Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Castle (
&
01/679-27-77;
fax 01/679-
3261; www.revenue.ie), or write The
Collector of Customs and Excise, The
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Zealand Customs,
50 Anzac Ave.,
P.O. Box 29, Auckland, NZ (
&
09/
359-66-55;
www.customs.govt.nz).
And citizens of Ireland should contact
The Revenue Commissioner,
Dublin
4 Money
NORWEGIAN KRONER
The
Norwegian currency is the
krone
(plural:
kroner
), written as “NOK.”
There are 100
øre
in 1 krone. Bank
notes are issued in denominations of
50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 kroner.
Coins are issued in denominations of
50 øre, 1 krone, and 5, 10, and 20
kroner.
ATMS
Plus, Cirrus, and other net-
works connecting automated teller
machines operate throughout Nor-
way. If your credit card has a PIN
(personal identification number), you
can probably use your card at Norwe-
gian ATMs to withdraw money as a
cash advance on your card. You know,
of course, to check to determine the
frequency limits for withdrawals. In
addition, you'll have to check to see if
your PIN must be reprogrammed for
use abroad. If you use a credit card in
an ATM, you're charged interest from
that day, even if you pay a monthly
bill on time. For
Cirrus
locations
abroad, call
&
800/424-7787
or
visit www.mastercard.com. For
PLUS
usage abroad, call
&
800/843-7587
or check www.visa.com.
CREDIT CARDS
Naturally, these
are useful throughout Norway. Amer-
ican Express, Diners Club, and Visa
are widely recognized. If you see a
Eurocard or Access sign, it means the
establishment accepts MasterCard.
With an American Express, Master-
Card, or Visa card, you can also with-
draw currency from cash machines
(ATMs). Always check with your
credit or charge card company about
this before leaving home.
You've seen all those commercials
about people illegally obtaining your
credit card and charging surfboards or
engagement rings in foreign countries.
In lieu of the massive worldwide fraud
going on in the credit card business,
it's best to let your credit card com-
pany know where you're going, so that
charges are honored while you're up
visiting Santa's reindeer in northern
Norway.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Many
hotels in Norway simply do not accept
a dollar- or pound-denominated per-
sonal check; those that do will
certainly charge for making the con-
version. In some cases a hotel may
accept countersigned traveler's checks
or a credit or charge card.
If you're making a deposit on a
hotel reservation, it's cheaper and
easier to pay with a check drawn from
a Norwegian bank. This can be
arranged by a large commercial bank
or by a specialist like
Ruesch Interna-
tional,
700 11th St. NW, Fourth
Floor, Washington, DC 20001
(
&
800/424-2923
or 202/408-1200;
www.ruesch.com). It performs a wide
variety of conversion-related tasks,
usually for about $15 per transaction.
If you need a check payable in a
Norwegian currency, call Ruesch's toll-
free number, describe what you need,
and write down the transaction num-
ber. Mail your dollar-denominated
personal check (payable to Ruesch
International) to the Washington,
D.C., office. When it's received, the
company will mail you a check
denominated in the requested cur-
rency for the specified amount, minus
