why is it you recomened we use [pesos over dolloars i brought dollars on my last trip have laready changed half my holiday moneu into dollars should i change the rest that im brining into pesos
I have read 3 different articles on that law, I believe steve is completely right, it is for the banks and banking members not allowing more then 300 a day in exchange and 1500 per month for non banking members... I havent read anything in any of the articles that would affect the average tourist from spending and exchanging whatever they wanted, Sue and Dave, I would contact someone other then the travel company for questions, cuz like steve said, they may be involved with a bank in mexico and they can not as a business deal with a certain amount.. but I think you guys will be fine. I have read that this is an attempt for the government to control money laundering and the amount of money being "Cleaned" through mexican banks, pertaining to the us dollar and drug trafficing, illegal activities etc
With dollars you'll be short changed on the exchange rate far more often than you will bringing pesos and paying for the odd things that are priced in dollars. Tours, club entrance, car hire and water sports are about the only things usually priced in dollars I can think of - everything else is in pesos. Many restaurants will still use a 10 pesos to 1 dollar rate when it hasnt been that high for years and the real exchange rate is closer to 13:1 Example your restaurant bill comes to 1000 pesos, Many places will charge you $100 if you pay in USD when they really should charge you $77 (and then to add insult to injury most people will tip their 15% based on the $100 rather than the $77 - so you'll end up paying $115 for something that you could have paid $88 for). Same when you buy stuff priced in pesos with dollars at the hotel gift shop, convenience stores, taxis, bus fare etc. Then, when you get your change back in pesos, many will short change you knowing you dont understand the currency. Really I would recommend everyone use Pesos, but for those from the US who are already used to dealing with Dollars on a daily basis and dont incur any exchange costs I can understand why they'd prefer to use them in Mexico too. The cheapest way of using money here for those not from the US has always been to withdraw local currency from the ATM just like you would at home. Even if your bank charges you a fee this is normally more than made up for by the fact that: a) you paid a commission to convert into dollars or pesos when you bought them at home (or the "no commission" deal gave you a lousy rate) and b) the much better "mid bank" exchange rate you'll receive via the ATM. Imho the worst thing you can do is bring US Dollars as a Brit because not only do you pay commission to buy them in the first place you then lose out when you spend them by being ripped on the exchange rate. Also since 20 pesos is £1 (1 peso = 5p) it's much easier to understand the value of something rather than figuring out 13 pesos to the dollar then 1.5 dollars to the pound.
That's correct. Although, as usual, the money launderers and drug gangs will find another way (I doubt many used banks in the first place in any case) and it's the regular folks who end up being inconvenienced.
chhers for that steve so bit of dilemma now do i keep the dolloars i got and justchange rest of my money into peoso or do i change the dollars also into pesos or am i gonna lose out doing thta
No, I wouldnt change them again Shane. Keep the Dollars you have and use them for nightclub entrance and tours (although UK companies wont take them for tours everyone else will, in any case Thomson tour prices are ridiculously high). Use your Pesos for everything else and if you need more money use your bank card at the ATM for more Pesos.
thanks for the info steve, we r really not worried about exchanging the dollars we have, we have got some pesos, enough to pay for the departure tax, small dollar bills for tipping, the rest we will just spend at the bars, there is no way that the mexicans are going to refuse dollars, and like you said, it would have been writen down all over the place if they were serious about bringing this in, and we def have no intension of booking any trips with thomson, good idea about the atm's, always seemed abit wary of using them abroad, we have enough trouble in england with people scamming the atm's, thanks again and to jim, our paths will meet one day jim .
I surely hope so, it was a shame what happened in April to you guys, So I am hoping you have a phenominal trip this time and I look forward to one day sharing a drink by the sexy pool with both of you guys, :beer4: cheers to a great vacation for ya
