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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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I've walked into a bank in La Paz on more than one occasion, just to exchange, and never had a problem. And no account.
Travelers checks are becoming anachronistic. You ought to check out the incredible decline in their use world-wide. All because of ubiquitous ATMs.
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bill erhardt
Super Nomad
Posts: 1376
Registered: 4-2-2005
Location: Loreto, BCS
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Mitch.......I use my US Bank of America debit card to get cash in Loreto. I usually make withdrawals of 10,000 pesos. For each transaction two
separate fees are charged to my account, one charge of $5 US, and a second charge of 1% of the cost of the transaction in US dollars. At the current
rate of exchange total fees for withdrawal of 10,000 pesos is around $12 US. I have checked a couple of times and the rate of exchange given at the
local ATM's is pretty close to the prevailing rate. I believe that the $5 charge is constant regardless of the amount of funds withdrawn, so charges
are minimized with larger withdrawals.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9011
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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Bill, if you guys ever get a Santander Bank in Loreto, those fees would disappear when using your B of A card. That's the route many of us use over
here on the mainland.
BTW, this issue surfaced on the San Carlos boards and someone mentioned that the disdain for exchanging dollars for pesos at banks was due to a change
in a Mexican law. It was supposedly passed to make it more difficult to launder drug money coming in from the US.
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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Let's clear this up. For as long as I can remember you were able to walk in to the bank and change dollars for pesos and there was no fee whatsoever.
That is the service which has just ended. Now, you can still use the ATM and you either pay for the privelege or you do not, depending on what your
home bank charges for those transactions. We raised hell about being charged a withdrawl fee in a foreign bank and got the fees reversed, but not all
banks in the US are willing to do that.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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I bow to your superior knowledge. I haven't exchanged in a bank in two years.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65295
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Am I missing something here? 
EVERYONE (in Baja) accepts DOLLARS happily!
It may be perhaps that they get a small 'tip' at the exchange rate they will offer... If you are in Mexico with a bunch of dollars, then you are most
likely someone on a vacation... and giving a small tip to the 'underpaid' or small businessman isn't going to kill you, right?
Jeepers people... why be so tight wadded... Use dollars if you run out of pesos on your vacation or use dollars from the start.
If you really think it is 'insulting' your host to not use their currency, why not ask... I have... and more often than not they prefer DOLLARS! LOL
I see 'locals' in the markets and they are using dollars to make purchases without a problem... so why should gringos be bothered using dollars, too?
If you are worried about getting 'ripped off' at Pemex stations, use a calculator... the exchange rate is posted (almost always)... and if not, ask
before pumping. Take the peso figure on the pump and divide by the exchagne rate for the dollar amount you owe.
Pemex 101:
238 pesos (at 11.50: 1 rate) is $20.70 US. (238/11.50 = 20.70)
If you give them $25.00, your change should be $4.30 US or ~49.45 pesos
($4.30 X 11.5).
Don't feel like you need to rush, operate on 'Mexican time' and be satisfied with the exchange... and have a good time... prcatice your Spanish...
make friends!
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Am I missing something here?
EVERYONE (in Baja) accepts DOLLARS happily!
It may be perhaps that they get a small 'tip' at the exchange rate they will offer... If you are in Mexico with a bunch of dollars, then you are most
likely someone on a vacation... and giving a small tip to the 'underpaid' or small businessman isn't going to kill you, right?
Jeepers people... why be so tight wadded... Use dollars if you run out of pesos on your vacation or use dollars from the start.
If you really think it is 'insulting' your host to not use their currency, why not ask... I have... and more often than not they prefer DOLLARS! LOL
I see 'locals' in the markets and they are using dollars to make purchases without a problem... so why should gringos be bothered using dollars, too?
If you are worried about getting 'ripped off' at Pemex stations, use a calculator... the exchange rate is posted (almost always)... and if not, ask
before pumping. Take the peso figure on the pump and divide by the exchagne rate for the dollar amount you owe.
Pemex 101:
238 pesos (at 11.50: 1 rate) is $20.70 US. (238/11.50 = 20.70)
If you give them $25.00, your change should be $4.30 US or ~49.45 pesos
($4.30 X 11.5).
