Going to west of Frankfurt for 10 days with family 2 kids). How much money should we bring to exchange?

Question

I know that this is not the time to travel to Europe, but my husband and I are taking our two children (4 and 16 mos) to visit my dad and his family in the countryside of Frankfurt. We will be staying with them in their home, will not be driving ourselves around, and trying to figure out how much cash we should bring to get exchanged to Euros when we get there. My dad is ex-military and I think we can get exchanged at the BX. We won't be buying a lot of souvenirs (mainly chocolate :-))but will probably buy some food, trinkets, etc. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi there "Ella's MOM"...

Well... since you're staying with relatives, you don't need THAT much cash... I assume apprx. 250 Euro's will cover your expenses!! YES, our german chocolate is   G O O D !!!YEAH!! I love it as well!

Enjoy your stay (it's quite hot over here at the moment)!!!Lots of love from Germany... Annette****

Answer 2

One convenient tip that I discovered while travelling in Europe for business is that Bank of America customers (not sure if you are) are part of something called the ATM Alliance which gives you no-fee access to partner ATMs overseas.  That way I can hit a local ATM and not carry around a bunch of foreign money nor take a hit on the exchange rates.

The list was:

Deutsche Bank (Germany) - They're EVERYWHERE

BNP Paribas (France) - Same story

ScotiaBank (Canada)

Barclay's Bank (UK)

I agree with the other respondant, you shouldn't need a ton but it really comes down to how you do meals, do you pay with credit cards, etc..

Think about the current exchange rate 1.59 Dollars to the Euro... plan out your day as you would here.  Lunch for 4 at somewhere speedy = $20, Dinner $50, etc... Now say that total is $100.... Pretend those are Euro figures not dollars.  We all tend to pay roughly the same for items in number terms, the exchange rates just make it advantageous or disadvantageous for one visitor or another.  So $100 Euros would cost you $159 to purchase or pull from an ATM. $250 Euros is a good start if you plan on lodging and travelling for free.  That just leaves cash meals and trinkets.

One nice diversion is the Deutsche Bahn train along the Rhine. One can stop anywhere between Frankfurt and Cologne (Koln on the map) and enjoy a great meal, German wineries, and about 15 different castles.

Have a great trip.