First trip to Coz advice

[SkipperJohn]

Are US travelers checks a good idea for travel to Cozumel?
Is it a good idea to change some US $ to Pesos before we leave?
If so, a little or a lot?

Speaking of Pesos... what is the conversion? Just so I know if someone asks me for $300 pesos for a beer I want to know if I should buy it or not.

 

[billmosel]

Right now the exchange rate is about 12 Pesos to the dollar. I've never had a problem using the dollar in Cozumel however you may get a better deal when using pesos. Alot of places still use the 10 to 1 ratio.
Have fun. I'ts a great island. You can get pesos at the airport.

 

[Christi]

Are US travelers checks a good idea for travel to Cozumel?
Is it a good idea to change some US $ to Pesos before we leave?
If so, a little or a lot?

Speaking of Pesos... what is the conversion? Just so I know if someone asks me for $300 pesos for a beer I want to know if I should buy it or not.

Travelers checks are becoming more and more of a problem - mainly because the banks are SO incredibly PICKY about accepting them from the merchants - due to a lot of fraud apparently.

A fellow dive shop owner I know accepted $800 worth of travelers checks from a diver, deposited them, and then 2 weeks later had the bank deduct the amount from the account balance because the travelers checks had been reported stolen - by the very people that submitted them for payment! The money has yet to be recovered from the clients or the bank.

Additionally, the signatures have to match EXACTLY, or they won't accept them.

For these reasons, you may find more and more merchants and service providers refusing to accept them - they really are outdated if you think about it

Use your ATM card when you need cash. You'll get the best rate of the day and you can take money out as you need it so you won't be carrying around or leaving in your room wads of cash. Remember, when using an ATM machine, YOUR bank is the one converting the money, so they will be using the market rate, not the retail street rate here - that's GOOD for you.

One last tip on ATM's, don't be alarmed if you see the usage fee pop up on the screen of $7.50 - that's 7.5 pesos not dollars The peso sign is the same as the dollar sign.

Do not change USD to pesos in the US before you leave! No need for and you won't get as good of a rate because in that case you are buying foreign currency. You are always going to do better to buy foreign currency in the country where it is the local currency.

Make sure you have some small USD bills on you and that will get you by until you can get some pesos out of a machine here.

Local exchange rate as of this morning is 12.75 pesos to $1USD

Hope that helps!

 

[scubawife]

A fellow dive shop owner I know accepted $800 worth of travelers checks from a diver, deposited them, and then 2 weeks later had the bank deduct the amount from the account balance because the travelers checks had been reported stolen - by the very people that submitted them for payment! The money has yet to be recovered from the clients or the bank.

That's horrible. If the divers were notified and have not made good with the dive op yet, it would seem that this was planned. If they are dead beats then I hope the shop shares their identity with the rest of you so the next time they come to Cozumel it's cash-only.

 

[Christi]

That's horrible. If the divers were notified and have not made good with the dive op yet, it would seem that this was planned. If they are dead beats then I hope the shop shares their identity with the rest of you so the next time they come to Cozumel it's cash-only.

Yes, they are deadbeats and probably planned to do this. It was last year but, it makes accepting travelers checks scary for all of us nonetheless - and apparently this type of thing happens pretty frequently, so the banks are making it harder and harder to accept TC's. Oh yes, that shop sent an e-mail out to several shops to let them know of the situation and to watch for their names - that's how I knew about it I heard they did the same thing to the hotel! By now the issue may have been resolved because I know the authorities were getting involved to investigate - but I never heard the final outcome - except that I know the dive shop didn't recover the money.

 

[blue steal]

Oh man that is bad. I am bringing enough Travelers checks to cover the cost of the resort and diveop as they told me it would be fine, but after that I'll use ATM for pesos for all other expenses. I would like to use $US for tips to the DM's/crew, maids, etc.

 

[DandyDon]

I've had extreme difficulties using leftover Travelers Checks here locally. Never going to use them again...!

 

[Christi]

I've had extreme difficulties using leftover Travelers Checks here locally. Never going to use them again...!

You should be able to take them back to your bank and simply deposit them to your account - as long as you left the made payable to field blank , and then just fill in your name.

That's what I always used to do if I had leftovers!

 

[DandyDon]

You should be able to take them back to your bank and simply deposit them to your account - as long as you left the made payable to field blank , and then just fill in your name.

That's what I always used to do if I had leftovers!

Oh sure. I just am used to using them like cash, and was amazed at how they fail at that now. Computer printers have just become to good.

If one does not want to carry their ATM card, get a one time use Travel Card, Debit Card, or whatever the banks call those with a limited amount on it.

 

[Christi]

If one does not want to carry their ATM card, get a one time use Travel Card, Debit Card, or whatever the banks call those with a limited amount on it.

Yes, that's actually a GREAT idea! They're even available here now in the grocery store! I saw them the other day at Soriana (one of our grocery stores). Works like a credit/debit card - you simply prepay the amount you want on it. For personal use or to give as a gift!