RichyF

Is USD accepted in most places there?

according to my mate its worth taking £500 worth of $$$ for a bit of cash to start off with on our hols. the exchange rate for USD is certainly better than rupiah due to there being more demand for it over here.

thanks for your thoughts

tsastor

I have usually taken rupiah's for paying airport taxes and also taxis, small purchases etc. I don't think you will easily get a good exchange rate in stores.

Although I hate tipping, I have usually taken some small $ bills for that. Generally I have not had a need to take that much cash, eg. hotels you can pay by credit card of course.

alex0683de

While using US Dollars for purchases is sometimes not that easy in Indonesia, getting them changed to IDR is. Money changers are ubiquitous, and their rates aren't that bad. Just be sure to watch their fingers while they count out your money, and always be the last person to count your cash when leaving. They like to swap out 100K IDR notes for 10K IDR and things like that.

If you're not leaving the major tourist centers, GBP should be as easy to change as USD are. If you're going a bit off the beaten track, USD should make things easier. If you're flying off for two weeks holiday on Bali, you won't need to get USD before you go - no need to get stuck with exchange fees and rate spreads twice.

Also, consider applying for a bank account which doesn't charge fees for overseas usage of an ATM card. I've heard that this is the case for Nationwide(?) in the UK. That's the cheapest way to do it, and in the larger towns and in more touristed areas, ATMs are not that hard to find.

sfvoyage

Yes, ATMs are your best bet. They can be found everywhere in Jakarta and Bali, and at the airports.

For US dollar bills, rates at most money changers various by denomination: the larger the bills, the better the rate. So, take a variety of $20, 50, & 100 bills to suit your needs.

Banks offer better rates than money changers, but banks (at least in Jakarta) only take clean, crisp, unfolded, unmarked, un-smudged new USD bills from specific recent years and alphabets (at the start of the serial number).

HKtraveller

If you take USD in cash, make sure you have only bills not older than 2003. All 1996 bills and some serial numbers of 2001 are not easy to change. And be aware: 11 out of 10 "authorized moneychangers" will try to cheat you one or the other way.

indo79

Are you stopping by in Singapore prior to your Indonesia trip? If so, change to IDR in Singapore. They do not discriminate against older bills or dirty/used bills.

RichyF

well we will be stopping in singapore airport en route but i wont have any more than an hour until my connecting flight, can i do it in the airport?

party_boy

Yes, there are money changers airside.

TJQuill

USD not accepted in most establishments, hotels give truly horrible exchange rates. Best bet is to use ATM to withdraw IDR from your home account.

aSiAnRiCk

Money changers will give you less for any denomination smaller than $50.

jpatokal

I wouldn't really recommend this though -- the exchange rates at Changi are not great, and converting USD to IDR there will get you a double whammy as they will convert first to SGD and then to IDR. I would recommend using the ATM instead.