Just landed - wondering what gives the better rate in Seychelles: ATM withdrawal or airport exchange counter?
Changed SCR 100 at the airport first thing-felt like I'd donated to the wrong charity. Used an SCB ATM later and declined conversion-it was way fairer. My hostel roommate joked, “You paid tourist tax,” and I realized they weren’t kidding. Airport kiosks are easy but pricey. For anything beyond the first drink, ATMs are your best friend-just make sure it’s a proper bank ATM, not a random kiosk that eats cards.
Checked both options last month: Airport exchange vs. ATM withdrawal using my travel card. The booth charged big commission, the airport ATM charged SCR 50 fixed fee but gave proper interbank rate. Ended up saving nearly SCR 25-40 per SCR 1,000 withdrawn. I withdraw enough for a week at a time, plan accordingly. My trick: land with a card, take out just enough for immediate transport and snacks, and then go bigger with bank ATMs.
Showed up late, grabbed SCR 300 at the airport exchange-felt like highway robbery. Then I tried an Absa ATM nearby and quietly declined their conversion-I got about 3-4% better rate overall. If your card doesn’t gouge on FX fees, airport ATM withdrawals beat the exchange booth every time. Still good to have a small buffer in case the ATM is down, but not worth trusting that swap counter for everything.
I landed and exchanged about SCR 200 at the airport for taxi and snack. The booth gave me a pretty lousy rate-maybe 5-6% worse than mid-market. Later I used an Absa ATM downtown and chose to skip the conversion option-got a much cleaner rate. Unless you absolutely need local cash right away and don't mind paying for convenience, use airport exchange only for basics. After that, hit bank ATMs in Victoria for better value.