What currency to use?

[robd]

Hello everyone!

I am headed out to Curacao in a few days. Have not been there since the split away. Is the Guilder still used all over the island? Or have they switched to the dollar? Asking because we are getting a great exchange rate from the dollar.

 

[lexvil]

Either last April

 

[robd]

Either last April

were the menus in dollars or guilders?

 

[Saturated and satisfied]

The guilder is still in use and so is the dollar. Nothing has changed since 2010.

 

[lexvil]

were the menus in dollars or guilders?

Sometimes both, it wasn’t something I gave a lot of thought to at the time because it was all pretty reasonable.

 

[ontdiver]

I find it surprising that many travelers do not have the inclination to do any independent research on the country they are planning to visit. Is this a generation thing or a reflection of the reliance on social media to educate us?

 

[rick00001967]

would the post not be considered "research" ? ie: gathering info from others who have been to that location.

 

[ontdiver]

Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for the SB community and the wealth of information that is available at all hours of the day on a wonderful range of topics. But if someone is going to country X, they should at least be checking the site of the Embassy of that country to see what the local currency is. It just seems like common sense to me, but I accept that I am a bit old school.

 

[morecowbells]

Personally, I do not see any thing wrong with inquiring about currency status. While it is easy to Google the country in question, the answers will often tell you that both local and US currency is widely accepted. However, there can be a large grey zone. Some places do not offer a favorable exchange rate(i.e businesses in Cozumel), or some smaller mom and pop businesses may prefer local currency only and are not set up to accept credit cards(i.e. St. Vincent). I have visited places where they prefer the tips in US dollars, and others who do not want to deal with the US dollar-especially if there is even the tiniest tear on the bill since it may not be accepted at their bank. Personally, I would rather get feedback and anecdotes from this forum than get a generic answer from government sites. Just my 2 pesos.

 

[Damselfish]

Government sites may have current and technically correct info but tend to be less useful for “how it really is.” Tourist and travel sites are all over the place. Here you’ll tend to get useful info, and if someone gives incorrect or incomplete information here someone will likely correct them.