Travel Currency Budget: How Much Cash Do You Actually Need?
The formula is realistic daily spend × number of days × 1.15 for a buffer, then divide by the exchange rate to get the AUD figure. The hard part is the word realistic, because most people budget for flights and accommodation and then forget the forty small things that make up the actual day.
Use the Currency Budget Calculator to turn a daily spend, trip length and exchange rate into a local currency total and an AUD total.
Build the daily number properly
Add these up for a normal day in your destination, in the local currency. Guessing one total number is how budgets end up 40% short.
| Category | What to include | Commonly forgotten |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | Nightly rate | Cleaning fees, city taxes, deposits |
| Food and drink | Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee | Snacks, water, the extra round |
| Local transport | Taxis, ride-hailing, trains, buses | Airport transfers at both ends |
| Activities | Tours, entry fees, hire | Booking fees, gear hire, tips for guides |
| Incidentals | SIM card, sunscreen, laundry | Everything you forgot to pack |
| Shopping | Gifts and souvenirs | The thing you didn't plan to buy |
Do this once for a typical day and once for a big day (a tour, a nice dinner, a night out), then assume roughly one big day in every four.
Worked example
Ten days somewhere with an exchange rate of 9,500 local units to 1 AUD. Check the current rate for your destination before you use any of these numbers, since rates move.
- Typical day: 750,000 local
- Big day, roughly one in four: 1,400,000 local
- Seven typical days = 5,250,000. Three big days = 4,200,000
- Subtotal: 9,450,000 local
- Plus a 15% buffer: 10,867,500 local
- At 9,500 to the dollar: about AUD 1,144
That's the number you plan around, not the "we'll spend about a hundred bucks a day" one.
How much of that should be cash?
Depends entirely on where you're going. Two extremes and everything between:
| Destination type | Suggested split | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Japan, Korea, Western Europe, North America | 80% to 90% card | Card acceptance is near universal, cash for small shops and shrines |
| Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE | 85% card | Excellent card acceptance almost everywhere |
| Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Vietnam | 50% to 60% cash | Cards work at hotels and chains, cash for markets, warungs and drivers |
| Rural or island destinations anywhere | 70%+ cash | Terminals and ATMs get sparse fast |
| Pacific Islands | Mostly cash | Limited card infrastructure outside resorts |
General guidance. Check recent traveller reports for your specific destination, since acceptance changes quickly.
Whatever the split, don't convert the whole trip's cash at once. Carry a day or two on you and top up from bank ATMs as you go. Cash you're carrying can be stolen. Cash on the card can't.
The costs that break budgets
These are the ones people leave out and then wonder where the money went:
- Airport transfers at both ends, both directions. Often the single biggest transport cost of the trip.
- Visas and entry fees. Tourist levies, visas on arrival, departure taxes.
- Local SIM or eSIM. Cheap, but it's day-one spending.
- ATM fees. Both the operator's and your card provider's, once you pass any free allowance.
- Accommodation deposits and holds that tie up money for days.
- Tips. Compulsory in some countries, insulting in others. Look it up before you go.
- Travel insurance excess if anything goes wrong.
- Baggage fees on budget carriers, especially on internal flights within the destination.
- The first-day spend. Everyone lands exhausted, takes the expensive taxi and eats at the first place they see.
- Souvenirs and gifts. Set a number for this before you're standing in a market.
Exchange rate risk on longer trips
For a two-week trip, rate movement barely matters. For three months, it can move several percent and change your budget in a way you'll feel.
Two sensible options if the amount is meaningful:
- Convert in stages. Move a portion of your money into the destination currency each month rather than all at once, which averages out the rate.
- Convert early if the rate is good. A multi-currency account lets you hold the destination currency and spend it directly, so you're not converting at whatever the rate happens to be on the day you buy lunch.
What not to do is time the market on a holiday budget. Averaging is the boring, effective answer.
Always pay in the local currency
When a terminal, an ATM or an overseas website offers to charge you in Australian dollars, decline it. That's dynamic currency conversion, and the merchant's processor sets the rate with a markup that's commonly 3% to 6%.
Across a whole trip that's usually more than every other fee decision put together. It's the single highest-value habit in travel money.
Leftover currency
Spend it at the airport on the way out, convert it back before you leave (rates are bad but better than a drawer), or keep it if you'll be back. Converting small amounts back in Australia usually costs more than the notes are worth. Coins are generally unconvertible everywhere, so spend those.
Related tools
- Currency Budget Calculator for the trip total in both currencies
- Exchange Rate Calculator for the current rate
- Unit Converter for other unit conversions while you're there
- Carry-On Weight Calculator so the bag doesn't cost you money at the gate
A few compact travel basics that keep cards, documents and cables under control. SmartKoala may earn from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out how much money to take on a trip?
Multiply a realistic daily spend by the number of days, add a 15% buffer, then divide by the exchange rate for the AUD figure. Build the daily number from accommodation, food, local transport, activities, incidentals and shopping rather than guessing one total.
How much cash should I take versus card?
It depends on the destination. Japan, Korea, Western Europe and North America run fine at 80% to 90% card. Thailand, Malaysia, Bali and Vietnam want 50% to 60% cash. Rural and island destinations anywhere need more cash again.
Should I pay in Australian dollars overseas?
No. Choosing AUD at a terminal, ATM or overseas checkout is dynamic currency conversion, where the merchant's processor sets the rate with a markup commonly between 3% and 6%. Always choose the local currency.
Should I convert all my travel money at once?
For a short trip it makes little difference. For a trip of a month or more, converting in stages averages out exchange rate movement. Either way, do not carry all your cash at once, since cash you are carrying can be stolen and money on a card cannot.
What travel costs do people usually forget?
Airport transfers at both ends, visas and tourist levies, a local SIM, ATM fees, accommodation deposits, tips, travel insurance excess, budget airline baggage fees, the expensive first-day taxi and meal, and souvenirs.