Money question from a Yank

[sharbear]

Hi, my DS is traveling to England and Ireland this spring with his school. He's very excited and is looking forward to his first trip abroad.

We are trying to decide the best way to carry money with him on this trip. Here in the USA everybody and everyplace accepts credit cards. I wonder if the same is true in England or if stores and restaurants are more cash based. I was thinking about having him carry a preloaded credit card or would it be better to carry traveler's checks. He already has 50 pounds to start with.

Also, the dollar is really taking a beating in exchange rates. He's going with a school group and his breakfast and dinner are provided. He only has to pay for lunch. We were wondering how much money he should take. Do you think that 25 pounds per day would be enough for lunch and any other expenses. Everything is provided except for lunch and souveniers.

Thank you very much for any info! I really appreciate it.

 

[allie5]

Yes, credit cards are accepted everywhere, just like the US!

The only exception I can think of is fast food places like McDonalds, where I know they take cards in the US, but they dont over here.

I think £25 a day is adequate for lunch. A fast food lunch will be £3-4, a sit down meal £10-£15. Most kids will probably opt for the fast food version or a sandwich, so your budget is spot on!

 

[Hilary]

Hi there! I hope your DS has a great trip to the UK

The UK is pretty much geared up to credit cards everywhere but you do still find shops unwilling to accept anything but cash for small purchases (maybe less than £5), and I'm guessing your DS's souvenir shopping might fall into that category

Traveller's cheques are accepted in retail outlets in the large tourist areas, but are not nearly as easily used as in WDW (I have no experience of other parts of the US). Mostly, visitors would exchange TCs for cash at a bank / bureau de change.

I would think £25 per day should cover lunch and souvenirs, but that may depend on the kinds of places he's being taken to. Where will he be visiting in England and Ireland?

 

[sunny04]

I travelled to London after HS graduation (has it been 7 years already???) and used traveller's checks. They were extremely easy to use, easy to exchange into pounds if needed, and safe to use. I would strongly suggest using them instead of a Credit card simply because they are accepted everywhere -- even McDonald's.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Macdonalds in the UK do take credit cards, use them all the time

 

[sharbear]

Thanks everybody!

He's flying into London for 2 days. They are going to see a show or a football game (their choice), they will travel to Strafford on Avon and Bath. The teacher is going to meet with the kids and have them decide what they want to see but it is with a bent on English Lit. They will travel to Ireland and spend time in the countryside and Dublin where they fly out of. It's ten days, 20 kids and two teachers. No parents to mess things up!

I still haven't decided what to do. I wish I knew what the exchange rate was going to do. Everytime we have another meeting the price goes up. But the trip is paid for now.

My DH went to Germany in 1985 and bought a car. Don't ask, it was always a dream of his. He brought a lot of travelers checks for the purchase. The exchange rate changed so much that when he converted his money from marks to dollars he made enough to pay for his trip!

It's great to be a Brit traveling to the states these days.

 

[Claire L]

Hope your DS has a lovely time. Don't forget Ireland use the Euro so will need to change some money into Euro notes or TC's.
Claire

 

[vernon]

I think you should find GBP 25 a day should be enough to get by on, but if he wanted to go out to sample an Irish pub a couple of nights or get some slightly better quality souveniers he might find he's a little short on cash.

Drinks in the pubs/bars run at around $5 a go, so it's pretty easy to run up a sizable bar tab, particularly in Dublin which is a great city and visiting them is really part of the culture of Ireland.