Last summer, my husband Art and I went on an amazing month-long trip to 10 European countries, including bucket-list destinations Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Amsterdam. Aside from all the pre-trip jitters and planning that had to be made, one of the things I was concerned about was how to handle our finances for the trip. 

What are the best payment options when traveling to Europe? How much cash should we bring for a long trip? Should we exchange dollars for euro in the Philippines or do it once we get there? Where should we stash all our cash while traveling to keep the money safe? Can we withdraw money easily from ATMs? What if we run out of cash or credit cards don’t work? 

There were a lot of expensive travel lessons learned, including a scary pickpocketing incident in Rome and witnessing a passenger’s backpack getting stolen on the train from Amsterdam to Belgium, which I’ll get to later.

At any rate, I’m sharing some lessons on traveling smart and money matters that might be useful for other travelers planning to go to Europe.

Don’t bring too much cash

While we brought cash in euros and dollars (all stashed in different bags and hiding places as recommended by relatives), I found it scary to be holding on to cash. With all the travel warnings I got from well-meaning relatives and family friends about pickpockets, I didn’t feel secure. I wanted to use the larger bills at once to pay for restaurants and hotels before using our cards. The problem is many places didn’t want to accept cash payments.

TIP: When sightseeing in crowded areas, don’t bring too much cash or your passport. Bring only the essentials in a secure theft-proof bag and leave the rest in your hotel. 

Use credit and debit cards

In most European countries we visited, credit and debit cards were not only widely accepted in hotels, restaurants, and ticketing booths – they were the preferred mode of payment. We found ourselves using cards more than cash for hotels, restaurants, and transport. Transactions were seamless and easy to track. There was no confusion over the bill and change. 

It was WAY more convenient to reserve tickets and pay online and many physical ticketing systems only accepted card payments. Conscious Hotel, the hotel where we stayed in Amsterdam, was completely cashless even for small transactions like beer, chips, and bike rentals, so by the end of our trip, we hadn’t even exchanged our emergency dollars. 

Keep small coins and bills handy

We did find having cash useful for some payments, including bazaars, smaller towns, souvenir shops, convenience stores, and public restrooms. In case you didn’t know, many restrooms in Europe charge 1 to 2 euros every time you need to use it. You need to keep coins handy for those stopovers. If you come across a free restroom, use it immediately even if you don’t have to go!

I also started a new collection of cat postcards (which cost about 1 to 2 euros each) and some stalls don’t have card readers for digital payments.

However, I’d highly recommend not carrying more than 50 euros a day per person, especially if you plan to visit crowded areas. 

Look for free or low-cost activities

While traveling to Europe is generally expensive, once you get there, you can still find activities that are either free or won’t cost you much. In most places, just walking around different cities felt satisfying enough. We found some fun and free things to do in Venice like Libreria Acqua Alta and free spots to visit in Lucerne like Meggenhorn Castle. In Brussels, I enjoyed walking around spotting street art and murals in the Comic Strip Route.

Pay conveniently with cash cards

When we had to pay for stuff, we used credit cards and cash cards to pay instead of cash. We used the Maya card to book train tickets from Amsterdam to Brussels, reserve tickets online for the Van Gogh Museum, ride trams and trains, and dine out in various restaurants. The Maya card can be used at any establishment that accepts Visa or Mastercard as payment. 

It can also be used on RFID-enabled transportation like trains or buses that accept Mastercard or Visa as an option. It was super convenient not to have to buy a single journey ticket every time we took public transport. The card easily worked on turnstiles in trams or trains. We just had to tap it and could easily keep track of how much things cost on the e-wallet’s app.

Know the local payment preferences

While a lot of Filipinos still prefer to carry and pay in cash, other countries rely heavily on cashless payment systems. Whenever we rode buses or trains, we simply had to tap our credit or cash cards. It was more convenient than having to find the exact amount. In most cases, there was no person to take a payment and give you change. A lot of the kiosks in public transport stops were automated. 

I wanted to buy physical tickets from attractions instead of booking tickets online, so that we could get break our bigger bills, but some places didn’t want to accept cash. After lining up to buy tickets to Amsterdam’s Heineken Museum, the kiosk only accepted card payments. So it’s important to research the payment norms before visiting a country.

Opt for affordable food options

Eating out is a big part of the travel experience, but eating and drinking out ALL the time in restaurants for a whole month can quickly burn a hole in your travel budget. We found the traditional specialties in some European countries a bit on the bland side and not so satisfying for the price. In some places, their standard solo sizes are what you’d consider good for sharing back home. In terms of flavor, Turkish and Asian restaurants seemed to offer more value for money (though of course it’s a matter of taste). I still recommend trying the local specialties.

