bocastephen

I don't travel too far off the beaten path, but I've never had a problem using credit cards for 90% of my day to day activities abroad. In fact, I don't even carry a wallet - I take my drivers license (photo ID just in case), credit card and ATM card which I use for ad hoc cash withdraws, which all go deep into my front pocket where I can feel them. In Asia, I keep some cash for street food and local shop purchases, but in an amount I'm willing to lose (aside from the fact I have better odds of being struck by lightening vs pick-pocketed in Tokyo or Taipei).

Now, I will say this - the last time I was in Rome and stayed at the Westin Excelsior near the Barberini subway station, every night I annoyed the station staff by handing them a wallet I would find on the escalator coming up from the tracks - like clockwork, I would always find one full of credit cards, ID, family photos....but no cash. So the answer is - research the place you're going and plan accordingly.

As the Rio Olympics approach, assuming they actually happen, every favela urchin in Rio is going to descend on public areas like locusts to a wheat field, and lift every valuable imaginable from visitors, officials and athletes alike....so Olympic visitors should plan accordingly.