How much cash do you carry? Credit cards for hostels and shuttles? Any rule of thumb?
How much cash do you carry? Credit cards for hostels and shuttles? Any rule of thumb?
I used to carry $400 cash for a 1 week trip. Way overkill. I would say 60 bucks. That will get you 2 nights stay at just about any hostel and that in return would give you time to find an ATM. 100 bucks max but most will say much less I assume.
Trail Miles: 4,980.5
AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
Foothills Trail: 47.9
AT Map 2: 279.4
BMT: 52.7
CDT: 85.4
"Take twice the cash and half the clothing" -- tried and true travel advice
Cash for hostels and shuttles. With few exceptions, these are under the radar operations. Cards for chain motels, restaurants, stores and commercial transportation (trains, buses). Depending on the length of the hike, I usually carry between 5 and 10 20's.
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How much cash depends to some extent how often one plans to be into a town. NOC is probably my first chance at an ATM and I will have spent some cash before then. It also depends where you stay, how you pay, and where you buy food.
I myself cannot imagine having only 60 bucks in my pocket on a thru hike. I expect costs to get to the trail, food/drink at Neels Gap, hopefully lodging at Hostel Around the Bend.....all cash. Some ATM could charge $3 to take out $60. A 5% surcharge on all cash purchases isn't trivial. I don't see the downside to carrying 300-400 cash.
$200+
Everyone takes it and small businesses prefer it.
Normally, $100 for spending on hostels or the like. Hotel/motels/lodges take cards as do most gas stations and grocery stores. If I know I am getting a shuttle, I carry the shuttle amount plus tip on top of the $100.
AT: 695.7 mi
Benton MacKaye Trail '20
Pinhoti Trail '18-19'
@leonidasonthetrail https://www.youtube.com/c/LeonidasontheTrail
6 $20’s, 5 $10’s, 4 $5’s. 7 $Benjamins for luck and ransoms.
Back years ago, travelers checks where an important backup. I found a few I had a couple years ago and went to cash them out. The teller had to get the branch manager to explain what she had to do with them.
I've had that experience - not only at banks but at retailers. I quit carrying them probably 15-20 years ago, and even back then they had become a relic of bygone age. Kind of too bad, they billed as safer to carry than cash. But probably not as cheerfully accepted as cash.
$200-$300. I can think of a couple of hiker-friendly lodging establishments that offered a decent discount for paying cash. Don't ask for a receipt though.
Unlike most of the country,I prefer cash. My son and I walked from Springer to Harper's Ferry on our first trip,and I started with 4000 in cash. With careful use of credit card at motels and grocery stores,that was enough. No ATM visits,ever. I understand most people don't like to carry cash,but it is universally accepted,and sometimes the only way.
$200. Any trail town that has a Walmart I top off my cash reserves by getting free cash back. Lots of grocery stores will provide same service.
Don't rely on this method for the ubiquitous Dollar stores. They typically have a junky hand-written sign in crayon saying "no cash back".
Forgot to mention, I keep a couple of 50's or a 100 tucked away in my wallet for emergencies and used only for emergencies. Having that reserved cash has saved me a couple of times.
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How much cash is up to you. I carry $200 or so, with nothing larger than a $20. Pretty much every business except maybe shuttlers takes debit and/or credit cards these days. But, I always have TWO cards just in case one gets compromised or the chip gets damaged, etc. Generally a debit AND a credit card as debit card daily limits could be a problem with large purchases like emergency travel if required. I suppose Apple / Google / Samsung Pay are also options, but I haven't signed on to that method yet.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
[QUOTE=4eyedbuzzard;2284124]How much cash is up to you. I carry $200 or so, with nothing larger than a $20. Pretty much every business except maybe shuttlers takes debit and/or credit cards these days. But, I always have TWO cards just in case one gets compromised or the chip gets damaged, etc. Generally a debit AND a credit card as debit card daily limits could be a problem with large purchases like emergency travel if required. I suppose Apple / Google / Samsung Pay are also options, but I haven't signed on to that
I LASHED Georgia to Happers ferry with 200 cash that I replnished from an atm and with two cards for hostels motels and resturants...
My love for life is quit simple .i get uo in the moring and then i go to bed at night. What I do inbween is to occupy my time. Cary Grant
I have on rare occasions been at a business whose network was down and they couldn't process credit cards. While other people didn't know what to do, I pulled out cash. Even if you are planning on primarily using credit cards, having some cash on hand is a good idea. $200 in cash spread around a few different places from hidden pockets in clothing/hats and your pack insures you always have something if theft happens.
$200, on average
Appalachian Trail completion 2022
Georgia Loop 2022
Benton Mackaye Trail 2023
Foothills Trail 2023
Same here. I once got a $100 motel room during a severe lightning storm for $50 because the network was down and I had the cash. A few twenties is all I've ever needed, and I carry four of five of them all the time. As mentioned above, they're easy to replenish with a debit card.
If you're relying on a card, carry a backup. One credit, one debit.
Like many, I've been carrying the same wad of twenties around for the last 15 months. More stores prefer cards now.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning