Airport currency exchange counters are the worst place in the world to get foreign cash. Travelex, Forexchange, ICE, and the dozens of generic kiosks at every major airport post exchange rates that are 8-15 percent worse than the rate you would get from an ATM 50 feet away. They count on you being jet-lagged, in a hurry, and unwilling to walk around comparing rates.
The fix is the same at every airport: walk past the counter, find the bank ATM in arrivals, and withdraw a small amount (50-100 units of local currency) for taxis, tips, and the first day. Use a no-FX debit card like Wise or Charles Schwab and you pay essentially zero in fees. These guides tell you exactly where the bank ATMs are at each major airport, which counters to avoid, and whether you actually need cash at all.
Airports covered
Coming soon
The list above now covers 100 airports, which takes in every major long-haul gateway our readers actually fly through, from Heathrow and Haneda to Cape Town and Nadi. New guides from here are added where readers ask for them rather than by passenger volume alone, which in practice means holiday secondaries and regional hubs: the Greek and Spanish island airports, the Japanese and Indian second cities, and the Caribbean and Indian Ocean resort gateways. If an airport you are flying into is missing, the country and city guides linked from each page cover the same ground on ATMs, fees, and DCC.
The universal airport rule
Most major airports have at least one local bank ATM in the arrivals area. Use that one. Skip Travelex, skip Forexchange, skip the "no commission" kiosks (the markup is built into the rate, the "commission" is just a separate fee they have removed). For most major destinations, you do not even need cash to leave the airport. Trains, taxis, Uber, FreeNow, and itTaxi all accept contactless cards almost everywhere. Withdraw 50-100 units of local currency only if you want a backup for tipping or markets on day one.
Before you tap, also remember the DCC trap: when the airport ATM asks "would you like to be charged in your home currency?" always say no, always pick the local currency. The 3-13% markup that DCC adds is the second biggest way travelers lose money at airports.