Travel Planning Guide:
Finance and Travel Money

Working out how much a travel will cost depends on so many factors. Going to Japan, Australia or America will work out much more expensive than travelling around South East Asia or India. Working out a budget for accommodation, transport, food, shopping, entertainment and emergencies will vary from country to country and therefore it is advisable to find out the general living costs of the countries you will be travelling to beforehand. Always include a reserve sum in your budget for unexpected expenses and emergencies.

Options for taking out money or exchanging money while travelling include:


Credit Cards
If used wisely, credit cards can be very useful in terms of withdrawing money from cash points or ATM machines to paying for goods and services in shops and restaurants when travelling. Interest rates from the various credit card ..more

International Debit Cards
International debit cards work in exactly the same way as they do at home and usually come free when you open a current account at a bank or other financial institution. Debit cards displaying the Cirrus and Maestro logos are ..more

Travellers Cheques
There are a wide variety of travellers cheques available including American Express, Thomas Cook and Visa. Overall, travellers cheques are poor value compared to debit cards as they often have higher commission ..more

Money Transfers
It is possible in some situations to have money transferred from a bank in your home country to a bank in another country as long as the banks have some sort of business link. If the bank agrees, you will need to phone relations or friends back home with the banks' details and ask them to arrange the transfer. Other alternatives which can be quicker include Western Union Money Transfer and Moneygram.