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Bridges Castles and Kings 7/3/2022
Hello! I am getting cautiously optimistic this trip will go forward and not have to be rescheduled. We will have our 17 year old son with us. Anyone else out there on the same tour?
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Hello! I am getting cautiously optimistic this trip will go forward and not have to be rescheduled. We will have our 17 year old son with us. Anyone else out there on the same tour?
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Our family is on this tour with my 9+ year old grandson. There are 3 grandparents and my son and daughter as well so a total of 6 of us. Getting excited to finally travel again and hoping things stay Covid calm. We are all from Connecticut.
Looking forward to meeting you! We are from Florida and will be flying in a day early to try and adjust to the time change as well as see a little more of London.
We too are arriving a day before, looking forward to meeting you
Hello, I have searched the forums, but I am still somewhat unclear on this question. It seems to vary significantly depending on the tour. Is there a recommended amount of pounds/euros we should bring? We plan to use our credit card primarily, but wasn’t sure if we needed any small denominations for anything.
It's always good to have a little local currency currency. However, you're better off using your ATM card once arrive. You'll get a better exchange rate.
The pound is weak against the dollar just now, it’s worth keeping an eye on this especially you plan to exchange a bigger amount.
Be aware if you have any older English currency, the design can change and it becomes no longer legal currency, after a while, you can’t even change it in the banks.
In general, for any European tours you don't need to arrive with any local cash. The transfer driver and hotel porter are already tipped by Tauck so you don't need to give them additional unless you feel very generous. We go to an ATM upon arrival and get about $100 worth of the local money mostly for small purchases like postcards or a cold drink. Everything else is charged. Once you get to Paris you'll need Euros.
The hotel concierge can help you find a nearby ATM. Just make sure it has the network symbols that match one or more of the ones on the back of your debit card. Before leaving home check the foreign transaction fees for any cards you plan to use and notify your bank/credit union of your travel dates.
We rarely take local currency and so far have been lucky and found an ATM. We used to but when we were going to more exotic places, we could not use our own bank but had to order it either there or drive to the nearest designated bank that dealt in foreign currency, but there’s was limited in what they could offer on the spot. they would sometimes say it would take two weeks. One time we ordered and they forgot to order, I arrived the day before we were going away and they did not have it. Sometimes keep in mind hotels are no where near ATM’s depending on your destination.
We always get local currency at airport after we land and clear customs/Immigration. We simply ask the person picking us up where the ATM is in the pick up area. It is a lot cheaper than going to your local bank at home as you get the present exchange value and there are few or no "special charges"
Thanks all for your feedback! I appreciate it. This will only be our second Tauck.. and second international trip so we are still newbies!