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As an international banker, I always suggest to travelers to take two (2) credit cards when traveling for the simple fact that the magentic strip on the back can become corrupted and thus, unreadable, rendering it useless. One Visa and one MasterCard is ideal for worldwide acceptance.
Personally, I leave my debit card at home when traveling, especially overseas. When using my debit card locally, I never use it in a situation where the card has to leave my possession as that is when it's likely to get "double-swiped", once for the real transaction and the second time in a portable felonious reader to be used later by rings of thieves. Creeps.....
I find that a good 'cash' contingency for traveling is travelers cheques. Most banks sell them to their clients without fees but even if you do have to pay a fee, it's a small amount and cheap insurance. In the event you don't use them, you can always deposit them back to your account or simply save them for the next trip.
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