When traveling to a foreign country, it’s a good idea to have some currency from the destination country as travel money. In addition, a little currency from each of the countries where stopovers might occur is also prudent. Fortunately, there are a number of foreign exchange services to provide at least this measure of traveler’s assistance.

When speaking of foreign exchange services, most people mean foreign currency exchange services. These services, therefore, most often begin with banks. Almost all large banks will have some selection of foreign currencies available. A bank will process the currency exchange in a matter of minutes, depending on the method of payment, and the amount of a particular currency on hand. If, however, the bank doesn’t have the specific currency needed, this can become inconvenient, to say the least.

All airports handling international flights, and many cruise ship terminals, will have foreign currency exchange services in the form of currency exchange booths located at strategic points in the terminal. Again, service is fast and, usually, the desired currency is on hand. Fees, however, as well as lower-than-favorable exchange rates make this less than the ideal option.

Most major urban hotels offer currency exchange services for guests. Again, the exchange rate may not be quite as favorable as a bank’s rate. It should be noted, as well, that practically the only currencies available for exchange at many hotels will usually be the local currency.

Online currency exchange sites offer the most convenient foreign exchange services. Such sites are ordinarily reasonable in their rates of exchange and most will have easy-to-use foreign currency calculators on the site. Delivery charges could be a bit steep on currency exchange sites, and the wait for delivery of currency could be several days.

Each of these types of foreign exchange services will, of course, exchange foreign currency left over from the trip back to the local currency. Banks are definitely the best bet here. Airports, hotels, and online reverse-currency exchanges would accompany their services by the usual fees

Many large cities have travel assistance offices, or foreign assistance offices, where travelers can go to for advice regarding the best places to find foreign exchange services. These offices, however, are geared mainly to provide practical assistance. If emergency foreign exchange services are needed, seek an embassy.

Note that there are hundreds of foreign exchange services on the Internet. A majority, however, are firms that specialize in the trading of foreign currencies on the Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX). These firms are not traveler’s services, and will not provide direct currency exchanges.