Exchanging Money in Chennai & Tipping
 

Landing in Chennai at 2AM. How easy is it to get INR? Should I just do that at hotel - are there places to get INR on Sundays near the Park Hyatt?

I am afraid the line at airport will be really long...Then again I have the free ride service (Emirates) but will need to tip driver...

OH dear me - yet another question what's the tipping policy?

so 2 questions 1) getting money 2) giving it away - aka tipping.


Thanks again FlyerTalk experts!!

landed in maa around midnight last week & the lines at the airport were pretty small....i would suggest you change your money there....you will get a much better rate than changing at the hotel....

an inr 100 tip is good enough at most places....

I would just see if there are lines in MAA on arrival, if not try the next ATM the next day.

An average driver in India earn 400-600 INR/day (Uber drivers maybe around 700-750) so 100 INR is quite enough. If you don't have Indian cash a US$ bill will suffice.

If you really need to exchange at the airport currency exchange counters i suggest converting only enough for a day or two as the exchange rates are quite poor. There is quite a spread between the buy and sell rates from the then official exchange rate. I'd tip a dollar as suggested by a previous poster until I find an ATM machine.

You are likely better off using an ATM machine for currency conversions. Keep the receipts in case you need to convert back at the airport on departure. I always withdraw using my ATM card and my ATM card provider refunds any fees charged by the ATM's bank for the withdrawal and at the end of my visit the Rupees left over are enough for tipping on my next trip.

Thank you both - excellent advice!!!!

only 100 INR? OMY