Botswana hostels lean heavily on cash. Even if they have a card machine, connectivity issues mean it may not work. In Maun, the lodge I stayed at was ...

My small guesthouse on Bora Bora only accepted cash, despite advertising card acceptance online. Resorts will happily swipe your Visa or Amex, but bud...

Bhutan isn’t card-friendly at the budget level. I stayed in Paro and Punakha, and every hostel or guesthouse I checked into requested cash. Even some ...

Bermuda uses the Bermuda dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar. At the hostel I stayed in near Horseshoe Bay, they had a card machine but it was do...

Don’t trust the booking site listings too much - my hostel in Minsk advertised card payment, but their terminal “wasn’t working.” Luckily there was a ...

Hostels across Lisbon and Porto all had working card readers. In Coimbra, my hostel also took card payments. Portugal in general is set up for cards, ...

I had no trouble paying by card in Muscat hostels like Nizwa Guest Inn and Wanderlust Hostel. But once I traveled inland to Nizwa, the hostel asked fo...

My experience in Skopje’s Old Bazaar was that almost everyone preferred cash. The hostel near the central station did have a card reader but charged a...

When I stayed at Paradiso Hostel near Laguna de Apoyo, they told me upfront it was cash only. Some upscale eco-lodges do accept cards, but backpacker ...