Tobago Cash, how much to carry?

[Richardus]

Can we buy Tobago cash at Piarco airport, or do we have to go to the bank in Scarborough?
Is it wise to leave most of the money in the safe at the hotel when we go out?
How much is a wise amount to carry around at one time when going on tours etc?

There is a Scotia Bank in Scarborough which happens to be our same bank at home. Do we have to
go there to get TT money?

I'm assuming the tours all take credit card, but we might need TT for snacks or souvenirs etc.

[David Watkins]

Richardus,don't bank( ) on all tours taking cards.You can use your debit or credit cards at most atms with the exception of 1st Citizens.You will get a better rate than at a bureau de change at the airport.A few hundred TT$ should do for walking money but if you are planning on having lunch/refreshments a thousand would be better.I always carry mine loose folded in half with small bills on the outside,
Enjoy
David

[Ninas]

Hi,
there are ATMs at Piarco airport - I know that Blue machine ATMs are reliable as I always withdraw money from Blue machine also in Tobago with my Maestro card (why pay higher provisions for credit cards? ) and never had problems with that. Blue machines ATMs are located at Tobago airport, Crownpoint area, Pennysavers, Black rock, of Scarborough (many of them are located outside of banks)and I guess also around the rest of the island. We only had to get money from the bank once, because we needed USD (1h of standing in line and we didn´t get the required amount at the end), so we preffer to get the money from ATMs.
If the hotel has a safe deposit, I suggest to use it. I don´t think it´s a good idea to carry around too much money anywhere in the world - take the amount of money you need to pay the tour operator and for drinks, food, souvenirs, etc. Most of tour operators accept credit cards, but not all! So inform yourself in advance if they accept them. Maybe you can also pay in advance (a day before) so you won´t need to take a credit card on a trip and risk to lose it.
Blue machine ATMs are OK, so I suggest not to worry too much about getting the money. Use ATMs located outside of banks if you have doubts about the security.
Good luck, relax and enjoy your holiday. Just one tip: time is running much much slower in Tobago, so don´t stress yourself too much with anything. 20 days for me to go back and can´t wait!

[Rachel Crew]

Just to add that the Scotia Bank ATM's here seem to have a lot of trouble with overseas cards, even Scotia Bank cards from Canada We've had a number of guests and friends find that their cards draw a blank there, so for ATM withdrawals it seems RBTT or Republic Bank ("Blue Machine") are the better option.

Also, remember to notify your bank that you will be using your credit card overseas for a while, otherwise they will sometimes block it if they get an unusual number of foreign transactions, because of the risk of fraud.

[Richardus]

Excellent responses and very helpful, thank you for posting!

[Ronald]

I've been using my Swedish Bankcards every time, and never have much problems. I know tha many banks want to be told that one is abroad, otherwise the card might be closed for a while. It had never happend me, but I do know some got problems.

The ATM's here in the south are working very well most of the time.
Republic's ATM at the Airport is working very well.
Royal Bank's ATM in Crown Point does also work very well.
Scotia's ATM at the junction of main road and the road to Pidgeon Point does mostly work well.
Republic's ATM by Penny Savers at Penny Savers is working very well.
First Citizen's in Canaan only say "Credit Card", not your normally bank account, and it doesn't matter if you go inside to ask why, it has been so since they open that branch.
Republic's, Royal's and Scotia's ATM's in Scarborough are also working very well.

The biggest problem is, except when the ATM's run out of momey, is the communication between the ATM and your bank. Sometimes you can not get any money at all from the ATM's, it doesn't happens so often, but its really a problem when it happens.
In case all doesn't know, when put a card into the ATM, they start exchaging data between them. That communication must be done during a certain time, and if this communication is too slow, the connection close down and you get the answer "no money on the card". That happens my about every two week.