Trip to Mexico need money halp!!

[El Jefe]

I was reading on trip advisor and it suggested not taking big bills to Mexico, because some resorts/hotels wont change them. Anyone have suggestions on what I should take. Im looking at bringing about $1500 in cash, for activities and gifts and other things. I know when I went to Haiti very few places would accept a $5 dollar bill. So I just don't want to have to have any issues with them changing my money.

[Bugeater]

I'm not sure I'd want to be walking around Mexico carrying that amount of cash.

[Mr. Laz]

Traveler's cheques?

:shrug:

[mikeyis4dcats.]

you shouldn't have any issues with anything less than $100. Honestly, sign up for an HSBC checking account online and use it to withdraw money from a ATM when you are they if you need cash. Thats what I did.

[Mr. Laz]

you shouldn't have any issues with anything less than $100. Honestly, sign up for an HSBC checking account online and use it to withdraw money from a ATM when you are they if you need cash. Thats what I did.yea, a popular debit card would help

[El Jefe]

you shouldn't have any issues with anything less than $100. Honestly, sign up for an HSBC checking account online and use it to withdraw money from a ATM when you are they if you need cash. Thats what I did.

Interesting, sounds much safer.

[KCUnited]

The $ to peso is a pretty easy conversion.

[El Jefe]

yea, a popular debit card would help

Like a PNC debit card?

[seclark]

never had problems exchanging currency at the resorts we stayed at. kept a certain amount on me and the rest in the safe in our room.

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[Graystoke]

DON'T!
Take an ATM card and withdrawl no more then 3000 Pesos at a time. Be sure to tell your bank you are in Mexico.
I was there two weeks ago and the rate was 12/1
Where at?

[El Jefe]

never had problems exchanging currency at the resorts we stayed at. kept a certain amount on me and the rest in the safe in our room.

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How much did you take?

[seclark]

yea, a popular debit card would help

couldn't get cash from the visa debit cards we took.
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[ChiefGator]

Would probably help to know what areas of Mexico you will be travelling in, and if you will in fact be staying at resorts or not.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/internet-banking


No exchange fees.

[Graystoke]

Would probably help to know what areas of Mexico you will be travelling in, and if you will in fact be staying at resorts or not.

I think I remember him saying Cozumel. They have 4 major banks on the island all with ATM's.

[seclark]

I think I remember him saying Cozumel. They have 4 major banks on the island all with ATM's.

cruise, or are you riding a fairy from playa del carmen?
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[Fritz88]

- Bring cash with you and put it in the safe box. Use when needed.
- Bring a smaller amount of cash for everyday use and use your credit card.
- Use your credit card to withdraw money from there.

I went there and it was safe. Just don't go to shady places.

[sedated]

Just walk around the street asking who can convert $1500 cash into pesos. Flash the cash around so people know you are serious.

[tooge]

just bring small $100 bags of weed with you. Jam it up your ass so you dont get caught carrying. It'll exchange nicely

[4th and Long]

I'm not sure I'd want to be walking around Mexico carrying that amount of cash.
I'm not sure I'd want to be walking around Mexico. Period.

Seems to be a rash of dead gringos in the last year.

¿Entiendes?

[Graystoke]

Just walk around the street asking who can convert $1500 cash into pesos. Flash the cash around so people know you are serious.

http://www.peddlergal.com/b2.jpg

[El Jefe]

Would probably help to know what areas of Mexico you will be travelling in, and if you will in fact be staying at resorts or not.

I am going to Cozumel and staying at the Aura Cozumel Wyndham Grand Resort.

[4th and Long]

http://www.peddlergal.com/b2.jpg
Holy crap! The Frito Bandito!

I haven't seen that since I was a kid!

[Graystoke]

Now are you flying into Cancun or direct to Cozumel?

[Braincase]

Get Visa Gift Cards.

[El Jefe]

Now are you flying into Cancun or direct to Cozumel?

Directly into Cozumel via Houston.

[Graystoke]

Directly into Cozumel via Houston.

Good. Cancun Taxi drivers are rip-off artists. You should have no problem with dollars and exchange at the resort. Just use the safe and take only what you need for the day.

[AustinChief]

couldn't get cash from the visa debit cards we took.
sec

When did you go? 1980? Or was it the cards themselves?


A standard ATM card that uses the regular PLUS, PULSE, CIRRUS, etc etc networks will work almost anywhere IN THE WORLD. You won't have ANY problems in Mexico.

It's really no different then here... although you want to be more wary of standalone ATMs. Try to stick to ATMs that are directly attached to a bank branch.

