Travellers often have trouble with foreign currency, according to a survey.

Nearly two in three British tourists are confused by overseas money when travelling abroad, the poll by travel agent www.sunshine.co.uk found.

As many as 30 per cent still think the French franc is in currency, while 12 per cent believe the Spanish peseta is still legal tender.

Also, 13 per cent thought having one million Japanese yen would make them a millionaire back home when in fact the money is worth less than £7,000.

Based on responses from 1,582 holidaymakers, the survey showed 64 per cent were confused by foreign currency, with 51 per cent spending more on holiday due to their lack of understanding.

Almost 40 per cent thought you could get two US dollars to the pound when the current rate is actually around $1.53 to the pound.

Also, 48 per cent incorrectly thought the euro had a higher value than the pound, while 42 per cent admitted spending money "for the sake of it" while abroad.

In addition, 61 per cent aimed to get rid of all their spending money before coming home, while 83 per cent could not be bothered to exchange money when they got back.

Sunshine.co.uk founder Chris Brown said: "We were surprised to find that some people believed the peseta to still be the currency in Spain.

"It's worrying that people aren't too knowledgeable about currency abroad, as this often leads to overspending on holiday."