I always like to carry a little cash in case of emergency . Do you guys carry Euro or Dollar ( will do the all West Coast ) I know ATM are everywhere but still...
Thanks

I would carry a mixture of both, I have not been to West Africa but have read the Euro is popular and have found the Dollar to be better in other parts of the continent.

I just took dollars, you sometimes need them for visas too.
It is always handy to have some cash in case of atms not around, are empty or sometimes don't take foreign cards.

OK Thanks Guys
I will take a mix of both since we are two travelling on 2 bikes between visa and other expenses we better have a little reserve on us just in case...

I carried both. Last time I changed euro, it was in DRC. They prefer USD, so they exchange the euro at the same rate as USD.

In Pointe-Noire you can go to a Western Union "Bureau de change" and get more USD if needed.

DRC atm's gives USD directly.


Patrick

Never carried USD in West Africa, only euros, the CFA is pegged to the Euro ... however, Nigeria etc might well prefer some US$!!!

Bring small denominations of either currency, or it can become a problem!

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We took Euro and Dollars both, 2 grand of each spread around our luggage and car in $500 stashes.

Euro was better received in W. Africa. Euro was not at all appreciated in Zam/Zim in the South and was tricky to change, and at poor rates. Otherwise we were able to get fair rates on each when we changed. The changers try for a 25% commission usually, and if you can get them down in the 5-10 range you're doing great. You can beat the bank rates sometimes. I start negotiations at 10% better than xe.com and work down from there.

Use a notepad or phone calculator to WRITE the amounts agreed and show the numbers after saying "yes", as there is no "handshake" agreement with these clowns, and almost every time they handed me the agreed new-currency I was shorted by a few hundred or thousand. They have no shame in this, count it and call BS or ask for your EUR/USD back. Point to the numbers you wrote down and agreed to. Angrily if need be.

We had no problem using ATMs in Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote, and Guinea-Conakry (although the daily limit of about $30/day in Guinea was absurd -- but it's hard to spend that on anything but fuel ). We used moneychangers in Ghana (CFA->Cedi) and throughout Southern Africa (Rand->Kwacha, Kwacha->Pula). ATMs were abundant in Zambia and Botswana, we just had excess ZAR to get rid of. We did not transit Nigeria or the Congo, so have no advice there.

Our own travel spend had us starting with appx $1,000 of foreign currency, and rolling that ball of notes into as many countries as we could get away with, changing at borders as needed. This is 10 days of expenses for us in Europe, and 20-30 in Africa.

I used a Schwab Checking card from the USA and never had more than $2,000 in the account in case of mishaps. I replenished from external accounts as needed. I have not had any mishaps/skims yet (knock wood), but did lean on their customer service once and found it prompt and responsive -- at 2AM EST.

I had persons enter the secure ATM "booth" with me mid-transaction in both Kissidougou, Guinea-Conakry and L'viv Ukraine -- in both instances I cancelled my transaction and exited the booth ASAP and left the area. I have no idea their intentions, but assumed "no good"

We only used $1,000 of our $4,000 EUR/USD in total, and usually that at either borders for official fees, or at a hotel when we get surprised by a cash only policy and did not plan ahead.

$0.02,

- Mike

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If you are heading to Liberia, USD is king. Without it you will struggle a bit as the changers aren't very interested in other currencies, and will only change them at a poor rate.

Thanks to all of you .We will take a mix of both currency , this will be better as we will be on two bikes so between food , visa , TIP we will be on the safe side.

From my experience, money changers prefer brand new looking 100$US bills. Make sure your bills stay that way during the trip.

No ATMs sometimes dont work, only give out $50 per day or are corrupted in third world countrys. Thats why I allways carry a mixture of Euros and Dollars depending wich countrys I want to travel and for how long. In Africa I had 5000 cache...thats all i needet for two years on the road: Offroad Motorrad Weltreisen - das letzte Abenteuer