Sarah

I think things will turn around once bush is out of office.

I was just in Italy in November the rates are annoying to say the least. Although if you stay in inexpensive lodging forget you can work it out. Forget shopping it is not too tough to swallow. Same prices stateside as far as I could see excluding wine of course. The real killer was eating out for me. I wanted to explore restaurants but I found even moderate restaurants coming up at about $30 per evening meal. On my 1999 trip I seem to recall a meal in a 4 star hotel (higher end that what I frequented on this past trip)costing between $15-$25 dollars.

No way to cut it, it STINKS. I remember one shop keeper telling me that Americans come in all day long and never buy a thing. Fruitful tourist one day vagarants the next!!!

lyb

Oh, no, they're not giving things away to poor Americans! How awful!

Oh, please, get a grip. I'm sorry to sound so short, but first of all, NO ONE knows what it will be like next Summer, and second, if an extra 20 cents for each dollar is affecting you that much, then perhaps, you need to wait until you have more money saved up!

I simply don't understand everyone saying that Europe is so expensive! I was in Italy this past summer and frankly, I didn't think it was that expensive. I live in Sacramento, CA, last week I went to a Kings Basketball game, a beer cost $8. The week before I was in a restaurant in the San Francisco Bay area and a margarita cost $7..... I wish I knew where all of you who think Europe is so expensive live because I might consider moving there... 'cause I found the prices of everything very comparable to California!

Sarah

Thyra I lived in London in 1984-85. YOUTH HOSTELS were something like $6. in London! Westend productions were the cost of movie ticket stateside. I think I saw Aida FRONT ROW CENTER for that!!! Plus I was 19 years YOUNGER DAM IT!!

StCirq

When I bought my house in France in 1994 there were about 7 francs to the dollar. When I traveled in Europe in 1983, there were about 10 francs to the dollar. In between, there was an average of 5 francs to the dollar. So I got lucky on several occasions and bit the bullet on others. It's the same today. I'm paying 20% more for my mortgage payment in France than I was a year ago, but my interest rate has gone down a full point, to 4 and 3/8.

It's only money, and it's not much unless you are dealing in thousands of dollars. In sum, yes, Europe is more expensive for an American traveler than it was last year (20% more according to French news tonight), but when you travel a lot over a lifetime, you know that exchange rates change and trips are more or less expensive because of that.
Prices have increased in Europe, too. So, compared to 1996-98, you'll probably be paying about 20% more for your trip in dollars. That's the bottom line. You decide if it's worth it.

marcus

Maletas;
There's one easy way around this. Surely cancelling is not an option?
Try cutting back a little. You know, "cutting your cloth to measure". Instead of an hotel / apartment for say €200 per night, book a room for €170. Spend 1 or 2 nights in a cheaper restaurant than you normally would. Or eat in a non-tourist area. Drink local beers rather than your Heinekens or Buds. I'm sure that doing even 1 of the above will more than offset the extra amount you've lost on the exchange rate, without compromising the overall quality of you holiday(too much anyway)
If your budget is still stretched at that, then try Eastern Europe or the Balkans.

maletas

Thanks again for all the advice and comments. I am pretty much committed to going this summer due to the fact that I have already purchased the airplane ticket. Most likely I will only spend a few hundred dollars more on everything for this trip because of the exchange rate. Although it is hard to predict what the rates will be, I do remember reading somewhere last summer that the dollar would drop to 1.20 by the end of this year and low and behold, that prediction was accurate. Buena suerte a todos!!!

Peep

To make matters worse for you, the euro brought inflation in most member countries. We used to pay 12 DM for a pizza, now the same pizza is 12 euros (should be about 6 euros). Hmmmmfff.

Patrick

I hate to bring up this sensitive point, but the post seems to suggest that things are something like 20% more expensive than 7 years ago. I wonder how many people haven't had increases in salary or income pretty much equal to 20% in those 7 years?

