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Taking roubles into Russia Goto page Previous  1, 2

Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> Transport

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wavetossed WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 339	Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:03 pm    Post subject: Let's try to summarise the advice from this thread into one comprehensive guide. 1. Never take travellers cheques to Russia because it is hard to find places that will accept them and the process of vetting and cashing them is very time-consuming. 2. Do use ATMs if you will only be visiting large cities but before you leave home make sure that your ATM card will work internationally. Ask your bank about it. When I first left Canada, I had to change my PIN number to a shorter 4-digit PIN in order to allow me to use the ATM card overseas. 3. Do take some cash in either Euros or USD. But make sure they are in good condition. I go to a major bank in the UK and ask for brand new US notes. This is a common request because people from the UK travell to several countries, like India, where you can't get their notes overseas. Euros works fine as well in the larger cities but in smaller towns and remote areas only US dollars will do. In general, get larger notes. Sometimes there is a better exchange rate for $100 bills than for smaller ones. 4. Never pay for anything with your USD. Change some USD into rubles to last you for a few days at a time and spend the rubles. It is illegal to pay for things with USD, but it is perfectly legal to carry USD and to exchange them. Many Russians convert their savings to USD before stuffing them under the mattress. 5. When you come out through the customs gates at the airport, there will be an exchange desk nearby. Make sure that you exchange some USD immediately so that you have rubles to buy things like ice-cream, bus tickets, etc. 6. Don't exchange all of your USD at once or you will learn why Russians refer to large amounts of money as kapusta, i.e. cabbage. You don't want to spend your holiday with a head of cabbage in your pocket, do you? 7. Nobody asks if you are bringing rubles in or out. 8. If you take rubles out with you, you may get some surprised looks when you ask to spend them in the duty free shops at the airport where all the prices are quoted in euros. But they still do accept the rubles if you have them. Of course, the prices are in rubles because officially, nobody is supposed to have rubles with them after passing the x-ray machines. 9. Plan your spending and exchanging activity. ATM's are not as common as in the west. Currency exchanges are not everywhere. In small towns you may find ATMs that don't accept foreign ATM cards because the local bank isn't connected to an international network. City centres are no problem, it is the suburbs, small towns and villages where you may run into a problem. So if you are going on a day-trip, get extra cash the day before you go. 10. Anything else?
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