Currency?

AlanS

How have previous travelers on this tour handled local currency? It appears we have at least 3: Czech Republic = Koruna; Germany, Austria, and Slovakia = Euro, and Hungary = forint.

We typically get our foreign currency at an airport ATM upon arrival. I suppose there will be ATMs at most of stops on land and along the Danube. We'll use plastic whenever we can and only resort to cash when absolutely needed.

British

We just returned from Warsaw, Budapest Vienna and Prague and all the different currencies were a pain. We had four currencies to deal with, one for just a matter of hours in Bratislava, Slovakia. You do need local currency quite a bit, especially in small stores and in the markets. They are just funny about credit cards for small amounts too. If you want something like an ice cream or coffee you need cash here. Also, I know ours was the land tour, but our tour guide was telling us which money we needed to tip the different drivers in because the tips for drivers were not included. We were all made to feel that if we did not tip in the preferred currency, it was not appreciated. So having decided to give all tips in dollars and already put money aside for that before we left for our tour and not banking on drivers swapping here and there, we had to get local currency which was annoying.

wildcat03

Took the Blue Danube last year. Euros was the only currency I got and that was through ATMS. Many places in Prague took Euros. Credit card all other places. Just make sure the merchant charges you in the local currency and does not convert to USD. Many places in Budapest take Euros. Do the exchage rate on your phone. First and foremost, enjoy the trip, which is wonderful.

CalKat

We got Euros + a small amount of Hungarian and Czech currencies from ATMs in each location, but mostly used our credit card as you do. We spent the most in Vienna, Durnstein, and Passau. Bought lots of paprika at the market in Budapest and almost nothing in the Czech Republic.

BKMD

British wrote:

We just returned from Warsaw, Budapest Vienna and Prague and all the different currencies were a pain. We had four currencies to deal with, one for just a matter of hours in Bratislava, Slovakia.

I was on this trip over the summer. I keep some money in Euros, from trip to trip, so I had that available (and that IS the currency used in Bratislava, and Vienna). I try to use credit cards wherever possible (even a taxi in Warsaw), but I'm not much of a shopper. This worked everywhere, except Prague, where I did change some money. Don't forget that you can divest yourself of currencies you'll never need again as part of your tour director's tip, as he'll likely be returning to those countries a few weeks later (you might want to ask first though.)

AshvEd

We always have a reasonable amount of Euros due to frequency of travel to the region. On this trip we bought small amounts of other currencies for incidentals in each country. We had extra days in Prague and Budapest and when we checked out of the hotels we used local currency first and then our credit card for the balance. There are always a few coins and bills remaining to share with our grandchildren as souvenirs.

AlanS

BKMD wrote:

Don't forget that you can divest yourself of currencies you'll never need again as part of your tour director's tip, as he'll likely be returning to those countries a few weeks later (you might want to ask first though.)

Remember, however on this and most other Tauck river cruise tours:

"All customary gratuities for the hotel and ship staff, local guides, drivers, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise Director are included."

BKMD

Alan - Good to know, if I ever do a riverboat cruise. I responded to this post as I was on the land-based tour of these areas.