This shows you what kind of rate you should get and tells you it in your own currency or in any other. Apart from your emergency fund, which, by now, you should have put out of your mind, you will need some method of carrying all the rest of your funds around. The best methods are on a card, such as VISA or Cirrus, or in the form of traveller's cheques. The choice really boils down to your destination, again. If you are going to be in countries with good infrastructures, or are going to be around cities most of the time, then carrying money on a card makes good sense.
Cards Making a choice of cards is pretty easy, though there are a few options nowadays.
Most countries with modern banking facilities can take a variety of cards, though you will find that Visa and Cirrus are the most popular. Visa has the big advantage of being the most popular card in the world, so you can be pretty sure that you'll be able to find somewhere that will take it. Cirrus, on the other hand, is designed as a card for cash machines and ATMs whereas Visa was originally designed for purchasing things, so sometimes you might come across an ATM that will give you money from Cirrus but not from Visa. Cirrus is very popular in Europe and North America. Both Visa and Cirrus cards are often another kind of card too they have two or more functions.