Do we need to change money in Iceland?

[Anne S]

OK, the heading makes me sound like an ugly American (via Finland), but hear me out: we have a timeshare exchange in Cornwall for this coming Saturday. We are flying Icelandair and are taking advantage of their free stop-over on Iceland for two days. (Which is probably all we can afford, condsidering that Iceland is probably the most expensive country in Europe.) Our accommodation if paid for, as is our rental car. We plan on using plastic for meals and gas. Do we really need to exchange money or is it possible to get by totally with plastic?

[Passepartout]

I have no personal experience with this, but based on quick cruise ship stops in Romania and Bulgaria, where I had to exchange into local currency to pay off a public restroom while I danced on one foot, I'd get a few Kroner ($10-20) for incidentals. You can donate leftovers to charity on whatever airline you come home on, or use excess for snacks at the airport. For me anyway, I feel naked to not have the means to pay for small incidentals. My wife, however has no problem going anywhere without funds to pay for whatever she should want.

I guess it depends on your comfort level with using plastic or trying to talk locals into accepting USD or GBP and suffering the exchange or (my perceived) scorn from the locals for not valuing their countries' currency enough to use it. Part of international travel is to become part of the fabric of the culture you visit.

Just my $.02

Jim Ricks

[x3 skier]

I would get $100 worth of the local currency from an ATM and use it up the second day on your meal before you leave. Never know when you are going to need /want something from a place that doesn't take the card(s) you have with you.

You can always trade in the left over cash in the UK and only suffer a small loss if you don't spend them in Iceland.

Cheers

[Keitht]

I think it would be difficult to get through 2 full days without needing to resort to cash at some point. I don't know about Iceland, but in the UK some stores won't accept the use of debit or credit cards on purchases below a certain value.

[Carolinian]

In many countries in Europe, you also need to be aware that you will need a PIN for your credit card. Most Americans only have a PIN on their debit card, but even if your cc is US-based, in many countries in Europe they will not take it without a PIN. Assisine, yes, but something you may need to deal with. Get the issuing bank in the US to give you one before you leave.

[Keitht]

Originally Posted by Carolinian

In many countries in Europe, you also need to be aware that you will need a PIN for your credit card. Most Americans only have a PIN on their debit card, but even if your cc is US-based, in many countries in Europe they will not take it without a PIN. Assisine, yes, but something you may need to deal with. Get the issuing bank in the US to give you one before you leave.

The idea behind the use of PIN is to reduce the level of card fraud. That is not assinine! Just because the US doesn't use a system doesn't make it wrong for other countries.

[x3 skier]

Originally Posted by Keitht

The idea behind the use of PIN is to reduce the level of card fraud. That is not assinine! Just because the US doesn't use a system doesn't make it wrong for other countries.

Agree totally (but I wish they had the right turn on red rule in Europe ).

That said, I never had a PIN on my AMEX or Master Card so far and it worked fine in all the previous trips, usually one or more a year. OTOH I haven't been to Europe yet this year.

Cheers

[Anne S]

Thanks for all your replies! I was just wondering if anyone had personal experience regarding money matters in Iceland. I'm reading the Lonely Planet edition for Iceland and it states: "Iceland is an almost cashless society where the credit card is king. Icelanders use plastic for even small purchases and as long as you're carrying a valid card you'll have little need for travellers cheques and will only need to take out a limited amount of cash." I guess my question really was how "limited" and for what purpose that cash would be used? Of course Jim gives me a very graphic example of why one should carry local currency ...

By the way, my "ugly American" quip was tongue in cheek. Being born and bred in Europe I do value and appreciate the local customs and culture. I would never presume to try to talk locals into accepting USD or GBP or Euros. And I am certainly not scorning the local currency. But since (here I am quoting Lonely Planet again): "The Icelandic love of plastic makes changing foreign currency almost unnecessary," I was just wondering if I should be bold enough to test the truth of that statement ...

