Planning a trip abroad is considerably more difficult than planning a domestic journey. When you travel overseas, you must have an up-to-date passport, any applicable visas for countries on your itinerary, and money.
Currency exchange is available abroad, but you may find that exchanging dollars to foreign currency before you leave to be in your best interest. One thing expert travelers advise is; do not exchange money in the airport. Airport money changers give poor exchange rates and add commissions and other charges that can easily be avoided by using in-city services.
Be Prepared Before You Travel
Whether you are just going across the border to Canada or Mexico or heading for Europe or Asia; go prepared. Traveling out of the country is often quite stressful. You need to pack the correct clothing for your destination, and when you get there, you may have language problems to deal with. There is nothing you can do about the language barrier, but you most certainly can deal with packing correctly and exchanging money.
Experts also advise against using a credit card when you arrive in a foreign country. Using an ATM for cash advances invariably comes with steep fees. Some card issuers charge additional fees for foreign network use.
When you get money before you leave, you can avoid these problems. In many cases, local foreign exchange services have common currencies available. If they do not, or if your requirements exhaust their available cash, they can get what you need very quickly.
Dealing with various foreign currencies can be tricky. In a rush to do everything that must be done, changing money can be difficult. When you change your US dollars before you leave on your trip, you can avoid any confusion, get the best possible exchange rate and, you will have one less thing to be concerned with.
Currency exchange is something you want to deal with before you leave home. For the best services, visit any office of West Suburban Currency Exchanges. For a list of locations, visit www.wsce.com/foreign-currency/
