How much to exchange to JA $

[mjc12771]

We are traveling to Negril for 10 days in January and staying at a resort that breakfast is included. We are going to be bring US cash of about $2000 for the 10 days (2 of us). After a lot of research it appears to make your money go the furthest is to exchange for Jamaican dollar and that cambios have the best exchange rate. The closet cambios to where we are staying is about 1.7 miles so if we are exchanging a larger amount of money we will definitely use a driver from our resort.

So may questions to start is: any thoughts of how much to exchange for the first time and any suggestions on the denomination break down (what to get) would be great. Also what are usual Cambio hours and are they open on Sundays.

A little background:

We will not be eating anywhere fancy but will be eating lobster on the beach for sure.
We will probably take a couple of excursions (these I figure will be quoted in US $$)
We are not big drinkers


Thanks for the help.

[Navvet]

I would exchange $600, and have most of it in 500's J.

[nutz4travel]

Get some small bills ($100's) if you can - "I have no change" is a pretty common thing to hear...

[HarryS]

Get some small bills ($100's) if you can - "I have no change" is a pretty common thing to hear...

And a lot of the time it's bull... Watch the bartender take 100's all day, then try to pay for a red stripe with a 500 or 1000, and they have no change?

[Captain Oil]

Here is my thoughts on the whole money exchange rate issue: If you have a private driver from airport to Negril, ask them to stop along the way to exchange money. They will know where to stop. KNOW the exchange rate BEFORE you leave for Jamaica so there are no surprises.

Here is a link to a posting on ways to save $$$ on vacation: http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...What-are-yours

"Find a way to cheaply convert your US dollars into Jamaican dollars and pay for most things in Jamaican dollars. ATM's charge a service charge which can vary, but $5 US or more per transaction is not unheard of. Your bank may charge a ATM fee AND a foreign transaction fee which can run from zero to 15%. The exchange rate you get at a restaurant or bar will always be less then a Bank or Cambio. For example, beers on the beach can cost $150 to $400 Jamaican, BUT you only have US dollars? They will charge you $1.50 to $4.00US. Might not seem like much, but with an exchange rate of $115 JA to $1US you just paid $230JA for a $200JA beer. Total those savings and it is a easy 15% - 25% savings just in simple currency management."