How obtain $USD while travelling?

We needed very little US$ on our extended trip - central Europe, a bit of the Mediterranean, southeast Asia, northern Africa - a year ago. You are right - local currency out of ATM's and if you must have US$ you can change it at a bank - for double the fee as you say. (Just consider it part of the cost of your journey.) You will need US$ in Cambodia for visa on arrival and as the expected currency for anything more than a few dollars. A few hundred will go a long way in Cambodia. Vietnam does not have currency exchange stations where you can get rid of leftover dong when you leave, so don't get more than you need. I can't believe that the dollar is going to command much attention these days. As an American, I don't even want dollars anymore. I think the Euro is becoming the currency of choice. Have fun!

I travel extensively and only use ATMs. I keep a few hundred dollars in case of emergencies, but that is it. ATMs are everywhere...well, almost. Recently was on the Nicoya Penninsula in Costa Rica. Only ATM was many miles away and public transport was tough. Luckily, I had my stash and it helped me get through until I could find a way over to the ATM!!

I don't know where you got this idea you are going to need US$ for things on your list. There are very few instances indeed where someone would ever need US $ except in the USA. Do you think a traveller from a country other than the USA, travels with a stash of US $ in their sock? NO ONE needs US $ to travel.

{quote:title=quote:}Do you think a traveller from a country other than the USA, travels with a stash of US $ in their sock? NO ONE needs US $ to travel.{quote}

With all due respect, most people I meet traveling carry US dollars on them, if only to buy visas. Some countries require visas to be paid for in US cash, not local currency. More and more are beginning to take Euros and I'm sure this trend will continue. In countries where the money comes in small denominations (for instance, where the largest bill in local currency is equal to $1.50) buying something big (tour, plane ticket) is usually done in dollars and sometimes Euros.

I'm not sure if financially it makes more sense to take the money out of an ATM in local currency and convert it or to exchange travelers checks. Both will require a lot of fees. I suspect TX would be worse, sometimes they make you convert it to local currency and then to dollars. I ran out of dollars when I got to Africa and knew I'd need the cash for visas, safari and a gorilla permit. I took out the max on my ATM and then exchanged it for dollars at an exchange booth. I paid my fee to the D.R.C. in US cash (I might have been able to use Ugandan cash) and then paid for the safari with a combination of travelers checks, Tanzanian cash and US cash.

Agreed. Many out of the way places don't have ATMs. And if you run out of local currency (like I have done several times), you will need your USD stash. In many of these out of the way places the USD is the only currency they will accept. Unless it has a tear or a small hole in it!!! ;-)

I was wondering about this as well because part of my rtw plans include an overland safari in Africa, and this usually involves a several hundred dollar local payment in USD. Carrying so much cash with me on the road makes me a touch nervous, particularly since Africa's not my first destination, so I was wondering if there was any good way around getting them without carrying them from the start...

In some countries, and particularly for visa-on-arrival scenarios noted above, immigration officials sometimes insist on US dollars. I always carry a stash of cash, both for this reason, but also for simple emergencies, i.e., when I run out of local cash, etc. I have never had a greenback refused! There can be other (obscure) reasons as well to carry dollars (or Euro); for example, when I was trying to buy an Ethiopian Airways ticket last year, and at the EA office in Addis Ababa, the fare was quoted in dollars and they would only accept the local currency after considerable argument from me (I wanted to get rid of my excess Birr). When necessary, I have also been able to replenish my dollars stash, usually by going into a bank and simply asking at the exchange counter, albeit at a premium exchange rate. I have found, for my annual 6-months trips, that a stash of app. $250 works, in 10's, 20's and 50's, and maybe a few singles thrown in, and all in near-pristine quality.

Jeez dude...calm down. Sorry to argue with you, but I have run into numerous occasions when only USD were accepted. I could care less what currency they ask for. Euro, Yen or XXXX. But USD was all that was accepted. And that is from 4+ years of full time traveling in almost 60 countries now. I remember one time having to help somebody change their Euro's into USD. Yes, I was nice and gave them a great exchange rate...really. When you are 3 days into the jungle, you don't have many options...

The Euro is getting more play now, but still not at the level of the USD. Wow...not worth aruguing about like this....

I agree with Craig; there are times when $US are simply the only way to get where you want to go. Of course it is maddening when forced to comply with such arbitrary and/or illegal demands but, if the only means to get that visa is by paying $US, the choice will be to roll with it or turn around and go back. These Immigration/Consular officers really don't give a whit whether you enter or not. Sometimes argument will work for you (as it did for me in my example at the EA office); other times it will get you nowhere and ultimately, if you want the visa badly enough, you just suck it up. This is the reality of traveling in some of these (developing) countries.

The OP at least has the foresight to ask the question; so, yes, he should keep a stash of cash, be it dollars or euros, and if for no other reason than the unforeseen and/or emergencies.