We have always just used an ATM card to get cash while in Italy. However,this time a place we're staying towards the beginning of our trip has offered a discount if we pay cash. We have stayed there before, and are comfortable with the people. Due to the size of our group (number of rooms) we will need around 2,000.00 euros. Not enough time to get out of an ATM. Where is the best place to get euros before leaving? Local bank? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are leaving in approximately 30 days. Thanks.

Do you have any foreign exchange bureaus in town? Not at the airport. If you do, check the their rates vs. the rates at your bank.

The local bank has a 15.00 "delivery" fee to get up to 3,000.00 euros. They are checking on the exchange rate for me. It was too late to get it for me today, but they will have it 1st thing in the morning.

[QUOTE=Road King;21341412th the people. Due to the size of our group (number of rooms) we will need around 2,000.00 euros. Not enough time to get out of an ATM. Where is the best place to get euros before leaving? Local bank? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are leaving in approximately 30 days. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

brokerage atm cards allow either 1000 or 1500 dollar withdraw per day per card. forgot which. for those looking, get a brokerage card for you, and one for wife. using the two cards, we withdrew 1200 euro from atm in one morning in sicily, a couple months ago.

Lol, just be careful.

A 2000 Euro cash payment to a service supplier is illegal in Italy.
Looks like they have asked you to pay "in nero" i.e. not an official transaction so that it will not show up in the hotel/b&b accounts and they will not have to pay taxes on it.

I have rented at least a dozen apartments in several different cities in Italy. I've yet to find one that didn't require payment in cash. They may require a credit card to reserve, but I have a feeling that cash is just the way it is, unless you are going through some major agency.

When leaving from the states you can call them and ask them to raise your daily ATM withdrawal limit. This reduces the number of withdrawals, each of which has a fee.

Unless its a cheap apartment for a week where I'm OK with walking around with enough euros to pay for it, I usually tell the owner that this is all the ATM would give me, and to come back tomorrow or the next day for the rest. I never had one say, "No, you cannot stay here unless you pay it all now." They have the choice of accepting your reasonable request, or leaving the place empty. They have always understood that I'm not going to walk around with a thousand euros in my pocket.

I've had some places request that I wire the money before hand because in their words, "You have to pay in cash, and you don't want to walk around with so much cash." So it seems to be understood. Unless I'm dealing with a major organization I don't like to wire cash to an unknown party. I always say that cash is not a problem. then I show up and tell them that this is all that I could get out of the ATM today, come back and I'll give them the rest. It's an understood practice

Once, the advertised wifi connection didn't work, and I had already paid the full amount because it wasn't a very expensive place. When I called the owner and said I needed the WiFi so that I could work, he said he was hundreds of kilometers away in Puglia for the rest of the month, and there was nothing he could do. A few days later I bumped into him in the street.

Another time i hadn't yet paid the full amount, and told the owner that this is all the ATM would give me, come back in a few days. Turns out the air conditioner didn't really work very well. In the morning I called him and said that the place is an oven, you need to fix the air conditioner. Repair men were there very quickly. So paying what you can is not a bad policy.

Bottom line, don't sweat it. They know you don't want to leave the place and be without a place to stay, and that you will pay the rest. They also know that you are not going to be able to find a customer at the last minute, and won't turn you away if you a reasonable amount up front, and the rest over the next few days. Give them what you can, and make additional trips to the ATM as needed.

Going to a U.S. bank and converting dollars to euros is like getting robbed. I wouldn't do that.

Thanks for the info. I'm calling the bank as I'm writing this!

my bank still has a $250/day max. we have etrade cards for big money. i know schwab and fidelity also allow big withdrawal. no atm or conversion charge. can also pull money from margin. only cost is margin interest for those days with the money. no charge for having the cards. mine are etrade visa cards. they are NOT chipped. work in all atm with a visa sticker on them.

If it is for a dozen different rooms for different people in the group in could be legal. Depends on what kind of receipt is given if given at all (which by law you should get...lol).

IS THAT MY illegal, or the inn keeper? i have taken to paying most everything in europe with cash. on a 10 day trip, we would have over 50 charges, and i just cannt sort them out.

hotels usually cost us 1-3000 euro. i pay cash in spain, france, italy, britain, and elsewhere. how else would i pay were i not to have a credit card? pay by check?

Innkeeper.
I'm very surprised you were able to pay hotels in cash for amounts in excess of the limit, which is 1000 Euro. Hotels are usually more law-abiding seeing that they have to register guests.
Was this in last couple of years?

Apartment rental is another story and one in which landlords have a lot more margin for evasion as temporary rental contracts are rarely registered.
I myself rent an apartment for skiing vacation and pay cash, but my landlord always makes it clear that if he gets fined for tax evasion we share the fine.