money

Anyone heading to Malta or Cyprus over the new year break should be planning ahead, as on January 1st, 2008, these two countries will be dropping their local currency (the pound and the lira, respectively) and will replace them with the euro.

This will bring the number of countries in the euro zone to fifteen, and will make life much easier for travellers, removing the need to exchange currencies upon entry from other eurozone countries.

Of course, if their experience of the euro switchover is anything like mine was, living in Amsterdam at the time of the 2002 changeover, then prices will rise dramatically.

The was a short article in the Sydney Morning Herald last weekend on withdrawing money when travelling. There's some good tips in there, although I'm surprised that travellers cheques are listed almost as an afterthought. They've been around for over century, and are still the most reliable way of getting money. Here are my top ten tips for dealing with money when travelling.