Don't feel like you need to rush, operate on 'Mexican time' and be satisfied with the exchange... and have a good time... prcatice your Spanish...
make friends! |
Yes, you are missing a lot----many of us are not there on vacation, we live there part or full time.
Many of us are on retirement fixed incomes and don't have the money to just throw around freely---tipping is a different topic. Taking things to
friends is different.
And just because one is travelling in Mexico with a lot of dollars, does not mean they are on vacation---very broad assumption.
Thanks for the math lesson---yes, living there it would just great to go everywhere with a calculator.
Maybe it is time for the poll again so that you can remember the number of people on this forum who are NOT just on a free wheeling grand spending
spree.
Besides, David. Since most of your trips are short and often to a place like Shell Island, just how much money do you throw around?
Diane
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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Hey Diane, leave DK alone please !
Dk is loaded; carries his cash in a big, fat money belt around his waist.  
Wealthy math genius working under cover, he needs no calculator ! 
He spends tons of time and tons of cash with big tips in Baja. 
I have always used pesos in Baja.
It is easier for me and easier for the merchants.
Tipping remains a separate issue as it should be.
[Edited on 4-20-2009 by Diver]
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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Everybody speaks from their own experience, and thereby there own perspective, and that is how it should be. All have good points, it seems to me.
Personally, I have always carried pesos in Mexico, leaving my greenbacks at home, or at the border. I exchange them at a "Casa de cambio" on the USA
side of the border, and get more pesos from ATM's in Mexico if I run out. This works for me.
I usually have about $500 usa worth of pesos on me when I start south, and get more at ATM's if I need to (which is seldom). I never-------repeat
NEVER---------use my credit cards south of the border except possibly at "nice" hotels.
In my 71 years, I have never been stolen from on either side of the border, but I do take precautions, and am an ex-cop.
Travelled all over the world, and never had a problem------taking the proper precautions is the answer, I suspect, and having a good, positive
attitude, and trying not to do dumb things.
Barry
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65295
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Anyone who goes to Mexico and is going to panic because they were so stupid to only bring 100 dollar bills or not get enough pesos before their trip
deserves to be inconvenienced, I think!
If it was that hard to understand: I was not addressing ANY part time gringo property owners... Do you guys really bring loads of $100 dollar bills to
Mexico and expect banks to give you pesos without fees??? Tisk, tisk!
There are commercial money exchange houses at the border to do this, for Pete's sake... and if you run short, you use the ATMs for more pesos if you
don't have small bills.
As for the personal insults from the usual gang, I am NOT as privileged as you and do not have the wealth to even dream of living in Mexico, yet... I
am primarily a camper and most trips are for less than a week. However, I have traveled to the Cape or Loreto many times since the 1960's and my
family or I (since 1974 traveling without them) have never had a problem using dollars anywhere... even in tiny fishcamps.
I was addressing the 'panic' that was mention about some bank not doing money exchange for non-clients... It is not unsolvable, and should not ruin
your vacation! I AM FOR MORE NOMADS GOING TO BAJA and THAT HELPS the locals... not you who panic about some bank policy.
I do share all of my trips on this forum with an accent on the adventure that Baja holds... I know from the emails and replies I get that I am
creating the desire for people to go to Baja for the beauty, people, culture, history...
When someone in Baja has something that we would enjoy, and allows me to assist with getting the word out, all of you can benefit by me not keeping it
a secret... Shari and Bahia Asuncion, for example.... Baja Cactus in El Rosario, Nuevo Mazatlan, the historic sites, etc.
So, do something positive for a change and stop your petty snipping at my views. We should all be able to share our Baja experiences without being
jumped. If you know of a place that will not take dollars, please post it... so none of us (who run out of pesos or only use dollars) will bother that
businmess with our lousy greenbacks!!
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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Bunch of panicky penny pinching stupid tightwadds !
Glad no one here is like that; they might get offended.
Did anyone not know that DK had traveled to Baja with mom when he was 6 ?
OK then, now you know; test is next week.