To save on costs on meals and beer, we opted to buy food from grocery stores and delis and mixed up our meals with picnics in parks.

One good thing about not carrying cash and relying on digital payments when dining out is you have an excuse not to leave a tip. We just paid the exact amount that was shown to us. In most cases, a service charge is already added to the bill.

TIP: When using cards and you have to select whether to pay in the local currency you’re in versus your own currency, choose “Pay in the currency of the country you’re in” to avoid being charged twice for conversion rates.

Be extra careful while taking public transport

All crowded cities have their share of pickpocketing and theft, especially in crowded public transport like subways, so travelers should be extra careful of their belongings, especially their wallets, while traveling.

In fact, early during the first leg of our trip in Rome, my husband got pickpocketed when we rode the metro. A group of noisy teenagers blocked him from coming onto the train and ran off as the doors closed. We noticed his bag was unzipped and his wallet – including all of his credit cards and cash cards, was missing. 

Our first instinct was to block all his credit cards, which could be done via their apps. Then we transferred his money on the cash cards to my digital accounts. After riding back to the previous train station, and asking a ticket booth, we were told to make a report to the nearest police station. Miraculously, we retrieved his wallet with all his IDs, driver’s license, and cash cards intact!

Someone had brought the wallet to the police station but took only the cash. Thankfully, it wasn’t a lot as he was only carrying a daily allowance and we kept most of the money safely packed in our hotel. We were pretty shaken by the incident but it was handy to be able to transfer the money at once so the cash card would have been unusable. While we couldn’t unblock his credit card, we were able to still use the cash card after transferring the load back. Having an app made it easier to do that and check to see that it wasn’t used for any transactions.

If you lose a card, you can block it or transfer your balance by phone. But if you lose cash, it’s gone forever.

We also witnessed luggage theft during a 3-hour long Intercity train ride from Amsterdam to Belgium. 

During one stop, the passenger seated across us who had put his backpack in the top compartment and had taken a nap was frantic because his bag was missing. A black jacket and another smaller bag were left in its place, so it still looked like his bag was still there. We heard him calling a friend saying that all his stuff including his passport and cash was in his bag. 

There’s no CCTV in trains and anyone can board and get down in stations quickly without tickets being checked yet, as conductors make manual rounds once the train moves.

In general, the Flixbus intercity buses are cheaper and feel safer than trains since it’s P2P and everyone needs tickets to board rather than the system in trains where people get on and off frequently. It also helps to keep your smartphone in a separate jacket or pants pocket instead of a bag in case of emergencies. 

Track expenses easily with apps

Unlike paying in cash, where you can lose track of how much you’ve spent and won’t always have receipts, or credit cards, where the amount takes some time to reflect on your account, you can immediately see how much you’ve spent with a cash card and app and set a limit on how much you spend.

If you use Maya, you can reload the card easily with your phone using the app. The transaction history shows the peso equivalent of Euro payments, so you generally know how much things cost. 

TIP: Link and set up your card PIN via the mobile app before traveling and using your card. While some kiosks and machines allow swiping for payments, others require the card to be inserted and ask for a PIN, which caused some initial confusion because we hadn’t set up a PIN on the card yet. But once we did, payments were automatically detected.

Pay anywhere in the world with style using Maya

After a month in Europe, we realized that digital payments are the way to go. You don’t have to worry too much about carrying cash, and you can easily track spending. It’s safe and easy to use in highly developed countries. Travelers can rely on digital payments for convenience, safety, and security.

Having a Maya card for our Europe trip was incredibly convenient and since we’ve gotten back, I’ve been using it more for local transactions and dining out for convenience. The card can also be used like a regular ATM to withdraw cash if you need it. There’s no need to look for a money changer or go to the bank during or before your trip. Considering the time and money it takes to find good money changers, withdrawing directly using your Maya card is a great option.

Digital payments like Maya make traveling more seamless and safe. Whether you’re heading across the globe or just down the street, this sleek black card with its premium design makes a statement. You can even personalize your card with your own @username, and show off a bit of your personality every time you use it.

The good news for travelers is that you can access the perks of the Maya card without breaking the bank. You can get your Maya card for free by opening a savings account, making a deposit, and spending just P500. You can also get up to 15% p.a. boost on your Maya Savings when you use Maya for your purchases.

Enjoy the global perks and freedom of using your Maya card anywhere in the world. With over 130 million merchants and 1 million ATMs at your fingertips, this card is your ticket to seamless payments worldwide.