Personally, I was pleasantly surprised with the situation there. I have not gotten my Mastercard bill yet, though. I travel abroad every year, and have not used Travelers Cheques in many years. I always bring some "just in case". I usually use my ATM, and pay the withdrawl fee at home (but get the bank exchange rate for the day), and use my credit card whenever possible (same good rate). Not in Belize. I brought Travelers Cheques (20's), and found it pretty cheap overall. Used my Mastercard to book a few nights in a couple hotels over the internet, used it again to pay for a couple other unplannned nights while there, and used TC's otherwise, taking local $ in change. They always took the TC (and my signature is terribly childish), never charged a service charge, and always got the usual 2:1 exchange rate. Also, never once used an ATM.