Currency Question

[djdc]

Our cruise stops in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. Should we be trying to collect each of these currencies before we leave for our trip, obtain them in each country or purchase American dollars to bring? Thank you for any advice!

[John Bull]

Card payments are less widely-accepted in all except Singapore, so you will be buying mainly in cash.

Much depends on how many days you'll be in each country, and whether you plan to DIY, or take ship's tours (charged to your on-board a/c) or pre-booked tours thro a consolidator (eg Viator, usually pre-paid by card) or pre-booked direct with a local tour operator (their terms will probably be pre-paid or payable on-the-day in local cash). 

You're best to expect to pay in local cash for incidentals.

 

Cheapest is likely to be drawing cash from ATMs in port using your bank debit card, especially if it's one with no foreign exchange fees.

If you have to use a credit card in ATMs, be aware that the high interest is charged from the moment the cash is drawn. So don't wait til payment day to clear your credit card balance, do it as soon as you can

But best to have some local cash before you arrive, and perhaps as much cash as you expect to spend  if you're only in the country for one day - finding an ATM might use up valuable time, and there's always the fear of a glitch

 

Take some cash as a reserve - USD is the best for using in exchange bureaux. And for if you pay vendors in foreign currency (but where there's a choice, for best value always choose local currency) 

 

One CAD is currently worth over eighteen thousand VND. So if you exchange as little as 60 CAD you'll be a millionaire for a day 😀. 

But, more seriously, you need to be very careful about the number of noughts on the bills when using them - it's easy to accidentally hand over ten, or a hundred, or a thousand or more times as much as the price.

And don't buy VND too soon, the currency is subject to rampant inflation.

Saigon main post office (opposite the Sacre Coeur, and an architectural attraction in its own right) has excellent exchange facilities and an equally-excellent tourist information bureau.

 

If yours isn't the ship's last cruise of its SE Asia season, you can use odd left-over currency to supplement the crew's tips.

 

If your preference isn't usually for taking ship's tours, don't let the complications of currencies tempt you to take the easy way out.

It's not as difficult as I've made it sound. The complications are more-than-balanced by ships' excursion prices, and you lose the local feeling if you're following a guide's paddle or umbrella. 

 

JB 🙂

 

[edinburgher]

14 hours ago, djdc said:

or purchase American dollars to bring? Thank you for any advice!

And it is quite important to have notes in as good a condition as possible, eg, no tears or defaced with scribbles. The newer the better.

[Milhouse]

Wanted to share a bit from our experiences during land trips to these destinations but keep in mind cruise logistics might be very different (eg where you may get access to a reputable ATM or forex exchange).  And your decision will depend on your preference for convenience versus getting the best rate/limiting fees.  

 

For Indonesia, we've only been to Bali.  We struggled to take cash out of multiple ATM's at different locations (at the airport and a few places in town) and using different bank cards (TD, CIBC, and a Vancity credit union).  Note we only notified our primary banks about our travels.  In the end, we just used a currency exchange place to swap some CAD we fortunately brought with us.  If you do use a currency exchange, use caution due to some of the scams that occur.  

 

For Vietnam, we've had mixed luck depending on the ATM.  If you look at the back of your bank card, it will likely show symbols of the interbank ATM networks that the card is a part of (eg. Plus, Cirrus, etc).  Then when you look at the ATM, it will likely show you similar symbols of what interbank ATM networks they are a part of.  Basically you need to ensure your bank card is on the same interbank network as the ATM which we didn't clue in on initially.  Also note that some ATM's charge a fee ($2-5CAD equivalent) on their end.  Have to look up which ones don't.

 

For Thailand, we usually use a major currency exchange like Supperrich.  We never had problems using ATM's in Thailand but pretty much all of them typically charge a fee of ~$5CAD equivalent on their end.  

 

In Singapore, we just used an ATM but also note that some also charge a fee on their end.  Have to look up which ones don't.

 

Also remember that most bank cards from the big 5 Canadian banks may/likely charge a $2-5 fee on their end for withdrawing cash outside of their own branch network and may charge a 2.5-3.5% fee on top of the interbank currency exchange rate (which is basically similar to the 2.5% forex fee on most Canadian credit cards).  The charges are typically buried in their fee schedule docs.  Some higher end accounts and non-big banks waive or reduce certain fees.  

[djdc]

Thank you John, Edinburgher and Millhouse! We will definitely try to gather these currencies shortly before we go, and have some cash to exchange if unable to find all.