Where can I buy dinar to spend for a half-term holiday in Tunisia?

Q We are travelling to Tunisia for the first time for half term. I’ve asked around but I can’t find anywhere that will sell me local currency. What do you advise?

Diana C

A It is a year since mainstream package holidays were restored from the UK to Tunisia, and I have heard uniformly positive reports from returning travellers. Later in February should be an excellent time to visit. You can expect a warm welcome and great value. You just need to adjust to a different way of handling holiday money.

Tunisia is one of a dwindling number of nations that operates a “closed currency” that cannot be freely exported or imported. It is illegal to take the dinar in or out of the country. As with other nations who make a frankly futile bid to protect their currencies, what the law says and what actually happens are two different things. It is therefore possible you may find firms in the UK that will sell you dinars. While this is not in itself illegal, were you to take cash in then you would be breaking the law.

As there is no great advantage in doing so, I suggest you stay on the right side of the rules. Take clean sterling notes in a variety of denominations (£5s, £10s and £20s) so you can change as and when you need to. Hotels, banks and bureaux de change generally offer rates which are very similar; Tunisia is one of the few places where I will change money at a hotel desk. Places outside your hotel will probably want to see your passport.

You can use a debit card to take cash from ATMs, but find out from your bank in advance how much you will be charged in fees for doing so. You could typically pay your bank £5 on a £100 withdrawal. For backup, take a credit card for purchases – ideally a card such as Halifax Clarity that does not add a transaction fee.

Finally, towards the end of your trip, make sure you don’t get stuck with much unused currency. You can change it back at the airport but you will lose another margin on the transaction.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder