Money and access

[BrettAustin]

Hi.  I'm planning to ride the Great Divide next summer.  A long way off in some ways but doing some planning.
Will be coming from New Zealand and am watching exchange rates now - currently quite good for me. Thinking of carrying money via a debit card.
My question is - do the shops and hostels at smaller towns along the route use eftpos ? Not sure if Americans use this term ( electronic point of sale ).  Swipe cards rather than cash. 

Be good to hear about this. Don't reallywant to carry too much cash.

Brett Austin

[John Nettles]

Almost all food supply stores (convenience stores, groceries stores, etc.) accept credit/debit cards.  Some hostels do.  All motels do.  Almost any town over a 500 people should have a bank and/or ATM.  However, small stores in the middle of nowhere may not, especially if they do not sell gasoline.

I did part of the GD this past summer and basically carried about $100-150 in cash at all times and resupplied on cash when I came across a bigger town or an ATM.  Had no issues.

[BrettAustin]

Thanks very much John.

It is all straightforward then.

Great.

Brett

[aggie]

Some hotels will "reserve" an amount larger than the daily rate.  They do this to protect themselves from phone calls or other charges to the account.  It may take several days for the "reserve" to clear and show the actual charge.  The only time this may be a problem is when the balance is not very large.

[BrettAustin]

Thanks aggie

helpful

Brett