US Currency In Mexico

[steph153]

Rissack and others are correct, don't make it too complicated. When we travel to Playa, my wife and I made use of either pesos obtained from an ATM, pesos obtained from a cambio, or the US dollars we bring along from home - depending on the circumstance. Just be mindful of the current going rates.

ATMs generally offer the best rates, but be careful when entering your PIN. Sometimes US dollars are best - my wife found a purse at a store on fifth (near eighth) that allowed her to pay in US dollars at 13 pesos to the US dollar. We found several cambios exchanging at 11.3 pesos to the US dollar, including one near the intersection of First and twenty-eighth street (a Budget car rental across the stree and down from PGs) and several on Juarez between twentieth and thirtieth. If you don't mind, you can easily find a cambio with an exchange rate of 10.5 pesos or so to the US dollar. Our ATM card gave us an effective exchange rate of about 11.75 pesos to the US dollar.

If you want to, I am sure you can spend half of your vaction time trying to determine if the cambio you are at right now offers the best rate - the other option is to spend more time enjoying yourself and consider it a vacation expense.

John

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by Rissask

What notion?

Ha -- sorry! Confused the 2 current threads in which withdrawing from an ATM is a central focus. The same one I referred to above. Try over here:

http://www.playa.info/playa-del-carm...m-fraud-6.html

You can of course read the whole thing, but just the last couple of pages will explain what I'm talking about. (I could crosspost it here but people ge strangely freaked out around here when that happens, so...)

[9laurel9]

This thread was very helpful reading for a newb like myself...We were planning on using pesos during our first visit to the playa anyways. However, it is good to know that atm's are the most easy and efficient way to do so. I've noticed that several of you have mentioned taking out a nice chunk at once to limit the # of transaction fees...what would you say is a good amount per withdrawal? We are not staying at an AI so we'll be eating/drinking/entertaining ourselves out and about. Because we are annoying uber newbs, we have no idea what we might spend from day to day, thus it's hard to gage what an appropriate withdrawal amt. might be...

Also, I imagine, here and there, we will need US cash for the silly touristy things that uber newbs like us are drawn to...do the atm's also dispense USD if we need to or do we need to visit a bank to do so?

These questions probably seem quite inane and ignorant--apologies in advance as I'm sure I'll have more increasingly irritating questions as our trip approaches...

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by 9laurel9

This thread was very helpful reading for a newb like myself...We were planning on using pesos during our first visit to the playa anyways. However, it is good to know that atm's are the most easy and efficient way to do so. I've noticed that several of you have mentioned taking out a nice chunk at once to limit the # of transaction fees...what would you say is a good amount per withdrawal? We are not staying at an AI so we'll be eating/drinking/entertaining ourselves out and about. Because we are annoying uber newbs, we have no idea what we might spend from day to day, thus it's hard to gage what an appropriate withdrawal amt. might be...

Also, I imagine, here and there, we will need US cash for the silly touristy things that uber newbs like us are drawn to...do the atm's also dispense USD if we need to or do we need to visit a bank to do so?

These questions probably seem quite inane and ignorant--apologies in advance as I'm sure I'll have more increasingly irritating questions as our trip approaches...

No, you don't need US cash for silly touristy things. It's Mexico. The silly Mexicans take pesos.

[WaterRat]

Originally Posted by 9laurel9

This thread was very helpful reading for a newb like myself...We were planning on using pesos during our first visit to the playa anyways. However, it is good to know that atm's are the most easy and efficient way to do so. I've noticed that several of you have mentioned taking out a nice chunk at once to limit the # of transaction fees...what would you say is a good amount per withdrawal? We are not staying at an AI so we'll be eating/drinking/entertaining ourselves out and about. Because we are annoying uber newbs, we have no idea what we might spend from day to day, thus it's hard to gage what an appropriate withdrawal amt. might be...

Also, I imagine, here and there, we will need US cash for the silly touristy things that uber newbs like us are drawn to...do the atm's also dispense USD if we need to or do we need to visit a bank to do so?



These questions probably seem quite inane and ignorant--apologies in advance as I'm sure I'll have more increasingly irritating questions as our trip approaches...

After you go through customs, where your luggage may be examined, you'll go through some doors. You'll then see a sign directing you to the restrooms down a hall to your left. There is an ATM at the beginning of the hall. I'd get $3,000 - $5,000 pesos out.

There will be two questions during the process that won't be in English. The first is whether or not you'd like to contribute to a charitable cause. It will be easy to figure out what the question is. The second question will be whether or not you'd like a receipt.

I don't read or speak Spanish unfortunately, and don't have much patience, so after about 5 seconds of trying to figure out what the question was, I asked a passing airport employee what the ATM was asking me. She replied "ticket".

You'll be set for a bit, depending on your spending, eating, drinking habits, and will know how much to get out next time.

Easy. Don't stress. Good for you that you're using Pesos in Mexico. Novel idea though it is, for some.

[terzaghi]

Where is the best place to exchange pesos for USD in playa? Scotia bank?