[seclark]

When did you go? 1980? Or was it the cards themselves?


A standard ATM card that uses the regular PLUS, PULSE, CIRRUS, etc etc networks will work almost anywhere IN THE WORLD. You won't have ANY problems in Mexico.

It's really no different then here... although you want to be more wary of standalone ATMs. Try to stick to ATMs that are directly attached to a bank branch.

last year...visa. the wife got 2 of them. paid $300 i think for each one. we stayed at a resort near playa del carmen. we could buy stuff w/them, but couldn't get cash.

could it be that they were gift cards, instead of debit? i honestly don't know much about either. i know i didn't use mine for anything, and when i got back to the states i tried to get cash for it then and couldn't.

i'd like to know if i was doing something wrong.
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[AustinChief]

last year...visa. the wife got 2 of them. paid $300 i think for each one. we stayed at a resort near playa del carmen. we could buy stuff w/them, but couldn't get cash.

could it be that they were gift cards, instead of debit? i honestly don't know much about either. i know i didn't use mine for anything, and when i got back to the states i tried to get cash for it then and couldn't.

i'd like to know if i was doing something wrong.
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That is the issue, they were gift cards.. most of which only use the VISA purchasing network. Your regular ATM card will work just fine in Mexico, same as here.

[El Jefe]

That is the issue, they were gift cards.. most of which only use the VISA purchasing network. Your regular ATM card will work just fine in Mexico, same as here.

Suhweet!

[seclark]

That is the issue, they were gift cards.. most of which only use the VISA purchasing network. Your regular ATM card will work just fine in Mexico, same as here.

thanks...so, it was the wifes fault. figures.
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[AustinChief]

[/B]

Suhweet!

Here is a good article, just so you don't have to take my word on it...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g150768-c5116/Mexico:Atms.And.Credit.Cards.html

[CrazyPhuD]

$1500? Dude mexican hookers aren't that expensive.

[vailpass]

I am going to Cozumel and staying at the Aura Cozumel Wyndham Grand Resort.

You can break $100s all day long in Cozumel. WATCH YOUR ASS they will **** you on the exchange rates in the shops and especially in the bars after you have had a couple drinks.
If you exhcnage for pesos be careful not to fall victim to the "itls like play money' syndrome because it looks like play money.

[vailpass]

That is the issue, they were gift cards.. most of which only use the VISA purchasing network. Your regular ATM card will work just fine in Mexico, same as here.

Absolutely but READ THE ATM before you use it. Some charge a very large fee to use. And whatever you do don't use a pay phone without checking it out.

[El Jefe]

$1500? Dude mexican hookers aren't that expensive.

Some of the activities like snorkling and fishing, swimming with the dolphins etc are hella expensive.

[vailpass]

Some of the activities like snorkling and fishing, swimming with the dolphins etc are hella expensive.

Buy from your hotel, they have reps for all these activities. If you are going on a package deal i.e. American Airlines they will have a rep who can often get you better rates.

[El Jefe]

You can break $100s all day long in Cozumel. WATCH YOUR ASS they will **** you on the exchange rates in the shops and especially in the bars after you have had a couple drinks.
If you exhcnage for pesos be careful not to fall victim to the "itls like play money' syndrome because it looks like play money.

Thanks :thumb:

[El Jefe]

Buy from your hotel, they have reps for all these activities. If you are going on a package deal i.e. American Airlines they will have a rep who can often get you better rates.

Sweet deal, I will definitely do this. I leave in roughly 18 days.

[vailpass]

Sweet deal, I will definitely do this. I leave in roughly 18 days.

Ask around, compare prices, don't be afraid to haggle.
Stay within your resort area especially at night.

When you find yourself saying "una cerveza más y un cenicero porfa" you will be in the mode.

Tienen un gran viaje, espero que veas algunos tetas!

[Chief Pote]

I wouldn't want to vacation in a place that my "mugging" odds just went up. Pack heat instead of money, you'll need it. Oh and don't leave the resort. :thumb:

[mikeyis4dcats.]

That is the issue, they were gift cards.. most of which only use the VISA purchasing network. Your regular ATM card will work just fine in Mexico, same as here.

You will have to pay exchange rates and probably foreign transaction fees though.

[MOhillbilly]

Dont they have enough Mexicans in Ohio?

[AustinChief]

You will have to pay exchange rates and probably foreign transaction fees though.

You pay transaction fees just like any ATM that isn't your own bank... but you make up for it by getting the best possible exchange rates.

