Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Money exchange offices.
I like to bring a hundred-dollar bill in case of an emergency, but
other than that I don't recommend bringing any cash from home. You'll need to exchange
your cash for the local currency, and you'll get hit with commissions and poor exchange rates.
The only time I'd use an exchange office is if I have a lot of extra local currency at the end of
my trip and I want US dollars, or if I'm visiting another country that doesn't use the Euro.
You'll find money exchange offices in any major airport, train station, and scattered
throughout cities. The offices in airports and train stations give the worst exchange rates so it's
better to use the exchange offices in the city (do avoid tourist areas). Always count the money
before you leave the exchange office—even legitimate exchange offices might “forget” to give
you the correct amount.
And please, never change your money on the street. A “helpful” local that offers to do it for
you is always a scam. They'll use sleight of hand and confusion to replace large bills with small
denomination bills or they'll just give you a terrible exchange rate.
Travel Documents
Get yourself a passport.
A passport is required to visit Europe—no exceptions. Don't put off
applying for your passport to the last minute because it takes four to six weeks for the gov-
ernment to process the application (the times are longest right before summer). The applica-
tion fee is $135. You also have to supply your own passport photos, which costs about $10 at
Walgreen's, CVS, Wal-Mart, etc. You can save that cash by printing your own passport photos.
Visit
epassportphoto.com
, upload your own photos, and they'll email you a sheet of photos
that you can print yourself at Walgreens (or wherever) for $0.15. This is what I do.
If your trip abroad is less than six weeks away, you can pay an additional fee of $60 to ex-
pedite the process. This will bring the processing time down to about two to three weeks. You
also have to pay for overnight shipping both ways—which costs $20 each way.
Are you leaving in less than two weeks? Shame on you for not planning—but all hope is not
lost. You can apply in person at a US Passport Agency and you'll get your shiny new passport
