I like to go the ATM route, and have never contacted any of them - Bank of Montreal, Canada
I personally carry about 1000$ cash with me regardless. Buys me a couple of days at least if I get in a pinch.
Only had one problem, was in Thailand and ran up a WILD bill in a gogo. Had to make 3 withdraws from an ATM back to back. Bank called me about 5 minutes later asking if everything was OK
Which brings me to my next comment. Ive always gave my bank legitimate contacts at all times. Not sure if all banks work on the same idea, but mine has contact numbers I can update for specific countries, and of course an email.