The Binance Angel Travel Guide
Main Takeaways
Thanks to a small — but growing — selection of crypto-friendly destinations and travel firms, funding your next holiday with crypto is now a reality!
Yesu, Bogdan, Sany, and JuMHK from the Binance Angels team share stories about their past crypto adventures.
Learn about how crypto helped our Angels and some challenges they overcame during their travels.
Hear from the Binance Angels on how they travel the world with cryptocurrency. Binance Angels aren’t employed by Binance but are volunteers who form a community passionate about crypto.
Pack your bags! It’s time to plan your next vacation. If you haven’t already decided, consider traveling to a crypto-friendly destination.
A few years ago, holidays paid for exclusively with coins and tokens were a distant dream. Back then, there were few crypto-friendly destinations to visit, nor was there a platform to book hotels and flights with crypto.
Today, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the range of options — and destinations — that make it easy to spend and use crypto. Let’s hear from the Binance Angels as they guide us through their past crypto adventures, from favorite destinations to the perks and challenges you might encounter.
Where to?
Location, location, location. It’s the first step in planning any trip. Are you someone who enjoys the sight of snow? Or, perhaps, you’re trying to escape the cold to bask in a tropical paradise.
If crypto is on your mind, the Binance Angels have some hot destinations to share.
Yesu
Yesu, who comes from Spain, last visited Aveiro on the Portuguese coast — a city frequently described as the “Venice of Portugal” due to its intricate network of canals and boats. On his trip, Yesu said, “I was able to fund my whole trip with crypto!”
Bogdan
Bogdan shared his story about his time at a surfing camp in Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands located off West Africa’s coast. “The storeowner accepted bitcoin as a payment option. I could borrow my surfboard and pay with bitcoin through a peer-to-peer transaction.”
Sany
Sany, a frequent traveler and passionate crypto enthusiast, said she “often uses crypto when traveling to popular destinations like Dubai, Paris, London, America, and Amsterdam.”
Remember, not all countries share the same laws regarding crypto usage. It’s best to check the legal status of cryptocurrencies in your destination before making any flight reservations or hotel bookings.
JuMHK
Landing in Batumi City in late February 2020 — the onset of the COVID pandemic — JuMHK found his best option was to stay for the time being as airports around the world started shutting down.
“I enjoyed my stay in Batumi despite what was happening in the world. The nature was gorgeous, the people were so friendly, and the wine was perfect.”
The Benefits of Using Crypto While Traveling
Cryptocurrencies have made several inroads into daily life over the past few years, particularly for travel. For example, users can now book flights and hotels using a wide range of cryptocurrencies on travel sites such as Travala.
Yesu
Yesu found he didn’t need to deal with the hassles of bank transfers during his travels in Portugal. Describing how crypto benefitted his vacation, Yesu said: “I had my money available at any time, and I didn’t have to go through any local banks. When I needed to pay for my hotel, I just transferred BNB to my Binance Card. It would only take a few seconds for me to pay.”
Bogdan
Continuing his story about the local surf shop owner in Lanzarote, Bogdan added: “it was a great experience because all I needed was a smartphone. The interesting thing was that the point of sale was offline! I scanned the QR code, and the payment was successful.”
Bogdan’s story doesn’t end there, however. For some travelers, the best part of using crypto abroad might be the new friends and people you meet who share your passion for crypto. “After I paid for the surfboard, I talked with the storeowner about our crypto journeys. For me, it's fascinating to share crypto experiences with each other! We both agreed usability is not quite there yet for crypto, but there’s been significant progress in the last years.”
Sany
Sany is an avid user of our Binance Card and Binance Pay services. She enjoys using crypto on the go because “it offers a fast and easy payment solution without having to worry about currency exchange or conversion fees.”
“One of the biggest advantages of using cryptocurrencies when traveling is the speed at which my refunds are processed. In case of a cancellation or refund request, I receive my money relatively fast, directly to my Binance Card,” Sany added.
JuMHK
Unlike our other Angels, JuMHK didn’t intend to use crypto during his trip to Batumi City. He found out one day via email that his E-wallet account, including the cards inside, was temporarily restricted.
“Thankfully, I discovered that Batumi is a crypto-friendly city. There was a crypto ATM close to my place, and just like that, I made my first-ever crypto ATM withdrawal,” JuMHK added.
“As an online freelancer who loves to travel, I rarely use local banks. I’ve used Binance P2P over the years to help with currency conversions, including cash-to-crypto transactions.”
Overcoming Challenges
Using crypto in foreign lands isn’t always smooth sailing, especially if it’s your first time. For instance, you might encounter a vendor who doesn’t accept crypto, or–even worse–you might lose access to your crypto wallet mid-trip.
Let’s hear the Binance Angels speak about various obstacles you should be wary of when abroad.
Yesu
While Yesu enjoyed a relatively smooth trip in Portugal, he did note an interesting encounter with a restaurant owned by a crypto skeptic. “The owner was telling me not to pay with crypto. But I showed him my Binance Card, and his face changed when he saw the card had the VISA logo.”
Bogdan
Travelers should remember that while digital currencies have gained tremendous popularity over the years, they are still a relatively new technology. Not all vendors accept crypto as a payment method.
Bogdan shared some helpful advice when it comes to shopping with crypto overseas. “I use btcmap to check where Bitcoin is accepted as a payment option. It's beneficial on trips because not only does it help you find vendors, but you also get to meet interesting store owners and learn about how they started their crypto journey.”
JuMHK
JuMHK warns users to be wary that not all countries accept crypto as payments nor have crypto ATMs yet. “Always be ready,” notes JuMHK. “Maybe get a Binance Card if it’s available for you. If not, consider using Binance P2P to help you exchange your crypto in other countries.”
Have a Safe Trip!
The Binance Angel Travel Guide is essential for anyone looking to fund their next vacation entirely, or mostly, in crypto. We hope our users, experienced or starting, can utilize this guide to find more ways to spend their crypto in everyday life.
As a general guideline, travelers should always stay up-to-date on the latest crypto developments in the jurisdictions they plan on visiting.
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Further Reading
(Blog) How Binance Angels Moderate Their Telegram Communities
(Blog) Stories From Around the Globe — Binance Angels Share Their Best Experiences with Binance!
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