Hello all,
Looks like I’m flying to KHH next week. I’m wondering what is a good amount of Taiwanese currency to have on hand. I don’t have a Taiwanese bank account but my credit card works fine internationally. I’m mostly worried about getting through the airport (which includes signing up for a phone, somehow) to a taxi, and from the taxi to the hotel. Does 10000 NTD sound like enough but not overkill?
Dolla dolla bills y’all!
How long will you be there? Wha it’s the purpose of your visit?
If for 1 or 2 days, 10000 is fine.
Quarantine has been abolished? Covid is gone?
I’ll be working, so hopefully the Taiwanese currency will start flowing in sooner than later. Basically it is just the first day that I’m worried about, plus a little extra for incidentals. Are there things at the airport that are better with cash, or need it, like the SIM card? Does the taxi need cash?
The last three countries I lived in outside of North America were cash-based, is electronic payment with an international credit card pretty easy to roll through KHH and the taxi?
OK, thanks!
I think your best solution would be just going to the ATM when you land, rather than trying to get TWD from abroad? (Note that I’ve never flown into KHH, so you’d probably want to check you’ll have access to an ATM there.) Unless you’re already somewhere in Asia where it’s relatively easy/cheap to get TWD, that is.
I wouldn’t personally have enough faith in international credit card payments in Taiwan to rely solely on a single credit card. If it doesn’t work for whatever reason, it’d be a bit of a pain.
That should be fine. It’s a bit of a pain that the largest-denomination bill is only worth $35 yet some places here only accept cash. It makes for a thick wallet. The good news is that theft is practically non-existent, so it’s relatively safe to carry a large amount of cash. You could always carry a couple of US hundreds, too, if you want to add some easily-exchangeable cash without as much bulk.
Your ATM/debit card should work here, too, though your bank may have fees, of course. For both debit and credit cards you can minimize the chance of problems by letting your bank know that you will be traveling.
$10000 is good arriving, $5000 is probably sufficient before you hit an ATM within 24 hours.
I try to never arrive in a country without sufficient currency to get me through at least a day and a night to include taxi, transport, food, and hotel and other basic unforeseen expectations
Not all ATMs work with International ATM cards. You might have to hit two or three before you find the one that works. 7-Eleven and Family Mart usually work and that’s possibly your best bet. Or if you see a Citibank or internationally recognized ATM Bank
Taiwan is somewhere in the middle. Most places accept cards, but many don’t, and it can be difficult to predict what will or will not. You definitely want to carry some cash. I think taxis are theoretically supposed to accept cards, but I wouldn’t count on it working. $10k will get you taxis for weeks, though.
Plus a SIM card, plus incidentals?
Given the SIM card cost, is $10000 the better choice?
could just go 7500 i suppose…
Yes. Even $5k would work, but 10 if you want to be extra safe.
In the end I brought $20000, because I had to taxi from Taoyuan instead of KHH (long story) and have to pay for a COVID test at the end of quarantine. The hotel wanted cash for the food part of my stay, which was unexpected so good thing I had extra.
For my case, if I could go back in time I’d advise myself to bring $30000 NTD so I don’t have to look for an ATM as soon as I’m out of quarantine.
Welcome to Taiwan, glad you’re safe out of quarantine.
thank you?
Oof, a taxi from Taoyuan to Kaohsiung? That must have been ten grand by itself. Too bad they don’t have quarantine HSR cars.
Government subsidized quarantine taxi from the airport to my quarantine hotel, only $2600
Way easier than trying to save the taxi cost by flying direct to KHH, I tried that first and it cost me a lot in time and cancelled plane tickets (mostly reimbursed, but still).