Currency Conversion Scandanian Countries

[We-R-Off]

During our Baltic cruise we'll be able to use the Euro only in Amsterdam,Germany & Finland.

 

We've booked a tour in SPB which we can pay in dollars.

 

Where is the best place to convert to Swedish Krona & Danish Krone.

Do they accept Euro?

[Keith1010]

The Euro is the official currency in Amsterdam, Germany, and Finland.

 

In places such as Sweden and Denmark you will want to use local currency. Some places will take Euros though.

 

If you have left over currency and want to convert it you can take it to a money exchange store.

 

Keith

[MeHeartCruising]

During our Baltic cruise we'll be able to use the Euro only in Amsterdam,Germany & Finland.

 

We've booked a tour in SPB which we can pay in dollars.

 

Where is the best place to convert to Swedish Krona & Danish Krone.

Do they accept Euro?

 

Do you NEED to convert? If you have an ATM card, you can use the ATM to get local currency directly from your linked bank account. There is the usual fees associated to an ATM, but the conversion rate is typically better than you will get at conversion companies.

[LondonTowner]

Everywhere accepts CC. We have one that makes no charge on foreign transactions.

[GradUT]

Either use your credit card (large purchases) or your ATM/debit card to get local currency (small purchases). Those are the easiest and best (cost-wise) choices. There are ATMs everywhere.

[hkto]

Strategy depends on amount. For people who spend a lot in foreign currency commission free CC make sense (usual F/X fee is 2.5%). In the US it used to be CapOne (but probably there are others). In Canada at the moment its Amazon Visa. I heard that ATM fees are free in some banks but not in ours so taking small amounts of cash is not cost effective. Banks (ATM) and CC usually convert at interbank+1% rate. The 2.5% F/X fee for most CCs is on top.

Edited February 23, 2016 by hkto

[ljandgb]

Everywhere we went in Copenhagen took credit cards, even the street vendors, with the exception of one hot dog cart. We were there for 3 days.

 

While in port in Stockholm, everywhere took credit cards with the exception of the one street vendor where we bought drinks.

 

I would not worry too much about making sure you have much currency.

[CruiserBruce]

And, as to rates compared to the dollar, just jot down some round numbers. A dollar is XX kroner. YY euros. ZZ krona. You don't need exact rates, just round numbers. We have successfully traveled all over the world using this system. If you are off by a few cents, it won't be of much problem unless you are buying a Volvo or a Saab.

Edited February 24, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[Giantfan13]

During our Baltic cruise we'll be able to use the Euro only in Amsterdam,Germany & Finland.

 

We've booked a tour in SPB which we can pay in dollars.

 

Where is the best place to convert to Swedish Krona & Danish Krone.

Do they accept Euro?

 

As some have said, the best place is a bank or an ATM, provided you have a card that will not charge you extra fees for using said machine.

 

Since you asked where are the best places, well, we asked the same question and we decided to do it before we left. We bank at Chase and they didn't charge us any extra fees for converting money.

Again, as has been said, try and use your Credit Card as much as possible, but we also like to feel we are in a certain country by trying to adopt to their money. We exchanged $50 for each of the two currencies mentioned and what we didn't use, we brought home and exchanged it back for our own currency. We used some of the money at small, local vendors, at a street fare we visited. Most stores we used CC, but the people appreciate it when you are using local currency.

ATM's are the easiest way, but we didn't want to take time from our travels to find one, even if they are all over the place. Like a cop, whenever you really need one, they aren't around.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Edited February 24, 2016 by Giantfan13

[ljandgb]

Interesting you say that about using the local currency. We saw many of the locals using credit cards, even at the street vendors. We had crepes at a tiny cart in Copenhagen that was apparently very popular. We stood in line for maybe 20 minutes and everyone ahead of us used a CC.

 

That said, we have a Korean medicine chest with 50 small drawers. Each drawer has a few coins or bills from our travels. It's fun to look back thru it.

 

So yes, some local money is good, but I honestly wouldn't say you need much, IMHO.

[Giantfan13]

Interesting you say that about using the local currency. We saw many of the locals using credit cards, even at the street vendors. We had crepes at a tiny cart in Copenhagen that was apparently very popular. We stood in line for maybe 20 minutes and everyone ahead of us used a CC.

 

That said, we have a Korean medicine chest with 50 small drawers. Each drawer has a few coins or bills from our travels. It's fun to look back thru it.

 

So yes, some local money is good, but I honestly wouldn't say you need much, IMHO.

 

 

Maybe it's just us. We are 'old' and really 'old school'. For us, to use the local currency while in that country just helped the experience a lot. When we did use the currency, we found the locals seemed to appreciate it. At least that's the way it seemed to us.

 

Cheers

 

Len