Travel essentials
Find a practical starting point for your next journey.
Pay Argentine hotels with a card issued abroad and the 21% VAT is not charged. Rates: BCRA reference ARS 1,516 per dollar; banks buy cash dollars at about 1,485.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingAustria still runs partly on cash even as card use grows. Here is what the national bank's own survey shows about where cash wins, and where cards work without a second thought.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow card surcharges, ATM fees, tipping and GST work in Melbourne and across Australia, and how much cash a visitor really needs.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPerth prices follow mining and gas, not tourism. How to budget a trip, when to book, and why midweek beds cost more than weekend ones.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingForeign cards cover most payments in Brazil, but Pix needs an account at a Brazilian institution. What that means for visitors, plus service charges, cash limits and transit cards.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow the handheld terminal, the tip prompt and the tax line work in Canada, plus tap limits, custom tip amounts and the foreign-card currency prompt.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow payment actually works in Switzerland — Swiss francs, contactless cards, the TWINT app, and why paying in euros in a Swiss shop can cost you more.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow Switzerland's wage levels and price structure actually work, and what that means for what you'll pay for meals, transport and a hotel room.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingColombia still runs mostly on cash: big stores take cards, small shops rarely do. How ATM fees work, where to change money legally, the tourist VAT refund and tips.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBring enough foreign cash for your whole stay: since 6 June 2026 Visa and Mastercard no longer work in Cuba. How the three official peso rates work, where to exchange, and what US travellers face.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingCzech law lets you cancel a Prague currency exchange within 3 hours, at the same office, for up to €1,000. No commission allowed. Refuse DCC and pay in koruna.
Official sources checked 2026-10-19Ecuador uses the US dollar, adopted in 2000 at 25,000 sucres each. Why its own centavo coins mix with US coins, why $50 and $100 bills get refused, and how to carry cash.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingIn Egypt you need Egyptian pounds from ATMs for daily costs, USD cash for some visa fees, and a card for Cairo's visa and museum tickets. Limits and what to carry.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBarcelona stacks a Catalan regional tourist tax on a city surcharge raised to EUR 5.00 on 1 April 2026. The bands, the seven-night cap and who is exempt.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSpanish shops cannot refuse cash but nothing obliges them to take your card. What the EUR 1,000 cash payment limit really binds, and how to decline DCC.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe Paris Museum Pass costs €85 for 2 days, €105 for 4 and €125 for 6. Break-even against 2026 ticket prices for non-European and EEA visitors, plus booking rules.
Official sources checked 2026-10-09Explains card acceptance and contactless limits in Paris, and where a foreign card gets refused. Helps you decide how much cash to carry and where to withdraw it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingParis menu prices already include service under a 1987 order. What the service percentage is, why any tip is optional, and what applies in cafés, taxis and hotels.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBreaks down median income, rent per square metre and the rent-control system behind Paris's cost of living. Shows why some arrondissements are out of reach for a visitor's budget too.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingChoose between an Oyster card and contactless payment in London by comparing fare caps, foreign-card fees, children’s discounts and common tapping mistakes.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingExplains where contactless and mobile pay work in London and where cash still matters. Covers card fees, dynamic currency conversion, and a sensible cash amount to carry.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingExplains what tipping rules actually apply in London restaurants, pubs, taxis and hotels under UK law. Helps you decide what to leave and when to query a service charge.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingAnswers what a pint, a coffee, a supermarket lunch and a dinner really cost in London using official price data. Learn how London compares to the UK and how to spot overcharging.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingGreece abolished the Athens combined site ticket. Each site now has its own ticket: €30 Acropolis, €20 Agora or Olympieion, €5–10 for the rest, €105 for all seven.
Official sources checked 2026-10-08Greek shops, taxis and market stalls selling to consumers must accept cards. Carry a little cash as backup, and always pay in euros, not your home currency.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Most Hong Kong shops take cards and taxis must offer e-payment, but keep some cash. Pay in HKD, and change money at a bank or a Customs-licensed changer.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Octopus, cards and QR cover transport and chain retail in Hong Kong, but no ordinary shop is obliged to take them. What to carry, and where cash is still the only answer.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHong Kong households spend 39.3% of their money on housing and 15.1% on eating out. The tax structure behind that split decides which parts of your trip budget hurt.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe Hong Kong dollar is held between HKD 7.75 and 7.85 per US dollar by the HKMA, so the rate you are quoted barely moves and commission is what varies.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhy Hungary still runs on the forint rather than the euro, when cards work, and how to avoid the bad-rate exchange offices clustered around Budapest's tourist streets.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingAdministered fuel, a 50 percent import premium on spirits and a USD 3 parcel threshold explain most Indonesian prices. What the regulations actually say.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingIndonesian law requires transactions in Bali to be in rupiah. How much cash to carry, where cards work, and how to check a money changer's licence.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBali charges foreign visitors IDR 150,000 per person under a provincial regulation, paid once per trip. Who pays, who is exempt, and how to pay it online.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingQRIS covers 44.86 million Indonesian merchants, but cross-border access is live for only three countries. What Bank Indonesia publishes about paying as a visitor.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat the Reserve Bank of India actually rules on banknotes, the withdrawn 2000-rupee note, ATM charges, card tokenisation and how much currency you may bring in.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingGST is uniform across India, but fuel and alcohol were deliberately left outside it. What the Constitution and official price tables show about state-by-state price gaps.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingRome businesses must accept cards, cash payments of EUR 5,000 or more are banned, and Lazio law forbids a coperto. How to read the bill and pay in euro.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Rome's tourist tax is EUR 3.00 to EUR 10.00 per person per night by accommodation type, for up to 10 consecutive nights; under-10s are exempt. Tariff in force since 1 October 2023.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Venice's access fee ran on 60 dated days in 2026 and lapsed on 27 July. Who paid EUR 5 or EUR 10, who was exempt, and why exemption still needed a QR code.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingUse Venice’s published gondola fares to compare a private ride with a shared ticket, calculate your group’s cost and confirm duration and route before boarding.