Also, please be prepared to list all of the things that Dk has done for Baja.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65295
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Diver
Bunch of panicky penny pinching stupid tightwadds !
Glad no one here is like that; they might get offended.
Did anyone not know that DK had traveled to Baja with mom when he was 6 ?
OK then, now you know; test is next week.
Also, please be prepared to list all of the things that Dk has done for Baja. |
What's the matter Diver, didn't you enjoy the hospitality of Baja Cactus? Why the hostility? I was with my mom AND dad, thank you... it was Gonzaga
Bay in 1965... Do you want to see a picture? 
There is no mystery about what I have done since Baja Nomad began or why I do what I do as a travel writer since I was 15 or Baja web site creator
since 2000... What is it that makes you do what you do? What is it that you do?
got baja?
PEACE!
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
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Peace back at you !
I didn't know you worked hospitality at BajaCactus.
It's much better than it was years ago, before you worked there.
(Read carefully and you'll get a few more clues for the test answers.)
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65295
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I love you too man!
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Am I missing something here?
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The answer to that in my post was yes, you are missing a lot.
It is not a matter of you posting YOUR OPINION about how you think people should travel, it was your absolutes and condemning attitude about people
who don't think like you do---ones with different opinions. And you painting with a broad brush.
And again, David, when you travel to a place like Shell Island, how much money do you drop in Baja?
| Quote: |
Jeepers people... why be so tight wadded... Use dollars if you run out of pesos on your vacation or use dollars from the start.
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Quite a put down David---everyone who does not agree with you is tight wadded?
You do help a lot of people with somethings, but there is more to the Baja experience that yours. Try to accept that.
It really does not matter when the first time you visited Baja---it really doesn't.
Diane
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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Since most ATMs charge a fee, I used to stash money all over the camper and truck when I went to Mexico and then would go to the bank and exchange for
pesos as I needed them. The only downside of this was that I had to wait in line for a long time, but the exchange was pretty painless and worked
well. I finally worked out a solution with my bank that I no longer am charged for ATM fees so that is the easiest solution now.
But the real problem that I see occuring now is the fact that the local business people are going to have a major problem when they accept dollars
since very few have an account at the bank. In the US, most people have accounts at the bank and use checks, etc., to pay for things but in Mexico it
is an entirely different story. So now Jose and Margarita who own a small restaurant find themselves in a real bind when it comes to accepting
dollars for their meals. They do not do enough business to necessitate opening a bank account with all the fees and charges but they have no access
to exchange. So David's idea is flawed from the standpoint of putting unnecessary hardship on the locals. It was not that many years ago where there
was no bank in Mulege and because they had a large tourist base of business, it was a real hardship to exchange dollars for pesos. Bruce knew this as
well as anyone and used to charge for that exchange until they built the bank across the street.
So as a part time resident, I can adjust accordingly, but I worry about my friend who occasionally takes people fishing. He is going to have a
major problem exchanging his dollars for pesos so that he can feed his family or buy shoes and clothes.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13050
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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just a FYI...mexicans cannot exchange dollars at our bank Bancomer...you have to have a foreign passport...but we can deposit them into our account
and then withdraw the cash out. And getting a bank account may be difficult for some and getting to the bank is another story too...a long way on a
crappy road. Our store does exchange them for not a bad rate though.
[Edited on 4-20-2009 by shari]
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
Member Is Offline
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It would seem to me that one shouldn't expect to use dollars between Ensenada and Cabo. Ironically, every major hotel in Cabo has a money exchange
(usually at an unfavorable rate), while virtually all of the tourist oriented businesses accept dollars and will often give change in dollars. If I
stop at a restaurant from San Quintin to Constitucion, I would never think of paying in dollars. Unlike the past, many businesses accept credit cards
now. Except for the foreign transaction fee assessed each time, I find using plastic when available allows me to carry less cash.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65295
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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You know I am only using my personal experiences in Baja of over 45 years... which maybe not enough time to have seen the facts (according to a few of
you). Also, my trips extend to many more locations than Shell Island... which shows stupidity for even saying such a thing since all my trips are
online here and at VivaBaja.com for everyone to see. I also wrote two guidebooks and several magazine articles about Baja travel. You can call it
opinion if you wish... and for that matter, most everything here is one form of opinion over another.