Carrying a large amount of cash in Mexico is completely unnecessary and just plain stupid.

The withdrawal fee is whatever fee your bank charges for international or out of network usage. It may be fruitful to find out from your bank if they have an agreement with a Mexican bank. For instance, Bank of America allows withdrawals from ScotiaBank and Santander Serfin for no charge, but charges $5.00 U.S. for withdrawals from all other banks. Some banks in Mexico may not charge a fee for ATM usage. For those that do, it commonly ranges from $1 to 1% of the amount withdrawn; this is less than the "markup" on the exchange rate for exchanging dollars for pesos at a bank or currency exchange.

[loochy]

I was reading on trip advisor and it suggested not taking big bills to Mexico, because some resorts/hotels wont change them. Anyone have suggestions on what I should take. Im looking at bringing about $1500 in cash, for activities and gifts and other things. I know when I went to Haiti very few places would accept a $5 dollar bill. So I just don't want to have to have any issues with them changing my money.

When you get to the airport get the money changed at the international terminal.

When you leave get it changed back.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

When you get to the airport get the money changed at the international terminal.

When you leave get it changed back.

airports have some of the worst exchange rates

[AustinChief]

airports have some of the worst exchange rates

EXACTLY! Avoid currency conversion places... you get ripped off. ATMs are far and away a better deal, better even than going into the bank itself.

[AustinChief]

My only caveat regarding ATMs... you are going to be limited to whatever your daily cash allowance is. Of course, big ticket items/services will take credit cards so it shouldn't matter.

[Rain Man]

As a tip, when I went to South Africa my wife discovered that one of the big local banks had a great deal. They gave us a decent exchange rate and also a guarantee that we could exchange any unused money back with no fee and at the same rate. It was way better than doing it in-country, and it was one less thing we had to worry about when we arrived after the 20-something hour flight.

If they'd exchange dollars for rand in Denver, I suspect that you could exchange dollars for pesos in Ohio.

[WoodDraw]

For anyone that travels internationally a lot, look into some checking accounts that waive those fees. I use Schwab, but I think there are some others too.

But ATMs are the best way, as long as you factor in the limits like AustinChief says. That can also make the fees a bitch if you have to withdraw constantly and get charged a lot by your bank.

[WoodDraw]

Also, I know Bank of America partners with a few banks in the big European countries to waive fees. You should look into that, and see if your bank has a partner in Mexico.

[prhom]

For anyone that travels internationally a lot, look into some checking accounts that waive those fees. I use Schwab, but I think there are some others too.

But ATMs are the best way, as long as you factor in the limits like AustinChief says. That can also make the fees a bitch if you have to withdraw constantly and get charged a lot by your bank.

For all the veterans out there USAA doesn't charge an international fee for ATM withdrawals from their checking account. I try to use cash as little as possible though, mostly because I always end up with about 5 lbs of coins at the airport because for some reason most countries don't make paper money in denominations less than 5. I like using the credit card for most purchases since it doesn't have a foreign transaction fee either.

[Graystoke]

Ask around, compare prices, don't be afraid to haggle.
Stay within your resort area especially at night.

When you find yourself saying "una cerveza más y un cenicero porfa" you will be in the mode.

Tienen un gran viaje, espero que veas algunos tetas!

Haha...yep have a good trip, and yes he will see grande titty.

[El Jefe]

Dont they have enough Mexicans in Ohio?

LMAO, that almost brought me to tears :thumb:

[burt]

Get Visa Gift Cards.

This. It's what I always do.....and a little cash. I have NEVER had a problem walking around Mexico. Perhaps due to size.

[vailpass]

You don't need pesos in Cozumel, no need to exchange. they love US$ and are well equipped to accept them.

[4th and Long]

Travel Expert: Why You Should Go To Mexico

Avoiding Problem Areas Easy With Some Forethought

By Robert Reid, Special to CNN


New York (CNN) -- Mexico tourism is having a bit of a PR problem lately.

Reports of mass grave sites, daylight shootings and carjackings from the escalating drug war don't exactly build confidence for a family planning a week's holiday. And on April 22, the U.S. State Department upgraded its travel warnings to target 14 of Mexico's 31 states.

Now's not the time to visit our southerly neighbor, right? Well, wrong. Mexico is a lot safer than you may realize.

We tend to lump all of Mexico -- a country the size of Western Europe -- together. For example, a border incident resulted in the death of a Colorado tourist last year, and the Texas Department of Homeland Security recommended against travel to all of Mexico.

