We reached that point several years ago. Although we loved traveling to Europe annually our wallet is not a bottomless pit! There were states in the U.S. we had not visited, so we turned our attention there and have had several wonderful trips to D.C., Savannah, St. Augustine, Denver (where I was born and lived until I married, but hadn't been to for years), Seattle. We also went to Victoria, B.C. for a wonderful week.

I tried to plan a trip to Croatia year before last, but couldn't make it work, both in terms of airfare and routing. So instead we went to Buenos Aires and it was love at first sight.

We also have taken a couple of cruises, something we thought we'd save until we couldn't do anything else, and both were interesting and rewarding.

Another thing that has been a huge turnoff are the comments and reports I'm reading about how crowded most places are now compared to when we were there.

We hope to visit Croatia, Portugal, Belgium/Holland and maybe Germany some day. Time will tell. We're going to Russia next month as we found an excellent opportunity to do so. Hopefully, we won't give out before the Euro does! :-D

The exchange rate has already stopped me from visiting the UK and Scandinavian countries.

Since I am one of the "less than afluent" and don't get to collect lots of FF miles, it's getting very hard to afford to go. The weak dollar plus the outrageous increases in hotel prices means I don't know when I'll be able to take another trip.

I am going to WA and Vancouver Island in 2 weeks. I was thinking my dollar would go further in Canada, but the hotel prices for the tourist spots are still so high that it's turning out to be nearly as expensive as going to EU!

Looks like I'll be spending more time tent camping. Good thing I live in a beautiful place.

This will be our first trip to the UK and I must say that I was surprised with the cost. However, I am thankful that we can afford to go but, empathetic to those that are on a tight budget because it is pricey! We had frequent flyer miles for the hotel stay which helped alot!

No, I would simply find a way to re-engineer my business so that I get paid in euros instead of dollars. Am already doing that, to some extent.

I am 80, have no debts, in perfect health, have paid a big chunk toward my granddaughter's education, and will celebrate 55 years of happy wedlock quite soon.

We have found that organized tours go a long way to offset the decline of the dollar. Tour operators have bargaining power I could not hope to have.

Besides, somebody else does the heavy lifting -- luggage, room reservations, guidance, and many meals. I just go along, pay the bills, and have a blast.

Exchange rates come and go. I have about five years left to enjoy long-distance travel. I do not hold out any hope that our country will get its financial house in order in that time. So...away we go!

Rex, I love your statement, "whatever you want to get done in the next decade, make a realistic plan to do it... or stop pretending that you intend to..." Makes me think about that hike up and down the Grand Canyon that our famiy talks about.....Should I stop pretending that I will ever get into good enough shape to hike up, or should I keep that in the back of my mind? Something to think about.

I am an avid Europe travel so I don't know what it would take for me to stop visiting. I think I would adjust my budget when I'm there over not going at all, and I still believe that I can travel to Europe for far cheaper than some travel to, say, Disneyworld. I think its the cost of airfare that would keep me from visiting. I do avoid the UK though because its just too expensive, so I guess when it gets to that point I would have to reconsider.

I am considering Argentina for next year though, and a lot of that has to do with the favorable exchange rate.

Tracy

Lots of interesting replies here, and lots of points that we too have considered. We too pay for airfare in addition to the on the ground trip costs, so the combo of the 2 increases has really hit us hard. We already are budget to moderate travelers because that is our preferred style (even if we were gazillionaires we probably still wouldn't pay for deluxe travel), so we've always utilized some of the cost-savings tips frequently given out on this board. And, we've also visited a number of the more inexpensive central and eastern European destinations, so we can't just decide to visit all those places.

On our possible horizons are Russia, a cycling trip in Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia, Portugal, Galacia in Spain, and possibly an inexpensive gite rental in rural France. You notice these are mostly places on the list of lesser expensive places to visit in Europe. I haven't been to Italy in 35 years and would like to return, but it is getting to be quite pricey and overtouristed from what I've read. We have never been to the UK or Scandinavia because they are so expensive. Now, I wonder if we'll ever get there. And, other continents are starting to maybe interest us. I have heard good things about Buenos Aries, and I'd like to visit Ecuador although my husband is less than enthused abaout that. I'm also thinking about Cambodia. Frankly, a major part of some of these choices is the weak dollar. It has started to give us pause as to whether or not we want to continue to spend so much even though we really love European destinations.

