Making your Euros go further when planning your summer vacation
Over the last year the UK Pound has lost a lot of ground against the Euro almost reaching parity at one point which has added additional pressure on those who are hoping to get abroad this summer to Europe and with limited budgets many families now need to try to make their Euros go further while on holiday. However, even before you start your holiday you can still start to save money.
Converting Pounds to Euros for your Spanish holiday.
With widespread use of credit cards, electronic transfers and other such non physical money it is easily possible to travel to other countries without any money but this is not a good idea. By checking who offers the best exchange rates (also taking into account any commission charges) ahead of time and changing sufficient money before you leave. Related to this is the idea of being able to use that ever so convenient piece of plastic that you carry around in your wallet or purse and make the necessary withdrawals at the various friendly banks you will come across on you travels. Withdrawals using credit cards are often not at a particularly competitive exchange rate and if the commission charge is less than 3% then consider it cheap compared to some of the credit card charges. Debit cards usually do not have such high charges associated with them, there are some that charge a flat fee of a £1.50 handling fee but if you are concerned you should check with your bank ahead of time. If there is a flat fee then you should consider making a few large withdrawals rather than several smaller ones.
To exchange money in the UK before departure is simple as long as you set aside some time firstly to research the best sources and secondly to actually do it. On the internet there are many services which offer good options not only for exchange rates but items such a “cash passports” and pre-paid foreign currency cards. If you prefer to do these transactions face-to-face there is the Post Office and Thomas Cook or there is even Marks & Spencers who have ATMs which will give you money in Euros. If you want to find the best deal then it is worth seeing what the current deals are both in the stores but also on the internet. The timing of the currency exchange can also be a critical part in the decision at the moment it looks as if the exchange rate may well be closer to 1.20 Euros for every Pound. Not long ago the Euro was worth almost a Pound if it reaches 1.20 Euros this will be almost a twenty percent increase. So it may be better to wait if you think that you will can achieve a better rate in the future.
A further opportunity to reduce your out of pocket expenses when purchasing foreign currency is to reduce the amount you exchange. That may seem difficult at first glance but you can relatively easily reduce the amount you will pay commission on and lose money on the exchange rates.
One of your largest outgoings will probably be for you accommodation. If you are opting for a package holiday then that will already be taken care of but if you are not tempted by this idea then local Spanish hotels will most likely be expecting to receive their money in Euros. Therefore you can benefit by trying to find suitable accommodation where the owner would be happy for you to pay in UK Pounds. The most likely situation where you will be able to come to such arrangement is where you find Spanish rental villa or an apartment for rent in Spain and the owner is English. In addition with many people waiting later to book their Spanish holiday many owners of Spanish villa rentals are no doubt more negotiable than usual.
Antonio Baptiste lives in Spain on the Costa Tropical an undeveloped and little known area of Andalucia you can find more information about the area on his blog http://www.costatropicalrentals.com Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/making-your-euros-go-further-when-planning-your-summer-vacation-934113.html