money/banking/budget

I think this may be a dumb question but I cannot find the answer elsewhere. If a hotel or auberge or gites accepts Carte Bancaire does that mean they accept credit cards such as US issued Visa and Mastercards or does it mean they only accept CB cards issued by French banks which seem to hybrid...

To those currently on the Camino, is everything still pretty much cash-based or have merchants and albergues switched to non-cash transactions because of Covid?

I'm curious...will the albergues, restaurants, cafes, etc still be accepting mostly cash along the Camino or do y'all think that will change due to COVID? Anyone on the ground now who can report back? Best, Jamie G

This is just meant to give some hopeful perigrinos some hopeful advice on their spiritual journey. Its about how to pay for the stuff you'll need along the way. Mainly meant for US visitors. Might be obvious but I had to learn the hard way. Again, this is based on personal experience. Your...

How many euros will I need on a daily basis for food and staying in the albergues? I am going self catering.

OK. Hope this doesnt sound like a silly question. But I last walked the French Way back in May 2015. Yes I know only 6 years ago. But things can change. Back then ,cash was king in most situations. And understandably so. Lots of small rural centres. With little electronic money transfer...

Good morning This isn't about How much or how to calculate how much. It's a method I use so as not to end up in a hole with no way of paying for the next day's needs, and I was just wondering what other people do. I have a method that involves two pockets and a hiding place for a usually frozen...

During our first Camino Frances (2015), my wife and I spent on average 35 euros / day / person. We mostly stayed in municipal albergues, and only a few overnights in hotels or private albergues. During our second camino (2017), we hiked with my brother and his wife. We stayed mostly in "quad...

Hi everyone! I have just been listening to several threads about getting cash on the Camino, and the fact that a lot of place only accept cash. I never thought i would be an issue. A lot of posts relate to cash machine use, their location and the distance between them. My problem is i cant...

Are there any Canadians in or near Sarria tomorrow? I've been on the camino for over a month and very low on cash. My cards have not been letting me do a cash advance (which I could pay off right away)..... I'm looking for canadians because I could do an etransfer to you on the spot. I have...

A small milestone in Camino Planning was reached today :D I don't know about you, but I have a separate Bank Account which is my 'Camino' Fund. I feel a bit guilty if I take funds from our joint savings for 'my' Camino, so every now and again when I have a bit of spare cash, I drop it into my...

You can download the Budget Planner here: https://robscamino.com/2018/2019/budget-planner/

Save this file to your photos on your phone and check it each time you need to withdraw money at a Spanish ATM. It's sure to save you quite a bit over the course of your camino! YOU WILL FIND THE LATEST VERSION OF THE FILE UNDER THE "updates" TAB (above). If possible access and save it using...

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely. I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits...

Hi All, I’m starting my second Camino in April this year and just looking at the best way to take money to Spain. I’m in the UK and considering either getting a Starling Bank account for the duration of the trip, or a Revolut (or similar) card. (I’ll also be taking a credit card for times when...

I haven’t been able to find much current ATM info for Madrid airport terminal4. I want to use a bank ATM. I only have 50 minutes between flights so I don’t want to go out beyond security. Also, it used to be that many Madrid airport ATMs tended to be out of service. Recent experience welcome...

So I've been collecting cash-machine usage fees over on another thread, and I've now put everything I've learned together into a cheat-sheet for your phone. Open or send the image to your phone and then save it to your photos. Then you'll be able to look at it every time you need to go to an...

I was reading my VISA Credit Card Statement. If you lose your Credit Card, or have it Stolen, or someone has your “numbers” and is using it..... Just call the number on the back, Collect. Back in the “Old Days”, when telephone companies had Operators, and we had Land Lines..... it was...

Hi all, Other than being a writer (novelist and new vegan cookbook for Peregrinos), my day job is as a fraud investigator. I've recently read a couple of discussions about possible fraud on the Camino (cards, theft, etc.), so I thought I'd take a minute and pass on some information that might...

Hello! I have been traveling for years pretty minimally in terms of finances and have become very fascinated with the prospect of going on one of the many trails associated with El Camino. I have no problem camping in a tent but as I’ve had less energy this year from burning out from a ton of...