how to carry cash in India

Hi Luca ,

Can tell you that there are enough ATms around at least in the larger cities ( not only metros) . However , do check with your bank if your card works here or not and also if the places you are visiting have an ATM machine somewhere or not.

Card purchases are only accepted in most of the places for a higher value - starting at say around Rs.100 -150 . Larger stores will accept card for lesser payments too but its not the norm. So some amount of cash has to be kept when out and about since most of the smaller places - your small restaurants, shops etc may not even have a card machine,

Cheers

1. USD
   2. mostly in big cities or tourist centers.
   3. maybe only in high end places. must convert to local currency.
   
   carry about $1000-$1500 in TC, 500-1000 in emergency cash USD, and the rest is local currency....
   
   happy travelling
   
   pallav
   
   http://purnea.ee.princeton.edu/~pgupta

i've been travelling 5 months all over the place with just a visa card. and when bumping into an ATM i withdraw about 5000-10000 rs

Changing Euro-TC's is just as easy as USD-TC's, same for cash . Most hotels don't accept payment with TC's, not even the high end places.

If you choose to pay with TCs or foreign currency, the hotel/store will give you a bad exchange rate. It is better to change first and then use the local currency to pay for stuff.

Hello!

You'll be fine with your visa card, as mentioned, just stock up a bit if you know that you'll be heading away from cities and into villages for awhile.

That said, I still had a small store of traveller's checks and USD on me, just in case. In a year, I used this stash once. USD is the easiest currency to have converted.

Enjoy your trip!

Bear in mind that whenever you change money you lose in commissions. So don't needlessly change into USD etc, paying double commission for the 2 exchanges, unless your home currency is a very obscure one.

USD are excellent of course and easy to change, but I've travelled extensively in India and never had any trouble with a minor currency such as Aussie dollars (cash and TC).

I usually travel with a mixture of cash, TC, and plastic in case of Murphy's Law.

In now more than one year in India I have never used anything but a Danish VISA card and only very rarely have I had any difficulty finding ATMs. Obviously if you are straying VERY far off the ordinary tourist path you should stock up on cash beforehand, but that being said I have been in many - not too touristy - medium size towns that had ATMs. Unless you are really hell bent on experiencing village life for weeks in rural Madhya Pradesh you are unlikely to have any trouble (as long as your Visa card will work in India to begin with - ask your bank in advance).

Hi Luca,

On my last journey, I took a combination of T/C's; cash & credit cards.

I found that with the T/C's (when purchased), there was no commission charged (a bonus).

I used the c/c's a few times for cash advances but, the charges that were levied by the banks were actually more than it would have cost me for getting T/C's cashed.

The cash was the best one to go with - no commission & good rate of exchange.

In using c/c's & cash there are some drawbacks and cautions:
1) if your cash is stolen/lost, there is no form of recovery - it's gone and your insurance co. won't reimburse you for the loss
2) if the ATM's are down (happened 2-3 years ago in Mumbai due to the heavy monsoons); there's no cash withdrawls available
3) if an ATM retains your card, you could be in for some problems (if you are leaving town that day or, if it happens on a weekend when the banks are closed and you have no $$$).

Err on the side of caution and take all 3 - the combinations and amounts are yours to decide but I'd rather enjoy a holiday and be cautious than put all my eggs in one basket and find problems somewhere along the way when they break.

Cheers
Zoltan