Hi ,

Am going to Normandy on an organised coach trip with other half at start of June. Have asked how many Euros i'll need to take with me and he just says enough for 4 lunches , drinks and spends for pressies etc. ( men!! )

Having only been over to france for 1 day when i was twelve i have no idea how much things cost. Can anyone give me a rough figure / estimate on how much i'll probably need as i'm at a complete loss!

Many thanks , Kate

Well the euro & £ are pretty much matched at the moment so on the whole you may find the proces up to 50% more expensive than previously & with the commission & rates etc at the moment I'd be tempted to not take any cash & use the old plastic friend, you'd get cover too then if anyone gets hold of your details whilst abroad.  Save keeping any unwated money. Just a thought..

If you intend to use you cards, make sure that you let your card provider know you are going to be in France beforehand.  I had terrible problems in Italy recently trying to pay my hotel bill.  I tried all my cards and each of them declined the payment because they were foreign transactions - really embarassing.
Agree that everything seemed 50% higher than when I had been there 18 months previously. 

I would take cash with me if it were me. The French are very geared up for using cards but some banks do charge for using your card abroad. I think my bank charges £2 for each transaction abroad ( and a lot more if you are withdrawing cash abroad) so wouldn't want to be paying that for purchasing a cup of coffee. Prices of food etc are much the same as they are here now that the exchange rate is not so good.

If you are going to buy euros before you go withdraw the money from your bank account and then pay for them in cash at somewhere like Thomas Cooke or the Post Office because if you pay for foreign exchange on a bank debit card your bank will charge you a percentage of the withdrawal even though you are not buying from their own bureau de change.

90 euros equals a pound today

no 90 cents equals a pound

NO........Daughter is going on Friday her turn for exchange....how much will she be spending........
Karen :(

whoops meant 90 cents!

90 euros for a pound, now, that would be good!

thank you for all replies

never thought of just using my card whilst over there. Suppose i could take some cash and then just use my card if I run out?

Thank you!!

Ooh , one more little question - would i be able to take dried fruit ( mango , berries etc ) to nibble on the coach / ferry ? Or is this not allowed?

I'd maybe have a look at the tour opertaor's website but I would have thought you'd be fine with food, I don't know if they are still funny about liquids though. Have a great time!

NO........Daughter is going on Friday her turn for exchange....how much will she be spending........
Karen If it is anything like the last two trips Flo has been on not alot as all the trips and lunches are provided by the hosting family and if outside of organsied trips the host family normally pay for meals out or visiting places. rather than let the student pay, well that is the way I did it !

I would take £50 in Euros for the odd coffee etc, but use my credit card for lunches, souvenirs and anything more than a couple of pounds worth. :)  Your local Post Office is giving a reasonable rate for a small amount at the moment.

One thing to find out about using your card abroad is whether or not your bank charge for this and, if they do, how much.

If you would prefer not to take too many euros with you, some travel agents (maybe all, not sure) do a debit card type thing by, I think, American Express, where you put money into it and you can use it abroad with no charge.  At the end of the trip you can withdraw any money left at no cost to you.

Have a great trip.

Simone :)

Ah...we have our (french) girl here at present and that is exactly it so far.
However today after trip to Herm today, they are going 'into town' on the way home to do some shopping.
Bobs does like to spend ;)
Karen