Going to tunisia in 1 week, what currency do I need to take?

Question

Me & my family are going to skanes tunisia next wed, & arent sure what type of currency to take with us?

I have been told I can take euros, but think I would rather take GBP please can anyone advise me

Thanks

Answer 1

you can take either and they can be exchanged at the airport or hotel for local currency . However, you are not allowed to bring Tunisian money out of the country and must change any local currency back into sterling at the airport. Be warned armed police can stop and check. They did to me.

Answer 2

Dinar is the currency of Tunisia. However it is a prohibited currency, so you can't get it over here or bring it back with you. Take travellers cheques as these are insured and are easy to change once over there. - Have a super holiday

Answer 3

English pounds, US Dollars, and Euros are all widely accepted and here really is not one currency that is better than the other as far as ease of exchange goes. This is also true for if you want to bring Travelers checks. Money can be changed at banks, hotels, the change counter at the airports, and various money change places located widely throughout all of Tunisia.

Tunisian currency is NOT a fully convertible currency as of yet, so therefore it can only be purchased INSIDE of Tunisia.

Here is some conversion for you:

£1=2.301TND, 1TND = £0.43

€1=1.817TND, 1TND = €0.55

$1=1.177TND, 1TND = $0.85

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency

(Currency rates as of 06:37 GMT on 12 June 2008)

The way the money system works is this:

1 Tunisian Dinar (TDN) = 1000 millimes.

Paper money is in denominations of 30, 20, 10 and 5.

Coins are in denominations of 5 &1 TDN, and 500, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 millimes.

If you'd like to see what Tunisian money looks like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie_hasse...

Just a quick note: Tunisia is one of the few places in the world where you WILL get a better exchange rate at most hotels than you will at a bank. Keep that in mind when you are changing your money.

Travelers’ checks and credit cards are accepted at some establishments in Tunisia, mainly in urban or tourist areas. The Tunisian dinar is not yet a fully convertible currency and Tunisian law prohibits the export or import of Tunisian bank notes or coins. Tunisian law permits the export of foreign currency that was declared when entering Tunisia. Tourists are expected to make foreign exchange transactions at authorized banks or dealers and to retain receipts for dinars obtained. Under foreign currency regulations, a tourist can reconvert to foreign currency (cash or traveler checks) 30 percent of what has been exchanged into dinars, up to a maximum of 100 dollars. Declaring foreign currency on entering Tunisia and obtaining a receipt for dinars purchased thereafter will facilitate reconverting dinars to your original currency. Keep all receipts of monetary transactions for presentation when leaving the country.

Now that the government part is over, there are cash points (ATMs) all over Tunisia, mainly in touristicy areas, and at banks. I personally wouldn't bring travelers checks as it will take a long time for them to process it when you check out because not many people use them. Really the only place that they are valuable at is a bank.

And because Tunisia is still a developing country, most places aren't set up to accept credit cards or debit cards. You'll find that only you're major stores, such as Carefour (in Tunis), and Monoprix, and Magasin General, plus a few major restaurants are equipped to handle them. Most major hotels can handle them as well.

Or bring a credit/debit card and use it at the ATM's when you need money. There is a fee for using the ATM's though, and that varies from bank to bank. Mostly the fee is between 1,500 dinars and 2 dinars. Remember though, you also get charged a fee from your bank for having to convert your normal currency into local currency. You will have to check with your bank/credit card provider to find out how much that fee would be.

My best suggestion to you is to bring the amount of money you want to have and change it little by little when you are in Tunisia. Which ever way you go, keep only the necessary cash on you, and the rest in your hotel room.

If I can be of any more help or assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 4

Tunisia has a closed currency. Take GBP and change them only at your hotel. You must keep the receipt as you will require this to change any Dinars back sterling before you leave the country. All money changing is strictly controlled by the government, so you not get 'better' rates anywhere. There are ATM's where you can withdraw local currency using a visa card.

Best advice is to only change small amounts at a time, say £200 on arrival and then, if you require more, change only around £50 at a time (unless of course you are a heavy spender)