Unfortunately, we too are now starting to think about how many years we realistically can do the kind of active travel we really like, so that has come into consideration as several posters have also commented. Life is tradeoffs I guess.

Interesting thread. Here are some of my thoughts - notice, from a German point of view, so it's the other way around.

First, not everywhere in Europe the currency is Euro. And even in the Euro-zone the cost of living and travelling differs a lot.

Second, I think there are plenty of options to cut the cost of travelling in Europe - choose 'Pensions'/B&Bs instead of Hotels for accommodation. Stay 15 minutes outside the city center and take public transportation etc.

Third, from my personal experience in planning my first trip to the USA (NYC+New England in fall - I know, it's probably the most expensive area and time) I must say that even with the weak Dollar the rates for accommodation are outrageous. If I had not yet promised my American friends to visit I would probably stop the planning and go to Switzerland, where it is considerably less expensive. Yes, you got that right.

Ingo

No, I will not stop going to Europe. I just have to find ways to save more money and settle for going every other year. I was in NYC 10 days ago. Leaving the airfare out of the calculation, expenses per day (hotel, meals, subway, taxi) in NYC were higher than those in Paris. I was able to find a decent hotel for under $100 in Paris but not in NYC.

>rates for accommodation are outrageous.
True, at the current exchange rate central and soutern Europe are generally less expensive than northern America. I've no idea, why the rooms are so outrageously expensive in the US? Maybe that's a reason why American tourists in Europe are willing to pay so much for a room over here?

"I think 2 to 1 might do it for me too. I'm purposely not going to the UK with that exchange rate as it is now."

AmyB, your logic is flawed, the Euro and the Pound have not moved much in relation to one another.

2 pounds to a dollar is no more or less expensive than 1.35 euro to the dollar.

You can buy more with a pound than you can with a euro.

Back in the day it was 32,000 Italian Lire to the Pound, which didn't make the English rich in Italy.

Waring, it's two dollars to the pound, not the other way around.

The combination of current exchange rates and my dislike of long flights (I'm not willing to spend the $$$$ for 1st class) has made me look much more towards US travel for the next few years. There are lots of places here that I would still like to visit or re-visit.

On the other hand, I definitely find that in Europe (especially outside the big cities), the budget lodging and food options are pretty good and reasonably priced. The B&B/Pensiones offer good quality at moderate prices (as compared to high priced B&Bs or low quality cheap motels in the US).

For a while we could do once a year, now we are skipping this year but will go in May 08 for three weeks.

We are not luxury travelers but we are not downgrading our style.

I would just have less shopping money. We don't spend a lot when eating and could probably stay in less attractive hotels or apts to save a bit as well. I doubt there's an exchange rate that could stop me from traveling.

No, I will keep working hard so that I can go to Europe at least twice a year. Europe is my addiction and I don't want to be cured.

Yea, husband agreed to go back to Paris in November! Sweet!

If you are looking for a cheap trip to Europe check out Portugal. You might be surprised how affordable hotels, restaurants etc are all over Portugal. Very friendly people also.

Larry J

This is an interesting thread. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but the problem with the opening question is that it assumes that a poor dollar automatically makes things more expensive, or that a strong dollar makes things cheaper, for US citizens. This is not the case.

For instance, DH and I just went to Iceland for a week. When we were there, you could get 60 kr./dollar, but in Iceland, things are more expensive even taking the exchange rate into account. Conversely, in Greece last year, even though one Euro cost us about $1.20, our lodging in the islands was comparably priced or much cheaper than at home, and food and other incidentals were priced pretty fairly, so the extra 20c per Euro really didn't pose a problem.

You never really know what things will cost until you do real cost comparisons. We have started doing pre-trip spreadsheets complete with rough currency conversions to come up with accurate trip cost estimates. It's really useful in helping us figure out what we can afford/what things will cost.

Hope this helps someone!

I agree a lot with Christina, one item I save a lot is eating out where I live, I cook better than most of the place I would go, that is good but not extravagant places , now they are so expensive here and I do not find the food really worth it. So we save there, and then spend it eating well in Italy for instance.