Official sources checked 2026-10-16The Jordan Pass (JOD 70–80) beats a Petra ticket plus the JOD 40 visa if you buy it before arrival and stay two whole nights. When it pays off, and Petra by Night.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingYes, tourists can use M-Pesa in Kenya: register a Safaricom line with your foreign passport at a Safaricom Shop, load cash free at agents, and pay tills at no charge to you.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingUse both: clean US dollar notes for larger sums and riel for anything under a dollar. KHQR works through the Bakong Tourists app or a linked home wallet. How the two currencies fit together.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow to pay Jeju bus fares using an overseas mobile payment app's QR code, and what to do if your app isn't supported.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSeparate shopping payments from transit in Seoul, check acceptance before buying, and keep a practical cash backup for card problems.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingLankaQR reaches 473,214 merchants and accepts four foreign wallets. What the Central Bank publishes about cards, ATMs and how much currency you may carry.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSigiriya costs USD 35 on the official tariff, quoted in dollars with a daily rupee conversion. What the published tariffs, VAT and duty schedules actually say.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe dirham is a closed currency: carry no more than 2,000 MAD in or out, declare 100,000 MAD or more in foreign cash, and keep exchange slips to change leftovers back.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingUse cards in Mongolia where acceptance is confirmed, while carrying a staged tugrik reserve for rural stops, small purchases and network failures.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHong Kong dollars are accepted almost everywhere in Macau but are not legal tender, and most counters take them at 1:1 against a 1.03 peg. Where that gap matters.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingThe pataca is Macao's only legal tender and no shop has to take your Hong Kong dollars. Paying HKD at one to one costs roughly 3 per cent. What the law says.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingGaming supplied 84.6% of Macau's public revenue in early 2026 and is taxed at 40% of gross revenue. What that does to what visitors pay, and where it does not.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow Macau law lets snack shops price jerky and almond cookies by catty or tael, what a price tag must show, how weighing must be done, and what to check before you pay.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingA Maldives hotel bill adds 17% tourism GST and a green tax of USD 6 or 12 per guest per day. How service charge is taxed, what the ticket already includes and a 5-night example.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow paying works in Mexico: where cards are accepted, which ATMs cost less, why you always decline conversion to your own currency, and why small peso notes matter.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhat tipping in Mexico looks like situation by situation: restaurants, the terminal at the table, baggers, parking attendants, hotels, guides and taxis.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMalaysia's price survey covered Penang nasi kandar counters until May 2022. In that month, rice with vegetable and chicken ran from RM5.70 to RM8.40 at twenty premises.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingOne Singapore dollar buys 3.21 ringgit, but Singapore grants no duty-free liquor to anyone arriving from Malaysia. Where the cheap-Singapore comparison breaks.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingNine foreign payment schemes can officially scan Malaysia's DuitNow QR, from Alipay Plus to PromptPay. What works for you, and what still needs cash.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingDuitNow QR runs Malaysia's small payments, but only apps from six markets can scan one. What cash to carry, what SST costs, and why no refund exists.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMalaysia's central bank does not itself ban card surcharges. The card networks do, and the bank regulates them. What the framework obliges, and who to complain to.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMalaysians pay RM1.99 a litre for petrol against RM4.02 unsubsidised, and the Twin Towers charge foreigners three times the MyKad rate. Where the tiers are and are not.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingDutch retail runs on domestic debit rails, PIN-only card readers and a shrinking cash network. Here is why some foreign cards fail and what to actually carry.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHigh wages, a strong currency and a massive sovereign wealth fund make everyday Norwegian prices structurally high, not inflated for tourists. Here is what that means for a daily budget.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPanama uses both: the balboa is the legal unit, pegged one to one, but every banknote is a US dollar. Why that dates from 1904, which coins you will get, and what shops must accept.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingForeign tourists in Peru can skip the 18% IGV on hotel stays of up to 60 days with a passport and migration record. Also: ATM safety, fake notes and the US$10,000 cash rule.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhere cards work around Cebu and where pesos are the only sensible option, plus what to do about island and beach areas where machines are scarce.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow to get Philippine pesos in Manila, where the airport counters and ATMs are, and the currency rules on how much cash you can bring in or out.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhere cards work in Manila and where pesos are still the only practical option, plus what the peso itself looks like in circulation right now.