EF recommends planning on approximately $40-$60 per day for spending money plus $8 per day for tipping your Field Director, inclusive of the day you arrive at your first program destination and meet your Field Director, and ending the day you depart for home. This should cover any checked baggage fees, lunches, beverages, souvenirs, free time activities and additional excursions.

At the start of your program, travelers should bring the equivalent of $60 in the currency of the initial destination. After that, ATMs are the most convenient way to withdraw cash since they accept a wide variety of bank and credit cards.

Before you travel, you should familiarize yourself with the current exchange rates for the U.S. dollar to the local currency of the destinations on your program. We strongly advise against traveler’s checks since they can be difficult to cash. 

Be sure to alert your bank and your credit card company to let them know that you will be traveling abroad and make sure your cards will work. You should also find out if there are any fees associated with using your cards abroad.