Pesos or US Dollars

[luvocean9]

Our cruise is gong to Acapulco, Ixtapa, and Manzanillo early December. I am wondering if it is better to have pesos or dollars, or both. It seems that having some pesos would be easier, but do merchants prefer dollars? I understand of course that exchange rates can vary, but I would not hold on to the pesos for very long.

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages to both when doing tourist business in these cities?

[lougee1043]

in all of the cruise ports you can use dollars --or in stores your credit card- they will make change if you usually use dollars in pesos

[Treven]

Ditto, you can generally speaking always use US dollars. Keep in mind however that your change will be in pesos.

 

While it isn't exact, I always figure the exchange rate to be 10-1.

[Splinter]

Be sure to take lots of small bills so you don't get loaded up with peso change. I generally take $100 in one-dollar bills (get them at the bank before you leave) and another $200 in 5s and 10s. This works for small purchases as well as tips.

[traveler/]

We did the route you are talking about in 2005 on Carnival Spirit and this is what we found:

Cab drivers and merchants seemed to prefer pesos to dollars. Some places quoted both prices, but the exchange rate quoted would usually be less than the rate you could get from a bank.We exchanged for pesos on arrival and saved quite a bit along the way. 7-10% I think. We found it helped us with "bartering" too. It also helps if you can speak the language, or at least a few phrases.

If you don't spend much, it might not be worth it.

If you exchange dollars for pesos at a Mexico bank for example, as long as the exchange rate is over 10.00 per USD you can come out ahead if you offer to pay in pesos and it is accepted. For example, if a cab ride is quoted at 20.00 USD, and you offer 200 pesos, you are ahead by the rate. at a rate of 11.00, you would have 220 pesos, and have 20 left over (nearly 2.00 USD). If you are spending a lot it would be worthwhile. However, if the rate is closer to 10.00 pesos for 1.00 USD, not much advantage.

Be careful about using an ATM in Mexico. 1 passenger on our trip had the machine take his card. Spent a lot of time getting it back.

Check the rate before you go.

[lougee1043]

here is a link to a cheat sheet- which you can print out and carry with you regarding exchange rates

 

http://www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet