Hi we are travelling out to Costa Teguise this Monday and have arranged Sterling Travellers Cheques and our friends have organised Euro Travellers cheques. However, I went into Thomas Cook today to get some Euros to keep us going the first few days and the girl there told me I might have problems exchanging Travellers Cheques in Lanzarote!! Help!! She was however trying to get me to take out a Thomas Cook Travellers Card!! Not sure if she was maybe having me on!! Any advice? Please Thanks

I don't think you'll have a problem changing them at a bank. Additionally, your odinary debit card will work in a hole in the wall here, so worst case, you'll have some unused traveller's cheques to redeem back in UK.

there are quite a few places that will exchange your sterling or euro traveller cheques, you may be right with your assessment of the TC girl, have a great time in CT

Please do not take travellers cheques to Lanza. Shops do not all accept them (the liquor/exchange shops probably will) and those that do and all of the banks WILL charge a fee to cash them. I found this out the hard way. I hate getting ripped off and hate when others do too. I always advise folk to take English sterling with them to Lanza, keep it in you safe and take what you need to aforementioned Liquor/Exchange shops who will give a very favourable rate, even better than you'll get in UK. If you do get the card and you use ATM, when the ATM asks if you want to withdraw in euros or sterling, always go for the euro option as the bank will load charges for the sterling (as will shops, car hire and restaurants so watch and read the chip and pin machine VERY carefully). BTW, have a fab hol.

Thought travellers cheques went out with the ark!!

Hi Zengs - am half with you - but I've never been charged for using travellers cheques - but then that was ages ago.

I must admit I disagree with carrying large amounts of sterling around - for a two week self catering holiday for a family of 4 you would be carrying thick end of 2 grand out with you in cash which is crazy.

If you have got the right credit card and debit card you will always get the best rates - Ie nationwide or post office or various others...

www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk is always good for advice.

Definitely correct in always choosing the Euro option when using your cards otherwise you will get charged the supermarket or restaurants own rate!

Yeah Foodie, I see your point and the nationwide card is good tip (I use santander zero). I take sterling as it's only myself and partner and we don't spend even a grand over 3 weeks, so I wasn't taking into account those with families. But I do keep my cash in the safe and only take out what I'll use for a day or so. We did the cheques thing (even got them into Euro's) and every bank and shop that did accept them, charged us. I spoke to tourist information on main strip about this and they said that it is what happens now, so I was charged to change into euro cheques and then charged to cash them????? Hey you live and learn, it's one big curve, man!

Just got back from CT and we took sterling travellers cheques with us. The 'Liquor Shops' all change them free of charge, but make sure beforehand that they are giving you the rate they have advertised in their window.

I was getting 1.17. You'll find that some of them may 'short change' you by 50 cents, but I could cope with that.

Drop me a line if you want to know the places I used.

Glad you didn't recieve charges with them. Maybe CT is different than PDC, or it could be as yours were in Sterling while mine were in Euro's. And with you saying they shortchanged you by 5 cents, I now recall exactly what happened with the liquor stores in PDC that accepted them. They took off one cent off the rate they advertised on their boards outide as an admin commision for having to cash the cheque. So a Euro each time, which I could cope with. But the banks were the scandal, they wanted something daft like 5%. Did you try the banks in CT?

No, we always used the liquor shops. And yes, we did take sterling cheques - the rate is always a lot better when you get to Lanza