# Should I Bring Cash or Rely on My Card When Traveling Internationally?

> How cash and cards actually split across a 526-day, 20-country trip — where cards covered everything, and where carrying local cash wasn't optional.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/resources/cash-or-card-for-international-travel
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from a 526-day trip across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-07-10
- Last updated: 2026-07-16

"Just use your card" is decent advice in maybe two-thirds of the places we went, and actively wrong in the other third. Here's how cash and card actually split across 20 countries with very different payment norms, not a one-size-fits-all answer.

## Where a card covered nearly everything

Most of Western and Central Europe, plus Japan and South Korea's major cities, ran almost entirely on card — hotels, restaurants, transit, even small shops routinely took tap-to-pay. In these places carrying more than a small amount of local cash mostly just meant carrying cash we didn't end up spending.

## Where cash wasn't optional

Smaller towns, local markets, and rural areas across Southeast Asia, Morocco, and the Balkans were a different story — plenty of the food stalls, local buses, and small guesthouses that made those legs of the trip worth doing simply didn't take cards at all. A day trip built around a market or a rural bus route without cash on hand meant either going hungry or backtracking to find an ATM, which happened exactly once before we adjusted the habit.

## What we actually did across 20 countries

We withdrew a modest amount of local currency from an ATM within the first day or two of arriving in each country, sized to roughly a week of small cash purchases rather than the whole stay, and used a card with no foreign transaction fees for everything larger — lodging, bigger meals, transport booked in advance. Keeping a small separate cash reserve (a bit more than we expected to need, split between a bag and a wallet rather than all in one place) meant a lost or skimmed card never once left us stuck without any way to pay for anything that day.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much cash should I carry at once when traveling internationally?

Enough for about a week of small local purchases — markets, food stalls, local transit — rather than your whole stay. Withdraw more from an ATM as you go instead of carrying a large amount from day one.

### Are foreign transaction fees avoidable?

Largely, yes — a number of travel-oriented debit and credit cards charge no foreign transaction fee, and using one of those for card purchases avoids the 1-3% fee that a standard domestic card typically adds to every international charge.

### Is it safe to carry a lot of cash while traveling?

Carrying a large amount in one place is the actual risk, not carrying cash itself. Splitting it between a bag, a wallet, and a hotel safe rather than keeping it all in one spot means a single theft or loss doesn't wipe out your whole cash reserve at once.