Daniel

In South Africa almost every withdrawal costs R50, and R75 at Absa. That sounds modest, but against a R3,000 limit it works out at roughly 1.7 percent. In this country, though, something else matters more than the bank: where the machine stands. South Africa is the one destination in this series where we advise against

Dubai is the exception among travel destinations: there really are fee-free ATMs here, and not as some obscure special case but at several major banks. Emirates NBD, RAK Bank, Citibank and Emirates Islamic charge foreign cards nothing at all. Take the nearest machine in a shopping mall instead and you may pay up to 26.25

In Morocco almost every withdrawal costs 35 dirham, whichever bank you use. Since January 2026 there is no fee-free ATM left in the country — even the post office now charges. So the lever is not the bank, it is the withdrawal limit: most machines cap you at 2,000 dirham, BMCI and Attijariwafa go up

There is one screen at a foreign ATM that costs more than a year of account fees. It politely asks whether you would like to be charged in your home currency and offers you a guaranteed exchange rate. Accept it and you typically pay 5 to 8 percent too much. The correct answer is the

Every ATM withdrawal in Thailand costs 250 baht with a Visa card and 350 baht with a Mastercard. That 100-baht gap has nothing to do with your bank at home — it depends entirely on which card you insert. And there is no way around the fee itself: every major Thai bank charges foreign cards

POVNOMAD, Airalo and Holafly all sell an unlimited-data eSIM for South Africa. POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart starts at €7.90 for 3 days, Airalo at €17.50, Holafly at €18.90. A full month costs €60.90 against €89.50 and €103.90 (as of 30 September 2026). Airalo allows 3 GB of full-speed data per day, POVNOMAD allows 1 GB. The

POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart for South Korea costs €5.90 for 3 days and €29.90 for 30 days. Airalo’s unlimited plan costs €11.00 and €61.50, Holafly €11.90 and €68.90. Smart gives you 1 GB at full speed each day, then a steady 1 Mbit/s. Unlimited XL raises the daily allowance to 3 GB from €7.90. The comparison

POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart for Vietnam costs €9.90 for 7 days and €30.90 for 30 days. Airalo’s unlimited plan costs €24.00 and €61.50 for the same trips. At every duration POVNOMAD lands at roughly half the price. Smart gives you 1 GB at full speed each day, then a steady 1 Mbit/s. Airalo throttles at 3

POVNOMAD, Airalo and Holafly all sell an unlimited-data eSIM for Morocco. POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart starts at €8.90 for 3 days, Holafly at €13.50, Airalo at €16.00 (POVNOMAD as of 3 October 2026, Airalo and Holafly as of 29 September 2026). Airalo’s Morocco table stops at 10 days. For a two-week loop, two prices remain: €30.90

 POVNOMAD Unlimited Smart costs €8.90 for 3 days in Dubai and €16.90 for 7 days, Airalo €11.50 and €24.50, Holafly €11.90 and €25.50. The product is sold as a UAE eSIM and works across all seven emirates, Abu Dhabi and Ras al Khaimah included. Up to 15 days Smart is the cheapest of the