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingManila's minimum wage is PHP 755 a day while beer excise runs PHP 48.31 a litre and inflation hit 6.1 per cent. The tax structure behind Philippine prices.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingRemittances reach 8.9 per cent of Philippine GDP and 44 per cent of adults were unbanked in 2021. Why that shapes payment, and the coin limit nobody mentions.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow to pay in Poland as a visitor, why BLIK doesn't work for foreign cards, and how the dynamic currency conversion trap at independent ATMs quietly costs you money.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow BLIK, a Polish mobile payment code, helped push Poland toward contactless and app-based payment, and what that means for paying as a visitor.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow Multibanco ATMs and card payments work in Portugal, and how to refuse dynamic currency conversion so your bank sets the exchange rate instead of the terminal.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingNon-resident adults pay QAR 100 at the Museum of Islamic Art, while the QAR 70 Discover One Pass covers it and the National Museum of Qatar for five days. Who should buy which.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingForeign contactless cards work on the MRT for a S$0.60 daily fee, but NETS-only stalls and SGQR both lock out visitors. What to carry and why the gaps exist.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingCards work in most Singapore shops and on transit, but PayNow needs a local account and hawker QR codes take only some foreign apps. Carry some cash for food stalls.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03A car licence alone cost S$133,009 in September 2026 while a plate of chicken rice averaged S$4.21. The tax structure behind the split, and what it means for a budget.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingCompare contactless bank cards, SimplyGo stored-value cards and the Singapore Tourist Pass, including foreign-card fees, transfers and tap-in rules.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingNo Singapore law requires a cooked food stall to display a price list, and the agency says plainly it does not regulate hawker prices. What the official figures do show.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow much cash to carry in Bangkok, where cards actually work, what ATM withdrawals cost you, and the service charge rule worth knowing.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMarkets, songthaews and small kitchens run on cash in Chiang Mai. How much to carry, what ATMs cost, and where cards are fine.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingYou cannot take Tunisian dinars in or out of Tunisia. Declare foreign cash over 5,000 TND to take it home, and keep bank exchange receipts to change leftover dinars back.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingUsually not: the €105, five-day Museum Pass Istanbul skips Hagia Sophia, and the seven open paid Ministry museums on the fee list cost €112 in total. See the arithmetic for three real itineraries.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingTaipei's Metro, Airport MRT, 7-Eleven and airport taxis take contactless bank cards. Carry cash for stalls with no reader; 24-hour ATMs in 7-Eleven accept foreign cards.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Serengeti fees follow TANAPA's 2023/24 tariff plus 18% VAT; Ngorongoro fees are NCAA figures with no VAT line. How the two tariffs, the crater fee and 24-hour permits add up on a safari quote.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPlan to pay in Tanzanian shillings: since March 2025 local prices must be quoted and paid in TZS. Where dollars still appear, how to change money, cards, ATMs and digital payments.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHow a Las Vegas room rate becomes a total: resort fees, parking, the FTC all-in pricing rule, what a player's card trades, and how a non-gambler should budget.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhy US prices exclude sales tax, how state and local rates stack, New York's clothing exemption, hotel taxes and resort fees, and why there is no VAT refund.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingA situation-by-situation guide to tipping in the United States, from restaurants to taxis and hotels, and the wage rules that make it structural.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPaying with a foreign card in Uruguay can remove VAT from hotel rooms all year and from restaurants and car hire in season. Current dates, the 18.03% maths and what to check.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPay in Uzbek som, use international cards where the displayed network is supported, and keep a modest cash reserve for transport and smaller merchants.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhere to find reliable ATMs in Da Nang and how ATM operator fees stack with your bank's foreign-transaction charge. Judge machines by who operates them, not by location alone.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingDeciding between cash and cards in Hanoi depends on where you're spending, not a blanket rule. Use this breakdown of street food, markets, hotels, and malls to know which one wins each time.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingHo Chi Minh City runs on a mix of cash and card, split roughly by business size and formality. Carry both, and match the payment method to the type of place you're standing in.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhether Hue takes cards or expects cash depends on the type of business, not just the price. Match your payment method to the venue and you avoid awkward counter moments.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingForeign adults pay R515 at Cape Point, R245 at Boulders and R475 online for a Cableway return. Who pays which rate, when a Wild Card pays off, and what to do on a windy day.
Editorial preview · factual review pending