How much cash?

[F51]

I don't like carrying a lot of cash, especially in less-developed areas, but I can envision situations where it might be helpful. So how much? A few dollars, a few hundred dollars? (anyone suggesting a few thousand doesn't know how poor I am)

[model 10]

We start out a 6 month cruise with about 5 Bens stashed. There always seems to be something that costs a couple. Last year I hit another boat and lost both my cash cards..

[Stumble]

I hate to say it, but a couple of thousand. Preferably in small bills, certainly half should be in 5's and 10's. A lot of places don't accept cards, and those places almost certainly won't have change.

[msponer]

Enough to pay any port or exit fees and leave the country.

I've been close to stuck a few times, either from drama like a currency crash/bank run that empties the ATMs and makes lines around the block at the bank, or an incompatible ATM/VISA network, or just losing my wallet.

It is so nice to be able to have enough cash to still do what you want until it's convenient/possible to get another ATM card.

We also setup an account with an online bank just to have a 'backup' ATM card. And of course only carry one card at a time when we go ashore.

[Coops]

Anything under a thousand nowadays is not a lot of cash. No matter how poor or rich, it is still not a lot.

Coops.

[clownfishsydney]

Depends where you are planning to cruise and for how long. More information is probably needed to give good advice.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by clownfishsydney

Depends where you are planning to cruise and for how long. More information is probably needed to give good advice.

Agree with this but we carry very little cash as ATMs are everywhere. When we started 7 years ago we did carry a lot of cash on board but not now. A couple of hundred at the max right now.
But that depends on where you are going.

[zeehag]

atms are everywhere.
EXCEPT where you drift into strange new non tourist port with a dead starter and low cash in hand (less than 50 usd), and low fuel stores.
oh yes ALL fuel stops use and accept all credit cards. (only in usa)
ALL mechanics accept all credit cards( only in usa)
american express???? FORGET IT!
that aint gonna happen.
travellers checques??
NO out of country checks accepted nor cashed.
OHKAY.....
what do you have to trade they can and will use
or need
of value
and so
........

yeah i know 50 usd is not much. 150 usd, in local currency, is an apparent fortune...iff the exchange rate works in your favor
negotiate and barter and have friends send dough(western union is everywhere, for a fee, and during specified hours..) and ye will be fine.

occasionally i learn new stuff--like, canada banks have a chip in their cards(atm ) and these often are not accepted by some mexican atms. sometimes, some clear tape over that chip on the debit/charge card will allow the card to function in mexican atm affected by this glitch. ssshhhhh. this is a huge secret.
lifestyle challenges are fact of life. adapt and win.

[Kenomac]

I rarely, if ever have more than a few euros on me, a few meaning less than 10. We pay for everything via VISA or MasterCard on cards with a minimum of exchange rate charges. Very few businesses outside the U.S. accept American Express.

[Ndavies]

We were in the Bahamas last year waiting for a cold front to pass (Spanish Wells). The phones went out for 3 days, so cards and ATMs were useless.
Word on the street was that the US Coast Guard jammed the phones because of a drug bust. I don't know if that was the case or not, but it made us realize the value of cash.

Neil
S/V Midnight Sun II
www.midnightsunii.com

[John A]

I had been a victim of identity theft and credit card number theft in the US, and was super cautious while visiting third world countries. I never did a credit card transaction for under $300. I always tried to keep a $500 reserve and only carried as much cash as I was willing to lose/spend. for off boat usage.
Traveling up and down in the Eastern Caribbean I kept about $100 of each denomination in reserve.i.

[thinwater]

ATMs are everywhere.... right.

We ended up digging deep on an island on the middle of the Chesapeake. You see, on Sunday many businesses are closed, one was having an internet problem and the service techs were on the mainland, the remaining one was broken... and we needed gas and to pay off the marina.

A simple safe is a dummy electrical box near the main panel. A thief is not going to take that much time, though it will take only moments for you to access it. The box has saved us a few times, every few years. Just gotta remember to re-fill it.

[ohdrinkboy]

I carry more cash than most of you while on vacation in the islands. A few thousand is not unusual.

[MarkJ]

I think anyone with less than $20,000 cash is foolish. $30,000 is better. $50,000 is great.

Obviously I am a fool that I despise because I don't think I have ever had more than $500 in cash on the boat.
The Third World probably invented ATMs. Every coconut palm in the Pacific dispenses money and even the Asians have caught up with the idea the the Rivers of Gold trickle from a piece of plastic.

More than a few hundred dollars is not necessary and probably marks you as a target.

Mark

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by thinwater

ATMs are everywhere.... right.

We ended up digging deep on an island on the middle of the Chesapeake. You see, on Sunday many businesses are closed, one was having an internet problem and the service techs were on the mainland, the remaining one was broken... and we needed gas and to pay off the marina.

A simple safe is a dummy electrical box near the main panel. A thief is not going to take that much time, though it will take only moments for you to access it. The box has saved us a few times, every few years. Just gotta remember to re-fill it.

There is a marina and gas fill in the chesapeake that won't take credit cards? We've found outside the US almost everybody will take a credit card, there are lots of ATMs and whoever you're dealing with may not know how to exchange US dollars anyway. So a sensible thing is to carry some cash, but work those credit and ATM cards.