RufusTFirefly

Of course, other sources predicted that there would be no change in the dollar/euro exchange rate, others predicted the dollar would be stronger, and others predicted anything from a slight to 50% drop in the value of the dollar. One of them had to be right.

ira

I am pleased to be able to report that my prediction, made last January, was right on the money.

I predicted:

Given present trends and conditions, the Euro will continue it's rise against the dollar, unless geopolitical and global economic factors realign, in which case the Euro will fall with respect to the dollar. I expect the Euro to be within the range of $0.75 to $1.50 by the end of 2003.

Bitter

Ira: I don't mean to be rude, but that was a pretty broad range.
Sarah: How will Bush's re-election or defeat change the forces of inflation in Europe and change US domestic economy?

hansikday

Bitter, I think ira was injecting a bit of humor in his economic remarks.

ira

Hey bitter,

Why should I try to be more precise than all of the other pundits?

Bitter

As I hoped (that IRA was kidding). I was concerned he was really going out on a limb....

ed

It would seem that IRA has a PhD in Economics or is a newspaper pundit :-B

maletas

Wow, AAFrequent flier! How nice for you to be able to travel to Europe so often. Not all of us are so fortunate, however. Whats your gig? How about letting us in on it?

AAFrequentFlyer

maletas,

Reporting from the Sherlock Holmes Hotel in London
Actually it's a combination of hard work and some luck in my earlier days. For the last 5 years or so, I have been blessed with the ability to travel very often and UK is one of my favorite destinations. I do have business investments in London, but they are small, and it's not the main reason for my visits here, although I use that as an excuse. The main reason is my total love and devotion for Manchester United Football Club, so I try to see at least 3-5 games a year. I will see them play twice at home on Saturday and Tuesday night before heading home on Wednesday morning.
A little report about this hotel. At the last minute my plans have changes a bit, so I needed a hotel room for only one night in London. I had reservation with Hilton at a good rate, but when I called and asked to cancel the other night, they said that my old rate did not qualify for just a one night stay, and the new rate was ridilolous. So, I went on Priceline and I scored this place for $125US. I will say that I'm happy with the property, my room is on the small, but which London hotel room isn't? It's very clean, great bar scene in the lobby, bathrooms are interesting with glass doors, but good size. I have a nice queen size bed, no view(but that's ok with me as I like to keep my windows open and that way I don't have to draw the curtains), mini-bar, safe, nice little desk, high speed internet for a charge in your room(bring a laptop and ethernet cable). I have not checked out the workout facilities, but supposedly they are very nice. Great location on Baker Street. I highly recommend this place if you could get it at the same rate I did, even about $50US more.
Ok folks, time to get showered , dressed up and hit my favorite spots.
See Ya!

Oh BTW, maybe many of you knew this, but in case you didn't the Post Offices in the UK will change your money without any charges and at the going market rate. I'm not sure if this is true for rest of Europe, but it's worth the extra effort to find a PO here in the UK. They do give you the best rates.

Ryan

Here are some words of encouragement, the dollar's decline will benefit America's balance of trade as US goods will be cheaper for those in Europe. If you work for an American company, you'll benefit.

The tax revenue where you live may benefit, as well, because fewer American's will travel to Europe and may vacation in a city like yours. It also reduces the cost for foreign visitors to the US, which may increase their numbers.

You have also benefitted because the drop in the dollar, has in part, been the result of the low interest rate environment in the US.

While a weak currency isn't always the right economic policy, there are times when it is advantageous. Unfortunately, planning a vacation to Europe isn't one of those times.

wbowles

We just returned from Italy, making our trip on the week of the Euro record highs. I thought prices were steep, a can of Coke is 1.50 or 1.80 anywhere in Venice, so over $2 for a Coke is a lot. But, in the big scheme of things, the additional incremental cost isn't that much. We got a bargain off season hotel room in a great location, spent less on fancy restaurants then we had planned and had a good time, not letting the high cost of items bother us. You can also save by a little extra legwork. Venice is a very expensive city, but 1.5 liters of water still costs just .37 at the supermarket vs 3 Euros from a street vendor.
My advice, don't worry about an extra 5%, enjoy!