first trip abroad (europe)

Tefal

Tefal

Tefal

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Joined
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so in November i'm tagging along with a friend on their little week jaunt through europe.

doing Rotterdam >Amsterdam>Brussels>Luxembourg>London.

tickets etc are all sorted so are hotels, but whats the best to do for money?

get a load of euros now or wait, or is there a way of using card abroad without fees as i don't really like carrying lots of cash.

also things to pack, not a huge amount of room/lugage one backpack its only a week though any tips/esentials?

oh yeah and what to do for phone? guessing set it to wifi only is best?
 
Get a card with no fees. I would recommend the Halifax Clarity Card as that is what I use. Was away for two weeks recently probably saved my self around £50 by using the card vs buying the currency in advance.
 
Ekim said:
Get a card with no fees. I would recommend the Halifax Clarity Card as that is what I use. Was away for two weeks recently probably saved my self around £50 by using the card vs buying the currency in advance.
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How much will I be charged for withdrawing cash abroad?

You will not be charged a fee by us for withdrawing cash from an ATM (cashpoint) anywhere in the world. Some ATM providers charge a fee, but this should be made clear to you at the time of withdrawal and is unfortunately outside of our control. You will still be charged interest from the date that the withdrawal is made, but unlike some credit cards which charge a higher rate of cash, you will be charged the same competitive rate as if you had made a purchase.
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so if i withdrew cash then used my internet banking to pay it off straight away ratehr thanw aiting til lim back home would i get hit as bad?
 
Tefal said:
so in November i'm tagging along with a friend on their little week jaunt through europe.

doing Rotterdam >Amsterdam>Brussels>Luxembourg>London.

tickets etc are all sorted so are hotels, but whats the best to do for money?

get a load of euros now or wait, or is there a way of using card abroad without fees as i don't really like carrying lots of cash.

also things to pack, not a huge amount of room/lugage one backpack its only a week though any tips/esentials?

oh yeah and what to do for phone? guessing set it to wifi only is best?
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Take whatever you can fit and if its not enough then wash some things halfway through the trip
 
Tefal said:
so if i withdrew cash then used my internet banking to pay it off straight away ratehr thanw aiting til lim back home would i get hit as bad?
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The amount of interest charged is so tiny it isn't worth the effort of paying it off straight away.
 
[TW]Fox;28644902 said:
The amount of interest charged is so tiny it isn't worth the effort of paying it off straight away.
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yeah i had a look you're right.


applied for the card, accepted should be here in a few days :)
 
Chris Wilson said:
This has really caught on in recent weeks ;)
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:confused:

oh any ideas for the phone, im with EE (well tmobile now ee).

looking at the roaming data plans they're still obscenely prices, so best just flight modeing it?

oh yeah and my friedn would like to know if theres a decent sim they can use for thier phone while theyre here/in europe (theyre from malaysia)
 
Personally, unless you're going abroad a lot just take some money with you, then use your debit card to take more out later in the week. You'll get charged what, £5?
 
just turn off your data and data roaming - it'll still allow you to phone and text.

You're going for a week - pack the same as if you were going anywhere else; You're not going to anywhere 3rd world, so if you forget anything you can always just buy it out there, or wash it out there, etc.
 
I did a similar thing last week.

Brussels, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Cologne and Luxembourg.

Go to Utrecht, easily the nicest place out of those in the Netherlands. Rotterdam is very modern, Amsterdam is full of scum and Utrecht is simply beautiful with a lot less tourism than the other places. Its only 40km from Amsterdam so easy if you're hiring a car.

Make sure you go to Delirium in Brussels if you're going out too, was brilliant and everyone I met was extremely friendly.
 
caxtonfx card is quite favorable with there exchange rates and as a pre-paid card will work well for you..
 
Tefal said:
oh any ideas for the phone, im with EE (well tmobile now ee).
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Text EUROPASS to 150, you get unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 500Mb of data for £4/day (the first 100Mb is full speed, the rest is throttled).
 
I have an account with MetroBank that I use when travelling within europe, free transactions within the EEC at the best exchange rate posted by mastercard for the day.
 
You could also get a debit card that has interest free visa rate cash withdrawals such as the Nationwide FlexPlus (£10/month but also includes travel insurance, mpbile phone insurance and breakdown cover. Also 3% interest on up to £2500 balance means it costs ~£5/month)
 
Already been said in the thread.

Halifax Clarity and Three cover most European countries - may be worth you looking at a PAYG sim from Three.
 
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