Is it safe to carry cash while touring Kerala?
A daunting question is safe to carry cash, the appropriate answer to this mind boggling question has always taken a toll on every traveler. Should you carry a lot of cash, less cash, enough cash or no cash- are the myriad questions that will churn your mind and drive you crazy. The answer still would be debatable. It is best advised that you be the judge of whether or not you should carry cash at all. If you do decide to carry cash the next question you should ask yourself is how much cash you should be carrying along. A trail of questions will still continue and whether that answers your question or not would still be debatable. To make it easy here are a few question you should ask yourself before you finalize on the dilemma of carrying or not carrying cash along.
Questions to answer whether you should carry cash while touring Kerala
For both domestic and international tourists here are a set of questions you should ask yourself and it would if not fully at least to a certain extent help you decide whether or not money in cash should be taken along.
- Write down the list of places you will be visiting in Kerala. Clearly if you are visiting the plains and shopping centers then most shops in Kerala will accept debit/credit cards.
- If you are aware that you would be visiting smaller streets where the chances of accepting card is less than a little amount of cash as local currency to be carried along is recommended.
- You also need to bear in mind if you are planning to get adventurous and find your own mode of transportation than you need to have some additional cash in local currency handy with you. If you are going to use the cab provided with your package than that will give you an idea of how much cash you need to carry along.
- Use the same concept to decide how much cash you should probably carry if you are visiting adventurous places, beaches or other destinations as part of a package or on your own. In case of a package most of your expense is taken care of reducing your requirement for spending except for food and tips.
Safe use of money
Kerala is a tourist friendly place and is known for its welcoming atmosphere. Beggars in Kerala are least heard of however in case you do find beggars avoid direct contact. If you do wish to pay alms ensure you do not flash your wallet filled with money.The last thing you will need is a horde of beggars haranguing you. Carry some change in your pockets this will make the alms giving quickly drawing lesser attention of the other beggars. Though such situations have seldom occurred in Kerala it is always good to know how to deal with the situation in case it arises.
Tips to carry money for international and domestic travelers
- There are travel cards made available in banks. These cards are easy to use and are a blessing in disguise. You can ask your bank to provide you with currency to travel abroad. This card is weightless and works just like your ATM card. The difference is your spendingand balance will showcase in the foreign currency and not domestic currency. If you are form England and travelling to India with a travel card then your balance statement will show in Indian rupees. The card comes with a decent exchange rate percentage but the disadvantage is there isn’t a lot of coverage for travel cards as of now.
- Instead of carrying travel cards you can use your debit or credit card too. Most countries accept master and Visa cards and the use of same in Kerala will not be difficult either. The advantage of using debit / credit card is that in case you lose it you can get them blocked instantly without the fear of it being misused. The disadvantage of carrying debit or credit card is that every transaction abroad will attract extra feeswhich could be very high.Hence debit or credit card might be helpful and will save you a trip to the bank in order to get a travel card. If you are sure you are going to use the card in a minimalistic manner then debit or credit card is a good option to carry along with some cash.
If you plan on visiting shopping destinations in Kerala it best you carry substantial amount of cash and not a lot that you end up burning a hole in your pocket. The city is infested with ATM machines you can always make use of them if you need to withdraw more cash. If you are planning to head to remote areas, sanctuaries or adventurous places carry some cash along as you might not know where to find the nearest ATM in case the need for spending cash arises.
