Cash or Card? Countries where you still need cash.

[SYD]

Just been caught out in a pub in Bavaria. Cash only.
Luckily, I had a few Euros in my manbag.

Mentioned recently up thread that parts of Germany still love cash - especially bars.

 

[Flashback]

Just been caught out in a pub in Bavaria. Cash only.
Luckily, I had a few Euros in my manbag.

Very common in Germany.

 

[Chicken]

Just been caught out in a pub in Bavaria. Cash only.
Luckily, I had a few Euros in my manbag.

Yeah, the Germans and their data protection, which is why there is no Google street view for Germany, and they still like to use cash.

I made this mistake last year. Thought I would just land at ICN and withdraw cash from the ATM like I do in most other countries.

However, it was a late night arrival and by the time I was through immigration, it was close to 11pm.

You won't be able to by Namane card either as their self service kiosks would be closed at that time, but you could book the express train to Seoul directly on Airport Railroad web site, so this would have gotten you into Seoul. This is more expensive than the all stop train and light rail, but it will take you into the city.

 

[Lynda2475]

Sorry for the O/T question but we have an evening arrival into ICN, our plan was to take a taxi, do Korean taxis take card? I really dont want to have to get any cash. If taxis need cash then I will pre-book a transfer online.

 

[Chicken]

We have an evening arrival into ICN, our plan was to take a taxi, do Korean taxis take card? I really dont want to have to get any cash. If taxis need cash then I will pre-book a transfer online.

There are really only 2 major taxi networks: Kakao (as in Kakao maps), and Uber. Kakao would require you to install the Kakao taxi app. You can see if it takes foreign cards.

There is also another one called International Taxi network, they specifically are able to speak English and Japanese, so you may want to try that.

However, I wouldn't take taxi before 8PM. Airport Railroad takes 90 minutes into city. If you take road transport during peak, expect your 90 minutes to turn into 2.5 hours.

I took a tour to DMZ, in a Kia Carnival (not the one which most tourists do), and the trip back into Seoul turned from 90 minutes to 2 hours, to around 2.5 hours to the edge of Seoul (not even inside, it took another 30 mins by metro to get back into Eujiro)

I have also seen a bunch of YouTubers who believed their hire car driver that it would take 90 mins to go to the airport earlier this year. They left their hotel in the city at 5:30 PM, peak hour traffic. Lucky the airline staff escorted them all the way to the gate, they nearly missed their flight.

I would only take road transport after 8 PM, as their peak hour start to subside from 7PM.

absolutely crazy in this day and age from a country that I thought I would have no problem arriving into without cash (and where I had no need for cash other than to buy/top-up the T-money card).

South Korea is a closed loop country (a bit like China, and maybe Japan). It shows how just because a country is a first world country doesn't mean that it's an open international country (London or Singapore or Hong Kong or Australia)

 

[Lynda2475]

Thanks @Chicken.

We land at 20:25 (assuming no delays) so I figure by the time we get through immigration and customs (we have checked luggage) it will be after 9pm hence the thinking Taxi/Uber would be the way to go.

Departing wont be an issue as we have a lunch time flight our of GMP and will likely book an airport hotel for the night before anyway.

We only really have 1.5 days to find our own way around as have a private tour for the rest of the stay so our guide will gets us everywhere we need to be.

 

[Chicken]

Thanks @Chicken.

We land at 20:25 (assuming no delays) so I figure by the time we get through immigration and customs (we have checked luggage) it will be after 9pm hence the thinking Taxi/Uber would be the way to go.

Departing wont be an issue as we have a lunch time flight our of GMP and will likely book an airport hotel for the night before anyway.

Are you arriving into ICN, sleep overnight, then fly out via Gimpo next day?

That's what I did only 3 / 4 weeks ago. I got Ibis Ambassador ICN to price match and price beat Agoda, ended up paying AUD 80 for the night, then took Airport Railroad direct from ICN to GMP the next morning to catch Air Busan.

 

[Lynda2475]

Are you arriving into ICN, sleep overnight, then fly out via Gimpo next day?

O/T

No we arrive ICN at night, have the next free day in Seoul before our tour starts from our Seoul hotel at 6pm. Our tour ends 10 days later with a mid morning domestic flight from Jeju Island to GMP giving us the arvo and night to do our own thing before flying GMP to HND the next day at lunch time.

I have yet to book a hotel for our last night in Seoul as I am tossing up between staying down town or just staying at a GMP airport hotel and hanging out at the giant mall there. Hotel must not have a SHUB.