Currency Question

Currency

US $'s are the king and accepted almost everywhere, use smaller denominations as many times you will receive change in peso's.
Only exchange $'s to peso's if it is absolutely necessary. Cambio's are the best place followed by banks and then resorts.

verbyl.belch said:

Hi

My girlfriend and I are heading out to the DR on the 14th for 2 weeks. What currency should we take out with us to the DR? Are USD more accepted over the DR peso or can we take ??

Cheers

VB

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you can change anything in DR, the most common are dollar, pound, and euro. take cash, take a credit card just in case, and don't change all your money at the same time as currency rate changes daily. try not to change in resort unless you have no other choice. also try to get into the city and shop there as everything will be MUCH cheaper. the resorts will allow you to pay in dollars or pounds, but will always cost you more. good luck and enjoy your vacation.

You will get a slightly better exchange rate for USD vs ? Sterling.
If you get a poor USD rate in the UK for ? Sterling then it is not worth it.

As the OP suggested, you will always get a fair rate using your bank card, it's just that the ATM's are not always working so bring a small amount of cash for back up. Have a great trip.

i too am a big fan of bank cards. i've always received good rates.

I check this quite regularly, if you change £ to US$ in UK using M & S or Travelex Online (which give some of the best rates) and then change US$ to pesos in DR you get almost the same as changing £ to pesos in DR directly. You just need to shop around a bit for a good £ rate in DR.

Furthermore any left-over US$ has to be changed back to £ which is a total deal breaker, while you just bring back unused £ to UK (that rarely happens though... !).

If you have an ATM debit card that doesn't charge (or charge very little) fees for international withdrawals (like Nationwide) then you get the best pesos (or any currency) rate for £.

verbyl.belch said:

Hi

Firstly thanks for all the replies.

I'm trying to open a Nationwide account at the moment to take advantage of the free cash withdrawals overseas. We are going to be staying in/around Bayahibe - are there a lot of cash machines around? Can i pay with a card at the resort?

VB

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yes, there are cash machines.
yes, you can use your card to pay in the resort, but why would you want to? unless you are getting added purks such as miles or cash back rewards, don't think it will be worth it. you are better off taking your cash out (enough to pay your expenses) and avoiding swipping your card over and over again - hence reducing risk of getting unwanted charges. not that it's written in stone that it will happen, but you never know. besides you can always get better prices if you use cash. just my humble opinion. have a great trip!