Absolutely. You can pay with a UK card in Europe without any problems. Nearly all vendors will accept Visa and Mastercard credit and debit card payments.

Contactless payments are also widely supported in the EU. The maximum amount varies per country: €15 in Slovenia; €20 in Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, and Slovakia; €25 in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands; €30 in France and Ireland; and €50 in Finland.

Under European Union regulations, vendors are not allowed to charge for card payments in the EU. However some vendors may require a minimum transaction value before accepting card payments.

If you are going to pay by card in the Eurozone: Be aware of currency conversion fees: British banks often don’t have that great EUR to GBP rates for card payments abroad. This is how banks make money. Before using your bank card for payments in Europe, it’s certainly a good idea to contact your bank. This will avoid your card becoming blocked due to international transactions that your bank may find suspicious.

It’s certainly useful to have Euro banknotes on you when you travel to the Eurozone. Not only is cash a great fallback option, giving you peace of mind, cash remains a reliable and popular method of payment that puts you in control of the exchange rate.

You’ll need cash in Europe for taxi rides, highway toll boots, shopping on local markets, making small purchases, tipping and on festivals.

Prices vary widely in the 19 countries of the Eurozone. Generally, prices are cheaper in Southern Europe and Eastern Europe. For a coffee, expect to pay around €2 to €2.50 EUR. A three-course meal in a mid-range restaurant costs around €30 – €40 on average, but as mentioned prices vary widely.

Tipping in Europe is generally the same as tipping in the UK: If you’re eating or drinking out and you enjoy the service it’s customary to leave a tip of around 10%.