Yet it's in the 17 of 31 states not named in the newly expanded warnings where you'll find the most rewarding destinations: the Yucatan Peninsula and Baja California beach resorts, colonial hill towns like the ex-pat haven of San Miguel de Allende, even the capital Mexico City.

An hour inland from Cancun's beaches, Yucatan state -- home to the most popular Mayan sites and "real Mexican" colonial cities such as Merida and Valladolid -- is among the country's safest. The state, with roughly the same population as Kansas, saw two drug-related deaths in 2010. Wichita, Kansas, alone had six gang-related killings over the same period.

In most of central and southern Mexico, drug violence simply isn't on the radar of daily life. "It's as easy-going as it's always been," said Deborah Felixson, a diving operator on Cozumel who is "shocked" when people say they had been scared to go to the Caribbean island. "We're just small communities here. We all know what everyone's up to."

That sentiment is found even in places once linked with political tension, such as Chiapas state and Oaxaca City, where political protest turned into a stand-off in 2006.
"Things are so much quieter now," said Rogelio Vallesteros, who runs a Spanish-language school in Oaxaca City. "People call to ask about safety all the time, then they come and see how quiet it is. We're normal, really."

After the swine-flu crisis of 2009 -- when some cruise ships diverted routes from Mexican ports that had no reported cases to American ones that did -- travel bounced back a bit last year. Interestingly, the increase of returning Canadians and many Western Europeans doubled that of the American rate. We seem to remain particularly leery of Mexico.

That's sad. My love of travel began with childhood visits to Mexican ruins and beaches, and I feel the U.S. is fortunate, not cursed, to be so close to a place that offers jungles, deserts, volcanoes, beaches, coral reefs, ancient pyramids, living pre-European cultures and some of the world's most satisfying cuisines.

And of course the best reason to go: the people.

A couple years ago, I informally polled various innkeepers and tour operators worldwide to find out who are the world's friendliest travelers. Guess who won. "Mexicans are such a joy to have here," one Bulgarian guesthouse owner e-mailed back. "They make everyone feel happier."

And it's often better in Mexico, where locals show particular gusto in love of life. Once I saw fireworks go off in Mexico City, before sunset, and asked a local why. He was surprised I didn't know. "It's Friday," he explained.

In restaurants, strangers seeing each other's eyes instinctively say "buen provecho" before eating. It's an earnest wish that their food should not only be tasty, but really pleasurable, and that the hope that their life will be a bit better as a result. There really is no English equivalent. Even our adopted "bon appétit" pales in significance.

Naturally, crime exists everywhere in Mexico.

I've been pickpocketed in Guadalajara (and in New York, too). But that's the extent of my unpleasant scrapes in a dozen visits that have taken me to home-stay language courses, traditional Mayan markets, mummy museums, cenotes (surreal limestone sinkholes in which you can swim) and even Zapatista zones in the south.

Most travel to Mexico, ultimately, is simply good travel. It's fun, affordable, eye-opening and fascinating (seriously, what other city of 21 million other than Mexico City is founded on a filled-in lake?).

But, no, you don't have to visit Mexico. And there are certainly places, like Ciudad Juarez or Tamaulipas state, I'd never visit now. Just know that the Mexico experienced on the ground almost never matches the Mexico we increasingly see and read about.

[El Jefe]

This. It's what I always do.....and a little cash. I have NEVER had a problem walking around Mexico. Perhaps due to size.

Estats please...I think I may scare off most of them myself.

[El Jefe]

You don't need pesos in Cozumel, no need to exchange. they love US$ and are well equipped to accept them.

This is true? If so I am not going to exchange anymore than a buck just to keep.

[vailpass]

This is true? If so I am not going to exchange anymore than a buck just to keep.

Everyone accepts dollars but they will give pesos for your change. The small shops, restaurants, etc. will not be able to break large bills. Carry 1s and 5s and 10s this way you can tip too. ATMs will give you pesos not dollars.
Again, BE AWARE of the exchange rate and count your change. A lot of merchants make a lot of extra money by making "mistakes" in giving you the incorrect change.

Another thing about Coz, don't drink the water. I know it is a cliche and I know they have their own water purificaiton plant but don't dring the frigging water. Bottled water is everywhere, buy a case at and keep it in your room.

Have fun and take pictures.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

This is true? If so I am not going to exchange anymore than a buck just to keep.

you will probably find most will take your dollars, but since they have to pay later to exchange them, you will not get quite as good of a deal when you buy something. It's not like the old days when the dollar was strong.