WHICH CURRENCY IS BEST FOR PRAGUE?
Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder
Q I am due to go to Prague for a long weekend and was about to order my euros, but I read that this isn't necessarily the best currency as not everywhere accepts it. Instead, people have mentioned getting the Czech crown. Please can you confirm which is the best currency to get?
Rachel R
A Take clean Bank of England notes in denominations of £20 or less (fifties are regarded with suspicion), and guard them carefully against pickpockets. Change £20 at the airport when you arrive, to get into town. The rate won’t be brilliant, but it’ll be better than you get at a UK airport. Once you’re in the city
centre, shop around a few bureaux de change.
Shopping around involves more than comparing the rates advertised outside foreign exchange, because these can be deliberately misleading. Typically the “buy” rate (ie the one aimed at people changing sterling) will be 30 crowns or less to the pound, with the “sell” rate perhaps 32 to £1. In tourist areas, some unscrupulous foreign-exchange outlets advertise the latter, even though they know that, for the vast majority of customers, the “buy” rate is the one that counts.
In addition, some deduct an extortionate amount in commission. So ask at the counter, “How many crowns will you give me for £100?”. At today’s tourist rates, you should be looking for a figure of 2,900 or more.
Some dodgy characters on the street will promise you far more. While in the Communist era there was a definite financial advantage in indulging in black-market dealings, today there is none. Last time I was in the Old Town, someone tried to pass off Yugoslav dinars from the 1990s as Czech crowns.
It may also be useful having a few euros, as some merchants price their services in the currency, but don’t bother to get any specially.
Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
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