Cash and ATM

[Caz spencer]

Hi All, my friend and I are starting our first Camino on 4th May from SJPP and would like to know how much cash in general to carry and the availability of ATM - we were thinking around the €250 mark the when we run low find a machine and cash up again.
Working on a daily average of €35 or more ???
Appreciate your ideas !!!!

 

[domigee]

Hi All, my friend and I are starting our first Camino on 4th May from SJPP and would like to know how much cash in general to carry and the availability of ATM - we were thinking around the €250 mark the when we run low find a machine and cash up again.
Working on a daily average of €35 or more ???
Appreciate your ideas !!!!

Sounds right to me! Are you planning on having a guidebook at all? It'll tell you where there are ATMs (or not...)
Buen camino!

 

[mspath]

Do check out this earlier recent thread with helpful tops/posts re ATMs on the camino.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/atms-on-camino.51235/

Happy research and Buen camino!

 

[Momonne]

Caz, you are bang on. Well done.

One tip: avoid using ATM when bank in closed in case it decides to swallow your card as noone will be on hand to rescue it from the machine.

 

[Marbe2]

I carry a second bank card which I give to my sister to hold as we walk. This way I have a better chance of not losing both cards and have a back up just in case a card does get eaten up at ATM. We stay mostly at hostels. Many took Visa or MasterCard. We used Visa often for our main meal. Lots of places took it. You get a better exchange rate using credit card. If you use a credit card always make sure they charge you in euros! We took out 300 euros at a time and each held 150 euros if cash was needed. The Albergues we stayed at with the exception of two took the Visa/MasterCard but we got a private room. A couple of places asked for donations and there we payed cash.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

In 2015 we averaged 72 euros a day for the two of us. Usually we stayed in the 10 euro per night albergues but took private rooms occasionally for maybe 35 euros per night. When we withdrew money from an ATM we always took out the same amount, 300 euros (to make it easier to see if someone else might be withdrawing, not paranoid but it is helpful; I now suggest a weirder amount like 280.) Since there was two of us to carry the cash we tried not to fall below 150 euros. Thus we had around 2 to 6 days worth of cash with us and had plenty of debit and credit cards too.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi All, my friend and I are starting our first Camino on 4th May from SJPP and would like to know how much cash in general to carry and the availability of ATM - we were thinking around the €250 mark the when we run low find a machine and cash up again.
Working on a daily average of €35 or more ???
Appreciate your ideas !!!!

Hi Caz,
€250,- will be spot on

Wish you well and a Buen Camino,Peter.

 

[Momonne]

The Albergues we stayed at with the exception of two took the Visa/MasterCard but we got a private room. A couple of places asked for donations and there we payed cash.

Albergues taking credit cards!? Am I the only one who hears of this heresy for the first time?

 

[Marbe2]

Happy to assist. Here some of the Albergues we used Credit card at Between Leon and Santiago
Albergue Vieira. SAn Martin del Camino,
La Casa, del Peregrino, El Acebo
ALbergue Guiana, Ponferrada
ALbergue Reboleira, Fronfria

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Place €10 to €20 in a wallet or money belt that you can afford to lose. If demanded by some nasty person, be prepared to give said wallet or money belt without opening it. If you have kept an old credit card, black out the signature and CVC number on the back, even better, scrape them off and let them have that too. Once they see it is expired, likely long after they have gone, they will just toss it. But notify the credit card company that an old card has been stolen.

If you are a very confident person, pull out a €5 and hand it to them. Tell them they can have that, anything more will cause a problem, moreso for them.

Keep the rest in a much less accessible spot.

Finally, to stave off potential responses as some may consider this to be controversial, please understand that I have been in the business of personal safety and security for close to 40 years. These methods work, if used properly or I would not divulge them here.

 

[Hiawatha]

Some banks charge a larger fee for withdrawals than others , this seems to differ from region to region . Santandar was reasonable enough , Caixa ? not so .
Withdrawing a set amount other than multiples of fifty each time also helps , this makes it much easier to spot a ' different ' withdrawal in an online statement . If you habitually withdrew 375Eu. then any other amount will stand out instantly .

 

[C clearly]

Also, withdrawing an amount that is not a multiple of 50 will ensure that you get some notes less than 50 Euros.

 

[dfox]

If I may add, when withdrawing funds from Spanish ATMs using a non-Spanish currency denominated credit/debit card, it is desirable not to select the "conversion" function.

The system will first convert the Euro in US dollars and then from US dollars to your "native" dollar, e.g., Australian dollar. In other words, you may need to pay foreign exchange twice.

 

[Marbe2]

Place €10 to €20 in a wallet or money belt that you can afford to lose. If demanded by some nasty person, be prepared to give said wallet or money belt without opening it. If you have kept an old credit card, black out the signature and CVC number on the back, even better, scrape them off and let them have that too. Once they see it is expired, likely long after they have gone, they will just toss it. But notify the credit card company that an old card has been stolen.

If you are a very confident person, pull out a €5 and hand it to them. Tell them they can have that, anything more will cause a problem, moreso for them.

Keep the rest in a much less accessible spot.

Finally, to stave off potential responses as some may consider this to be controversial, please understand that I have been in the business of personal safety and security for close to 40 years. These methods work, if used properly or I would not divulge them here.

Reading your post made me realize that my fanny pack is too
Inviting or tempting! I like your idea of a throw away wallet so to speak! I will also find a safer place for real wallet. Where do you carry Yours?
Thanks!

 

[gagseymt]

Hi All, my friend and I are starting our first Camino on 4th May from SJPP and would like to know how much cash in general to carry and the availability of ATM - we were thinking around the €250 mark the when we run low find a machine and cash up again.
Working on a daily average of €35 or more ???
Appreciate your ideas !!!!

The most I carried was €100 as there are many atm on the route. The more you carry the more you an possibly loose. Burn Camino.

 

[t2andreo]

Use cash whenever possible in the small towns and villages. That amount mentioned above is perfect. Replenish as needed, and where ATM machines are available. Every four - five days is about right. Start out with this and adjust your amount-carried as needed.

ONLY use automatic teller machines that are mounted in the wall of a functioning bank. Free standing ATM machines located in cafes, tiendas, etc. are generally privately owned and charge high fees. An exception would be for a clearly bank-owned free standing ATM in a train station or airport. These are readily apparent. Also, you have no idea whether or not the privately owned machine is skimming your bank and PIN information.

Here in the US, you can buy a private ATM type machine for your business and use it more or less as you see fit. So, it is caveat emptor...

So, I recommend sticking to a real bank. Your chances of security are higher and, should your card get eaten (It has happened) you can go inside and retrieve it...