Denmark Local Currency

[Keith1010]

We have an upcoming cruise from Copenhagen and we will be spending three days there as part of our pre-cruise. I am figuring out whether or not we can get away without exchanging US dollars for local currency.

 

As background, we booked the hotel through the cruise line so our transportation is taken care of from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the cruise ship and tipping at the hotel is handled by the cruise line. We also have breakfast included.

 

We do plan to walk wherever we go so do not think we will be taking a taxi.

 

So our expenses will be mainly for lunch and dinner and admission to Tivoli Gardens and whatever else we visit that might have an addmission fee.

 

So, my question to those of you who have spent a few days in Copenhagen were you basically able to charge everything or did you find that you still needed some local currency?

 

Keith

[Globaliser]

If you're there for a few days, you'll find yourself very limited if you have no local currency at all. But you're right in thinking that you probably won't need very much. Why not draw about $100 worth of an ATM when you get there? There'll be little things like drinks and postcards that you might have difficulty putting on a credit card.

[Ine]

Yes, you absolutely need Danish Kroner.

Not all restaurants ( local smaller ones) take creditcards and certainly no US$, the same for smaller shops, public transport etc.

As ATM's are plenty, no problem getting them.

[gooselace]

Yes, you absolutely need Danish Kroner.

Not all restaurants ( local smaller ones) take creditcards and certainly no US$, the same for smaller shops, public transport etc.

As ATM's are plenty, no problem getting them.

 

Will we need Kroners for the taxi to the airport and to tip hotel porter(s)?

I had understood that the taxis took credit cards and that USDs would be okay at the Radisson SAS Royal.

 

Do you know if there's an ATM in the luggage arrival area at the airport?

[Ine]

No problem with ATM, check this website for info about ATM at Cph airport: http://www.cph.dk/CPH/UK/MAIN/Search.htm?query=ATM

 

Major cabcompanys will take creditcard and a hotel like Radisson SAS also.

But the "little shops around the corner" and the smaller local restaurant may have a problem with that.

[jstducky]

will any places be willing to take Euros rather than DKK?

[Globaliser]

The usual rule is likely to apply. Any place that offers to take a foreign currency is likely to see it as a profit centre: ie the exchange rate will be absolutely terrible. This may not matter, though, for small purchases.

 

But given the degree of euroscepticism in Denmark, such places may be few and far between. Certainly, in the almost-equally eurosceptic UK, you'd have a hard time trying to find a place that will take Euros (or other foreign money like US dollars, for that matter).

[Guest LetMeGo]

Certainly, in the almost-equally eurosceptic UK, you'd have a hard time trying to find a place that will take Euros (or other foreign money like US dollars, for that matter).

 

Unless of course you would want to go to one of the "souvenir shops" in Oxford Street... :D I seem to remember most of them having prices in €'s and $'s as well.

[Globaliser]

In which case, revert to point number 1: profit centre. :D

 

Mind you, my personal view is that anyone who buys anything from shops like that deserves to be ripped off far more than they actually are.

[Guest LetMeGo]

Mind you, my personal view is that anyone who buys anything from shops like that deserves to be ripped off far more than they actually are.

 

I actually bought a "... went to London and all I got was this lousy..." t-shirt a few years ago from there. :o

 

But at least I bought it with the £'s I got at the Heathrow tube station! :D

(I wonder what rates they use to give people change. :confused: )

[Keith1010]

Thank you very much for the responses to my post. We will plan to get some local currency for our stay in Copenhagen. Thanks again.

 

Keith

[MTemple212]

Keith, you can get by for the most part just using your credit card. After we checked in at the Marriott($95 thru priceline) there was an ATM machine in the lobby and we got 200kr out of it and it lasted us for the two days for such things as a danish,water,soda, which by the way is very expensive in Denmark. Denmark and Norway were by far the most expensive places that we visited. We used a CC to get into Tivoli, eat,etc..We used the last of what we had left in Kroner to take a boat tour.

 

For the person that asked about taxi's taking credit card, yes I believe all of them do. That is how we paid to get to our hotel, to the cruise ship and from the cruise ship to the airport.

[teacherman]

We just returned from Denmark. There are money exchanges at luggage area in airport, but they charged a flat rate of 30 Kroner, so for a $100 worth I think you are better off to use an ATM, if your bank does not charge too much. Also, we were on HAL Amsterdam, and to exchange money on the ship, they were charging a 15% commission on each exchange, and giving a poor exchange rate (in my opinion). We used credit cards for taxi, retaurants, etc. and used the kroners for smaller purchases. The only place I had "trouble" was in Stockholm, as I could find no ATM close to our pier, so we ended up wasting a lot of time, and energy, walking until we found one.

[dakrewser]

We just returned from Denmark. There are money exchanges at luggage area in airport, but they charged a flat rate of 30 Kroner, so for a $100 worth I think you are better off to use an ATM, if your bank does not charge too much. Also, we were on HAL Amsterdam, and to exchange money on the ship, they were charging a 15% commission on each exchange, and giving a poor exchange rate (in my opinion). We used credit cards for taxi, retaurants, etc. and used the kroners for smaller purchases. The only place I had "trouble" was in Stockholm, as I could find no ATM close to our pier, so we ended up wasting a lot of time, and energy, walking until we found one.

 

When we were in Stockholm on the Prinsendam, docking at Stadtsgaden, we took the Hop-on Hop-off boat (buy tix with credit card) right from the dock into Old Town (at the Royal Palace) and easily found an ATM in the shopping areas behind the palace...

[JodiBB]

will any places be willing to take Euros rather than DKK?

You will be more easily be able to conduct transactions in DKK moreso than Euros, but that's not to say that more touristy areas may take Euros. You can purchase DKK via ATMs quite easily.

 

We pre-purchased all our currency prior to leaving for the Baltics. It made it extremely easy to get around and purchase things in the smaller shops and pastry shops.