should do.

PS: I think the absolutely worst place to change money is at the reception desk of your hotel

By what has been written I see the oppertunity to make a few bucks but first changing CDN to US dollars then into pesos. Anyone else see this?

To buy $1 US = $1.63Can
$1US=20.60 pesos
$1Can=12.30 pesos
$1.63Can=20.40 pesos
Doesn't seem like much of a rip-off to me if you change your money at a good exchange bank and not at an AI!
"Course since I don't DO math anymore (retired!!) my figures may be wrong......never was much good at that exchange stuff!! Used to let the accountant do it-he had all the tables...hehehe

Effective Rate of 1.67 = Bring US$ with you

Ken said:

I don't know how much you lose by changing your dollars into US dollars, but for purposes of illustration, if you were landing in Sosua today, you could get 20.60 from an exchange bank on main street for US dollars and 12.30 for Canadian dollars. If the premium you pay to buy dollars would have made that worthwhile to do so, then you can see what you should do.

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20.60US/12.30CDN = $1.67 CDN$ for 1US$. You can buy them cheaper here by far, currently 1.5975 internet banking CDN-->US funds. So you lose nearly 8 cents per US$ :OUCH!

I have a US$ account so I am getting the gain in pesos as if I was living in USA. And I don't lose by buying/seeling US$ for CDN$. Just keep it in US$.

Bringing CDN$ is a bad idea. Not as bad as yen, zlotys, yuan, or turkish lira, though.

It coesn't cost $1.63

MommC said:

To buy $1 US = $1.63Can
$1US=20.60 pesos
$1Can=12.30 pesos
$1.63Can=20.40 pesos
Doesn't seem like much of a rip-off to me if you change your money at a good exchange bank and not at an AI!
"Course since I don't DO math anymore (retired!!) my figures may be wrong......never was much good at that exchange stuff!! Used to let the accountant do it-he had all the tables...hehehe

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More like less than 1.60 so the equivalent rate of 1.67 posted by Ken illustrates, bring US$.

Great......I haven't exchanged any Can for US lately (i too have US$ accounts) and I do bring a small amount of US$ everywhere I go.
Still find I get better rates using my cards without having the "bother" of carrying and exchanging cash!

MommC said:

Still find I get better rates using my cards without having the "bother" of carrying and exchanging cash!

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Very possible that a Canadian gets better rates using a card, even after paying the fees collected by the banks (there was an interesting thread on this not long ago) because of the cost of converting Cdn$ to US$.

But anyone with a card that takes money from a US$ account will lose money by using the card, at least in these times. Not only do they pay a bank fee, but the exchange rate used in the transaction is not what the actual exchange rate is in the DR at that moment.

I used to use a card, then wised up. I established a relationship with an exchange bank and now get pesos by writing checks. I pay no bank fee and I get the most current rate. I'm doing much better than would be possible if I were still using that card.

With the rate going up almost daily,a visitor is better off with dollars or euros, or dollar travelers checks, than he would be getting money with a bank card. Getting an advance on a credit card is even worse since the fees collected are larger.

Guess it depends on what kind of card you have Ken. I agree that if you're travelling with a "regular" Visa of Mastercard it's not worth it! I believe the rates for card transactions in foreign currency are between $3.50-$6.50 Can at the moment so would not be worthwhile for a small withdrawal.
Since we go for a long period of time I'm withdrawing RD20,000 to RD$40,000 per withdrawal and I don't pay more than $2.00 per withdrawal. I get the exchange as per the Canadian banks best rate so for me it works out. Probably wouldn't for the average person tho'. If they're just coming for a one or two week vacation they would be better off with cash or travellers cheques as you suggest.

Good news for those with Cdn$ who are in or coming to Sosua. I noted when walking along the main street a short time ago that the boards outside some of the exchange banks are now showing 12.50, an increase of .20 since yesterday.

The Euro is also up on some boards, jumping from 19.50 yesterday to 20.00 today.

The fact that I said "some" illustrates the need to do a little checking before changing money if you want to get the best rate, even when you are in a town like Sosua. You generally find exchange banks that are located very close together having the same rate since it is easy to compare, but other exchange banks may have different rates. For example, I walked past one exchange bank that was competitive on the US$ but was posting only 12.00 for Cdn$. (Actually, the bank was highest for the US$ since it was offering 20.60 while the others that I passed were offering 20.50.) Closer to the center of town there were two banks offering US$20.50 but Cdn$12.50. Then across a street, but not too far away, was another still at Cdn$12.30.

So no matter what your currency, do a little looking before making the first exchange. And if the exchange bank you decide to use because of convenience, etc., offers less than another in the same town, don't be afraid to ask for the high rate. (But for this ploy to be effective, you have to be ready to walk out the door if you don't get it.)

Easy Calculation Before You Go

Just divide the US$/peso rate by the CDN$ rate and you will get the implied US$/CDN$ rate. So in the latest example it's still 1.64 (20.5/12.5) vs. buying US$ here at 1.59 or so. (*)

@ 1.64, buy US$ in Canada (and at a bank NEVER at the airport, better yet a dealer like Friedberg, who beat the bank rates) , take it with you and buy pesos, unless either the US$ goes down or the peso/CDN$ rate goes up. Better yet, both at once. Which would be if the CDN$ strengthened against the US$.

Still basic supply and demand would suggest there is a greater desire for US$ and parity is unlikely.

(*) (Proof: Buy $1000 US for $1,590 CDN. Buy pesos = $1,000US *20.5 = RD$20500. You have 20,500 pesos.

To buy 20,500 RD$ in CDN = 20,500/12.50 = $1,640CDN.

So you would pay CDN$1,640 for $1000 US of value (e.g. pesos) and
$1,640/1,000 = 1.64)

New Information Re ATM Rate for Cdn$

One of my neighbors is a Canadian who presently visits his condo 4 or 5 times a year for 10-14 days at a time. He has been following this thread, but still prefers to lurk. He sent me this message this morning to report on his experience earlier this month when he used his ATM card to get pesos:

"You may want to post this re exchange rate.

"By using my bank interact card I withdrew in increments of 5000 pesos.And I got a rate of 12.92 from my bank. After subtracting the 3.00 dollars bank fees I ended up with 12 .81. At the time the posted rate (cambio) was 11.8. I could negotiate probably 12.
This was in November the rate may be better now.

"Conclusion bring a minimum emergency cash ."

This supports what MommC said about her experience using an ATM card from her Canadian bank.

Thanks for the heads up Ken......
The thread had almost convinced me that for the first time in 12 yrs I should convert to US before coming down!!
Guess I'll stick to my card!!
Thanks again!