Before You Travel

When you pay by card abroad, the card machine or ATM may ask whether you want to pay in US dollars or in the local currency. Choose the local currency, such as euros.

If you choose dollars, the shop’s payment company converts the price for you at its own exchange rate, with a markup built in. If you choose the local currency, your own card converts it at the Visa or Mastercard rate, which is almost always cheaper. The same applies at ATMs: if the screen offers to convert your withdrawal into dollars, decline it.

If a cashier charges you in dollars without asking, you can ask them to run the payment again in the local currency. For the lowest cost overall, travel with a credit card that has no foreign transaction fee. For more on paying abroad, see “How much cash should I bring, and can I use my cards abroad?”

We suggest carrying a couple of hundred US dollars as emergency cash, along with enough local currency to cover tips for your guides and drivers. For everything else, credit cards are accepted almost everywhere you’ll be traveling, and a card is our recommended way to pay. It’s worth letting your card provider know you’ll be traveling before you go, so that a foreign transaction doesn’t get declined while you’re away. For how much to set aside for gratuities, see “Are tips expected, and how much?” and “Should I tip in dollars or local currency?”

We suggest adding travel insurance as soon as you can, though it remains available right up until departure. The reason to act early is that two benefits are only available within 14 days of your initial deposit: the Cancel Anytime option, which lets you cancel for almost any unexpected reason and reimburses up to 80% of your trip cost, and cover for pre-existing medical conditions, which also requires insuring the full non-refundable cost of your trip. After that 14-day window our Classic and Basic plans can still be added at any point before you travel, but Cancel Anytime is no longer available and pre-existing conditions are not covered. For a quote or to purchase, call us at (800) 653-0017 or email hello@canterburypilgrimages.com.

Compare all three plans side by side on our travel insurance page.