[falmouth3]

You may want to check with your credit card company for additional charges. We were absolutely floored with the charges that accrued on our trip to Canada. There were usage fees and currency exchange fees from the credit card company.

We normally use credit cards for everything at home but we checked with our various cards before we went to Scotland last summer. We found one (through a credit union) that didn't charge anything except the 1% fee that VISA charged them for currency change.

Have fun in Iceland. We spent about 24 hours there a few years ago with my BIL who was stationed there. We saw a lot because he took us to what he considered the highlights. Be sure to swim in the Blue Lagoon! You'll probably not experience anything like that again.

Sue

[Carolinian]

Originally Posted by Keitht

The idea behind the use of PIN is to reduce the level of card fraud. That is not assinine! Just because the US doesn't use a system doesn't make it wrong for other countries.

The problem I have is their trying to make rules for American credit cards that are different from those of the card issuer. It is the card issuer rule which should prevail. Most Americans wouldn't know they need a PIN to use a credit card in Europe, and then get stuck without being able to use the card. When I think of all of the thousands of times I have used credit cards in my life without a PIN and without fraud, this European rule is like using a sledgehammer to swat a gnat.

The first time I encountered this rule, it was using plastic to get into town where I could get a decent exchange rate as I usually do. Airport exchange rates are usually very bad. It was annoying in the extreme, but I just had to knucle down for one bad currency exchange for just enough for my ticket into town. Now I have a PIN on my Cap One card, the one with only a 1% foreign currency exchange fee, and just don't use the other cards in western European countries that requre a PIN.

This arrogant PIN rule does not apply in most of eastern Europe.

[YanaManolov]

You will need some cash, perhaps $ 100.00 exchange on the airport, but what you will need for sure is some warm clothes. They consider 60 F to be a very warm weather. My experience dates two years back - end of July.
We were lucky to stay at a guesthouse where they had a lot of winter jackets (hand me downs) to lend.

[Anne S]

We are back from our trip, and I can categorically state that theoretically you do not need local currency for a 48 hour stopover in Iceland (unless you plan to take local buses). We did exchange some orphan euros from our last European trip at the airport, figuring that we would need a small amount of cash for pesky things such as parking and pay toilets. But I am pleased to say that the parking meters in Reykjavik accept credit cards, and if there were any pay toilets we did not run into them. Our American issued Capital One credit card was accepted everywhere, and no PIN was needed.

[silvib]

Anne S - where did you stay in Cornwall? We used to have 2 weeks at different t/s and loved it. Have very fond memories of "the west country" as it is known.

[Anne S]

Originally Posted by silvib

Anne S - where did you stay in Cornwall? We used to have 2 weeks at different t/s and loved it. Have very fond memories of "the west country" as it is known.

We stayed at Lakeview Country Club, near Bodmin. It was about an hour's drive to Penzance and St. Ives, a bit longer (15-20 min.) to Land's End. Also about an hour to Tintagel, and a 15-20 minute drive to the Eden project. This was my first time to the "west country" and I really enjoyed exploring the picturesque seaside villages and the dramatic cliffside walks. And after Iceland the prices were not quite so shocking. After spending the equivalent of $10 per gallon of diesel in Iceland the $9 we spent on petrol in Cornwall seemed to be a (relative ) bargain. But I don't think the British truckers saw it my way. The day we checked out there was a truckers' protest against the high prices on petrol. The protest took the form of an endless convoy of trucks driving very slowly on A30, the highway leading out of Cornwall. (Burning petrol to protest the high price of petrol seems to me to be somewhat illogical, but hey, what do I know ...)

[silvib]

What a lovely visit. One of our t/s's was close to Plymouth and the other to Exeter but one year in the pre-t/s days, we went to the St. Ives area, as well as others and really enjoyed it. My husband's father is/was from Devon and we still have friends there. I hear you about the petrol situation. I was talking to my sister last week, she lives in Scotland, and was bemoaning the price but of course it's about double what we're paying here. We did promise ourselves a summer vacation back to the west country to visit the stately homes and such, but it hasn't happed yet.