Originally Posted by Machka
Your local bank didn't have an answer for you??? Find a new bank!!
When I travel to other countries, I go to my local bank and ask them for a certain amount of money in the currency I need ... and they sell it to me right then and there. Once I'm in the country and I discover I need more money, I go to the local ATM and withdraw it with my debit card. Very simple and easy.
And as for travellers cheques ... you might be able to get them, but don't expect to be able to use them here in Canada. Even us Canadians can't use Canadian travellers cheques. They are so incredibly old-fashioned that anyone under the age of 30 won't recognize what they are and will refuse them. The last time I used travellers cheques was in the late 1980s, and even then I had them refused.
Cash, debit cards, and credit cards are the way to go.
Banks not being able to do currency exchanges is quite typical in the US, even some of the tourist areas may have only one or two banks in a city that can do exchanges. Here in Canada, you can exchange just about any currency for any other currency, and the bank will not ask questions, providing they have the currency your exchanging to, in the appropriate denominations. For the OP swapping (I assume) US dollars for Canadian, getting our bank to do it, is probably easiest.