I have time to get one in person, but I won't be back for a while. I don't want to tie up a bunch of money until then, so it would only be worth it if I could make deposits from abroad later. I gather from what I've read here that is not possible from banks that use Swift, and apparently not ACH either.
If that's correct, I'd avoid wasting time and money. But if it is possible, it would save money and help with reserving accomodations