Looking for travel suggestions outside the Euro zone--please suggest your favorite spots where the dollar is not as weak.
 

My husband and I were bitten by the travel bug about six years ago, and have enjoyed planning trips to France, Italy, Belgium, and London. This year, we were thinking about Spain or Greece, but the dollar is so weak against the euro, that we've decided to look at other options.(After all, there are lots of places we haven't been). Some thoughts included Turkey or Budapest and Prague. I also thought about taking a Mediterranean cruise, visiting several ports.(Would likely include Euro zone, but lodging and most meals would be already paid.) Please share some ideas on travel spots outside the euro zone that you have found to be interesting and a good value. We have 9-11 days and are flexible about dates of travel.

Welllllll, this is way outside of the Euro zone, but, although I love many places in Europe and tend to look to Europe for most of my travel, I have to say that my trip to Peru was marvelous in every way: aesthetically, historically, culturally, gastronomically...and in having my dollar go a whole lot further than it did in Austria and Germany the previous year. (There's pix of both at http://community.webshots.com/user/missalg )

On the other hand, it is also possible to go to many places in Europe without spending large amounts of money, despite the rate of exchange. Some of my favorite ways to make my dollar stretch are through rentals rather than hotels, staying in one spot and using public transport, picnics/meal planning ("save to splurge") and limiting ye olde souvenir shopping :) .

Happy planning!

I swore I just posted this on another thread, but we just got back and I'm still psyched.

Just did 2.5 weeks shared between Hungary and Romania and loved them both, for different reasons. Cost wise, Hungary was a bit more for both accomodation and meals, but the food was somewhat better overall. Scenery though was better in Romania and we had some pretty decent rooms and eats there for very little. $25-$50 for decent hotels and $20 or less for meals, including wine and desert. Medieval and/or Baroque cities of Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara as well as scenic mountains and highly "different" villages from Western Europe.

Hungary is more.. hmmm.. "refined", I guess would be my best way to put it. More like the rest of the EU, but still unique, of course, and still on their own currency and less expensive. Romania is really, really unique and I suspect won't be the same place in 10-15 years.

Ok, no deserts in either country. We did have dessert though.

BTW, the meal prices were for 2.

You need to find somewhere where the local currency is pegged against the US$, either formally or de facto. Look to Asia.

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged against the US$ at 7.8 give or take a few cents.

Although the Thai Baht is not formally pegged to the US$, it is not appreciating against it. At around 40 Baht to the US$, you are doing much better than you would have prior to 1997 when the rate was 25.

Many Asian countries price hotels in US$, so you can pay a large portion of your travel costs in US$ and only have to worry about the exchange rate for meals etc. The currencies of most countries in Asia have not appreciated against the US$ to the extent that the Euro, the Pound, the Australian $ and the New Zealand $ have.

General information: Try some travel sites in Europe. Start with the London Times. They are advertising vacation sites that most USA travellers know nothing of. Rhodes for instance. Find out where Poles travel to. Often Egypt. Turkey is another favorite destination. Countries on the Meiterranean can be considered. Maybe put up a spread sheet listing country possibilities. Factor in costs. Don't neglect travel advice fron the US. Govt.

In my personal experience I loved visiting western Turkey as much as I enjoyed neighboring Greece..lots of ancient sites, etc.

Prague is an absolute delight if you are into all things baroque and medieval-looking and can easily be combined with a visit to Budapest.

I also like cruises but you won't have much time in any of the ports and as wonderfully relaxing and decision-free as cruising can be I do not think it is a great way to really see some of the places you may visit (depending on how big/extensive the areas visited are) with the one exception being the Greek Island cruises.

The US dollar is weak against all currencies, including the Canadian dollar (finally -- after 25 years of smarting each time we paid to go south, to the US!)

Your question could really be re-framed "How can we travel more cheaply in Europe?"

Big cities -- including Prague, one of the most popular destinations in all Europe -- will all be costly. The countryside (including France) may not be.

Hotels with US-style amenities will be expensive; B&Bs and renting a holiday flat need not be.

Train travel is a bargain throughout Europe -- car rental may not be.

As I have indicated on other threads, Budapest is a wonderful centre for a holiday and meals and admissions are very reasonable. (Found out yesterday my spouse has to return on business in February so I may go again -- third time in 13 months).

You can get to Vienna in 2.75 hours and to Slovenia or to Prague in, say, twice that time.

A cruise in the Med does not sound like a bargain holiday, unless you travel very simply.

Argentina!!!!! Buenos Aires feels just like Spain and the dollar is very strong making a vacation here VERY affordable. We were in BA for a week in March and I felt like I went to Europe. I would also look into Chile, a really beautiful country with a great exchange rate.

Denmark,

The krone has remained stable compared to the euro.

