Originally Posted by
ttjoseph
Has the situation in Iceland changed much? I'm going with a couple friends in early January - cold and dark, I know, but I couldn't resist the low airfare.
Given what's happened to the local currency, I wonder what is the best strategy for spending money. Will I receive a better exchange rate if I bring a pile of USD and exchange it at a local bank, or should I stick with my usual strategy of using ATM and credit cards for most of my expenses?
The only rationale for bringing cash would be if there is a black market exchange rate that is meaningfully higher than the official rate. That does not appear to have happened.
Here is the current exchange rates from the Bank of Iceland, and you can see the buy/sell spread is small.
http://www.sedlabanki.is/?PageID=183
I would just use your ATM and credit cards as you usually do.