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Currency Exchange

DBFDBF
in Scandinavia
For those of you who have been to Scandinavia this spring/summer, what did you find to be the most expedient means of payment and money exchange? We were planning to use credit cards, predominantly, but talk of excessive costs of food, laundry and incidentals are causing us to rethink this option because of the foreign transaction fees on the credit cards.

Did anyone take travelers' checks? US dollars? Can anyone suggest how much "pocket change" per day to allow in SEK, DKK or NOK so that we don't end up with excess currency from any one country?

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    SusanGasparikSusanGasparik
    Okay, here's the scoop. I stopped with traveler's checks years ago because sometimes they are impossible to cash. Nobody wants these! I changed money at Arlanda Airport in Sweden because we had no time to do so in Frankfurt after our NY flight landed there (Tauck booked us on Lufthansa). I also changed money in Copenhagen at the Marriott Hotel, but in hindsight I should have done so in the Central Train Station since it was so close to the hotel. Lastly, I changed money at the Forex near the Oslo Hotel Continental. We used a combination of kroner and credit cards for purchasing souvenirs and extra entrance fees. If you like to sightsee a lot, invest in the Stockholm and Bergen cards. This worked out great; saved money, particularly since we took the extra nights in those cities (pre and post). There's not enough time in Copenhagen and Oslo to make buying these city cards worthwhile. Don't use the hotel laundry service; wash clothes in the bathroom sink. Food is very expensive in Norway, so heed the warning. But that didn't stop us eating at the Bryggen places that we wanted. You can go in McDonalds and get reasonably priced sodas. As for liquor, buy your wine in the duty free (we used JFK). Also, you can stock up on the duty free on the overnight ferry; everyone did so prior to arriving in Norway. Saved a lot of money there. By the way, the extra foreign transaction fees on the credit cards were not bad. We brought $1,100 in dollars with us and about 125 Euro. We came home with $100 and all the Euro since we didn't have to use it. Remember, to save some for the tour director's tip at the end. The drivers received kroners from us. We had one driver that was with us for Sweden and Denmark. The other two were in Norway. Everything worked out well for us...no complaints. I didn't even have to use the ATM and get money that way.
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    DBFDBF
    Thanks, Susan. Places to exchange are especially helpful. I had read that train stations frequently had the best exchange rate, so I'm glad to know the station is close to the hotel in Copenhagen.
    Everyone seems to have glowing reports about their experience in Scandinavia with Tauck. We are looking forward to our mid-August departure.
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    SusanGasparikSusanGasparik
    I am still on a high from that trip...fabulous! You will enjoy the pace from start to finish. Hope you took the pre and post nights so you can see more. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Toftaholm was particularly wonderful!
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