I too would consider an Asia trip. While we have never been there, we were considering a trip to Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok for next year. Although we nixed the idea in favor of Europe (we do plan on going in a few years), I was amazed by some of the prices. I remember looking at several 4-5 star hotels in Singapore (that we couldn't afford here in the US) that were under $120 a night.

I have to agree with Amy that our trip to Peru last year was wonderful value and a great experience. We are also going to SA soon and value there seems excellent. We have only done a couple of cruises and one to Turkey,Middle East and Africa was well worth it and we were able to stay in Hotels in such places as Egypt and Africa for more than a few days.

Mexico- comes to mind.

Morocco - it's beautiful, exotic, cheap, and the food is exceptional.

Ira, given that the Danish krone has remained stable relative to the Euro, the weakness of the US dollar means that Denmark, like the Euro countries, has gotten a lot more expensive for Americans. My understanding is that all of the Scandinavian countries have their currencies closely pegged to the Euro (but there's a bit of play). Denmark is already on the expensive side to begin with.

I may be missing your point, though. Denmark is certainly a destination that I really enjoyed visiting, so it's a good value in that way, even if expensive.

My vote would be South Africa. The dollar while not as great as it used to be,the exchange rate is still about 6 to 1.

Barb,
please clarify - are you looking for European countries which do not use Euro? Or other countries?
If not Europe, Asia is very affordable and you will have much better value and service for your money. We just came back from Hong Kong and Thailand and Asia is top on our list now. 9 nights OK but better then 7.

In Europe less expensive countries - take a look at Turkey! It is both Europe and Asia, and affordable.

Also try Croatia, Slovenia.. You can combine them in Venice to balance spending :-) Venice is my favorite.

Scandinavia was always expensive.

Russia became more expensive last year. Hotels in Moscow and SPB are hard to get in summer and unreasonably expensive. I guess it is getting popular...

Having said that, we had very enjoyable budget trip to French Riviera but for Christmas/New Year, last year. We got flights for $350 (nobody wanted to fly to France last year - remember freedom fries, boycott French etc :-)
So we got nonstop flights for 350 usd to Nice. We rented a studio apartment in the center for about $50 per night, one short block from Promenade. We got one week rental car - very cheap, manual. We had dinners out and they were not that expensive except splurging in Negresco for New Year lunch. We bought wonderful food in market and local bakery, met local people. We drove in Riviera and in the hills and had a great time. The weather was sunny and few rainy days we went to the museum. So any trip can be done for less money.
Enjoy.Sophia

Some people think there is something unique about the USD vs. euro, and when they ask this, all they really mean is where is it cheaper than in some of the more expensive, highly developed Western European countries. It doesn't have much to do with the euro at all, as the USD changes relative to almost any currency the same way that I've noticed. Any place where it hasn't is probably nowhere you want to go. The USD has certainly not remained stable against the Czech koruna over the last few years -- I remember when I got 40 CK to the USD a few years ago and now it is about 25 CK to one USD. The USD has dropped in value against Bulgarian currency about the same as the euro.

The question is where is it cheaper than Western Europe, I think.

Thanks everyone for a variety of suggestions. Asia is an excellent idea, but my stepson lives in Kuala Lumpur, and we went there this year(2004), and on to Hong Kong, where the dollar has a fixed value against the HKD. In past years we have visited Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, and Langkawi in Malaysia. We will probably return to Malaysia in 2006, with a likely side visit to Bali in Indonesia. As interesting as those countries are, I still like the idea of seeing more of Europe for my 05 vacation, although the suggestion for Buenos Aires has piqued my interest. I guess more reading and research is in order here.

Hi- We just returned from a 19 day Mediterranean cruise on the QE2. It was fabulous! We went as far as Egypt and stopped in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey as well. I would recommend a cruise if you want to taste several different areas for possible longer return later.

As far as specific places, we loved the Turkish coast- visited Marmaris and Kusadasi. Ephesis (outside of Kusadasi) was well worth the visit and is high on our list to return. From anywhere on that area of the coast various islands are accessible by ferry, making this an exceptional site for a vacation.

We have also visited Slovakia and Czech Republic in the past year. Slovakia has some spectacular castles and cathedrals. But if you are less adventurous I don't recommend it- there are few English speakers, not a lot of hotels, and the food was ordinary. But it is inexpensive. Prague, on the other hand, was not too expensive and spectacular.

We have also visited China and Thailand and I would highly recommend either. You can stay at the Peninsula in Bangkok for around $200 and get a wonderful room with balcony and view over the river. Food is cheap and excellent. We also did an island resort, which was more expensive but incredible.

For the best bargains, go off season. We find that traveling in October is wonderful- I am sure early spring would be the same. Values are better, tourist areas less crowded, and I am sure the locals are friendlier with less tourist pressure. Have a great time!