I don't have ANY problem with anybody using pesos... I am only trying to relieve the fear that if you only have dollars in Baja, you are out of
luck... and that is NOT true. I am trying to take away the excuses for avoiding Mexico... being affraid of not getting pesos for dollars is not
necessary.
Pescador, locals don't need to go to banks to exchange dollars for pesos because EVERYONE in Baja uses dollars... It is a dual currency peninsula.
With the peso dropping in value, having dollars gives our Mexican friends MORE buying power! I thought I said that while in markets all over Baja I
see locals using dollars to make purchases. Sure, you make get things a bit cheaper by using pesos from an exchange house at the border or ATM... but
not a big enough difference to avoid Baja... IMO (That means 'In My Opinion', Diane, okay?)
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
You know I am only using my personal experiences in Baja of over 45 years... which maybe not enough time to have seen the facts (according to a few of
you). Also, my trips extend to many more locations than Shell Island... which shows stupidity for even saying such a thing since all my trips are
online here and at VivaBaja.com for everyone to see. I also wrote two guidebooks and several magazine articles about Baja travel. You can call it
opinion if you wish... and for that matter, most everything here is one form of opinion over another.
I don't have ANY problem with anybody using pesos... I am only trying to relieve the fear that if you only have dollars in Baja, you are out of
luck... and that is NOT true. I am trying to take away the excuses for avoiding Mexico... being affraid of not getting pesos for dollars is not
necessary.
Pescador, locals don't need to go to banks to exchange dollars for pesos because EVERYONE in Baja uses dollars... It is a dual currency peninsula.
With the peso dropping in value, having dollars gives our Mexican friends MORE buying power! I thought I said that while in markets all over Baja I
see locals using dollars to make purchases. Sure, you make get things a bit cheaper by using pesos from an exchange house at the border or ATM... but
not a big enough difference to avoid Baja... IMO (That means 'In My Opinion', Diane, okay?) |
David,
If you are going to respond, please do not misquote---
Regarding your trips, this is what I wrote.
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Besides, David. Since most of your trips are short and often to a place like Shell Island, just how much money do you throw around?
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That makes me stupid? Of course you go other places, but most of your trips you report here are short in duration. And the reference to Shell Island
was a question as to just how much money do you throw around when you go camping, or do you take most of what you need.
Of course most of what is posted here is opinion. I think I said that.
| Quote: |
It is not a matter of you posting YOUR OPINION about how you think people should travel, it was your absolutes and condemning attitude about people
who don't think like you do---ones with different opinions. And you painting with a broad brush.
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No matter how long anyone has traveled Baja, opinion is opinion, and if you read some of the other posts from BCS you will see that using dollars IS
NOT always appreciated---sometimes yes, sometimes no.
As Shari said
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just a FYI...mexicans cannot exchange dollars at our bank Bancomer...you have to have a foreign passport...but we can deposit them into our account
and then withdraw the cash out. And getting a bank account may be difficult for some and getting to the bank is another story too...a long way on a
crappy road.
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In some places like Bahia Asuncion, it is a cash economy--no credit cards, no ATM and most the people we know DO NOT have bank accounts and it takes a
lot of expensive gas to drive that crappy road. There are lots of places where that is the situation, and yes, they will accept dollars, but many
prefer pesos---much easier.
And did it occur to you that pescado just might know a bit more about the situation where he lives part a the year?
Were you just trying to relieve fear as you stated above when you wrote.
| Quote: |
Jeepers people... why be so tight wadded... Use dollars if you run out of pesos on your vacation or use dollars from the start.
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Sure sounds like name calling and your opinion of people who do not think like you do.
And I also wrote,
| Quote: |
You do help a lot of people with somethings, but there is more to the Baja experience that yours. Try to accept that.
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But maybe my stupidity was showing when I wrote that.
So, if you are going to attack, that is fine, but please do not misquote me or yourself.
Diane
[Edited on 4-20-2009 by jdtrotter]
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