thursdaysd

The airfare is hurting me as much as the exchange rate too. It looks like I can fly to Asia - from the east coast of the US - for about the same as it would cost for Europe! I've been favoring Asia over Europe as I figured I could spend more time in Europe when I got more decrepit, but it's also much cheaper.

But I agree that some areas are cheaper than others, although I was surprised by the cost of accommodations in much of Eastern Europe. helps if you pick a less popular part, like Slovakia instead of Czech Republic.

I used to fly into London and take cheap flights onward, but the new environmental taxes are undermining that plan.

Sally30

If I couldn't afford the trip or it became so expensive, it was undesirable I'd stop going. But for a difference in exchange rate of about 10%-15% over the past years, I certainly wouldn't change my travel plans.

I won't always be young (no offense to the senior posters on the thread) and no guaranties that husband and I will always be healthy and have jobs that let us take long vacations so I wouldn't want to put travel plans on hold to wait for the fx rate to improve.

We've mostly managed the cost by staying in less expensive hotels, eating more cheaply (as others have said), and cutting the trip a little shorter if needed. We were laughing that the quality of our accomodations has steadily gone downhill over the last 5 years. But I wouldn't say that has made a real difference in our enjoyment of the trips at all.

Fidel

...falling life expectancy...exchange rates come and go...

Yeah, those are the two realities that convince me to not ever let up; I cannot tolerate a life that doesn't include seeing London once or twice a year and then venturing further afield to a new spot. I'm a bargain hunter -- praise the Lord and pass the Internet.

WillTravel

I'm not a US resident, but presumably people in other countries have to worry about trip cost too.

Which is mainly what I focus on - what is the trip going to cost and how can I do it as cheaply as possible? If, after doing my best to get the best deal, I still thought it too expensive, I'd save up longer or try to earn some more money quickly. Like Christina pointed out, currency rate fluctuation is only going to mean a difference of at most several hundred dollars per trip for the most part. I'm not going to make a go/don't go decision based on a few hundred dollars total.

We're going to Copenhagen this year among other places. I fully expect Copenhagen will be about 50% more expensive than say Berlin, but we want to go there for various reasons so I'm just accepting that our 4 nights there will be on the expensive side, but it's also only 4 nights.

At a certain point it's easier to earn a few hundred dollars more than it is to try to cut costs by a few hundred.

buongiorno

Actually, the € to the $ has gone up more than 50% since 2001 and really accelerated after the beginning of the Iraq war. The € was 86 cents in mid 2001.

While the causes of our weakened currency pisses me off, I'll continue to travel to Europe as long as my personal currency situation lets me.

P_M

I love Europe and I always will, but for now I am focusing on other parts of the world.

bettyk

I have tried to be a smarter traveler. We are now retired and plan to do more traveling, in Europe and other places.

One of the reasons I like traveling in the smaller towns of Germany and Austria is the chance to stay in some nice little hotels at a reasonable cost.

Total cost for our 21 nights in September and October will be 1800 Euros or about $2400. All hotel rates include breakfast and taxes. Our most expensive hotel is 111 Euro in Tuebingen. Others range from 56 Euro to 105 Euro.

Time is too short so as long as we can afford to go, we will.

tomassocroccante

When you're out of dollars, the exchange rate is only a concept ...

One consolation, in any case, is that some things in some of my favorite places cost less anyway. Wine in France, Italy, etc can be less costly than water.

nytraveler

Our major issue with travel is getting a reasonable amount of time simultaneiously. So we don;t worry about the dollar exchange - since there's nothing we can do about it - just take the trip and enjoy it.

Now - if there were a huge difference - say $10 for a euro - that would give us pause - probably to plan a simpler trip - but I don;t see anything like that actually happening.

tomassocroccante

I think if I saw a change up ahead, I might delay ... or hurry up, if things looked to get worse. But it's looking unpredictable. I know that the EU does not exactly like this state of affairs, because it makes their exports high indeed. And US exports more affordable.

But it can be a mistake not to look at what your money can buy ... not necessarily in terms of where NOT to go, but places that are great bargains at any given time.

One thing I would think has slowed would be US buyers of vacation homes in Europe. Should the dollar strengthen, as we imagine it must in time, you'd stand to lose plenty. (Someone will write, "People who can buy a 2nd home in Europe don't care if they lose money on it." I tend to think that Americans who can buy a 2nd home anywhere are probably pretty smart about their money!)

GSteed

Macroeconomic consideration. The hoi polloi, to which I belong, are not conversant with the overall USA money strategy. The total actual dollar float around the world is huge. As the dollar value shrinks, USA citizens gain! The national debt becomes less...Foreign governments are well aware of this. They value the dollar at its current worth, what it can actually buy.

sega61

I have been looking on planning a late fall trip and the exchange rate is certainly factoring into the equation. But even more important is traveling via air. Traveling in the US on a US-based carrier just suks. There is no better word for it. I am so tired of being stuck in airports with no way out. That is the biggest deterrent to me right now.

isabel

I think in much of Europe, there is still better value than in the US (for those of us in the US, using dollars). For example, on my trip to Spain in March my average hotel room was 65€. These hotels were nicely decorated, with AC, satelite TV, lifts, etc. and most importantly, they were steps away from fabulous things (in Seville, Granada, Cordoba). That's the equivalent of $87 at the 1.35 exchange rate. In comparison, the local Red Roof Inn that I pass everyday is $99 a night. I'm pretty sure the furnishings are no better and most importantly - it's not near anythng special. Traveling in the US, even to relatively borning places can easily cost more. Anyplace really interesting - like say NYC or Boston or San Francisco - try finding accomodations in those places for the same amount as just about anywhere in Europe - even London.

When it comes to things we need to spend money on when traveling - accomodations, food, public transportation - those things really are still a pretty good value in most of Europe when compared to the US.

If I've done anything recently to compensate for the crappy exchange rate it's to combine destinations - a less expensive country (e.g. Spain, Portugal) with the more expensive ones (Scandinavia and UK).

Pago

Yes, it's pretty obvious, we won't be going to Europe.

Rillifane

Exchange rates fluctuate, that's the way of things. I was certainly happier as a tourist when the Euro was lower against the dollar. Then again about a third of my portfolio is in Euro denominated financial instruments so it all balances out I suppose.

The Euro is currently overvalued and I expect it to come down a bit by this fall. Whether it does or not is not likely to change my plans to head to Paris for the month of October.

logos999

I would try to get rid of my USD as fast as possible. It won't be long before a substantial crash takes place. There are FAR too many $$ floating around.

Nikki

What Isabel said. While European travel isn't the bargain that I found it to be a few years ago, it still seems to be less expensive than travel within the US, especially to major cities.

I can still find great restaurant meals in much of Europe that, if I could even find a restaurant that good near where I live, would cost twice as much.

Of the places I have been in the past few years, only London and Copenhagen have seemed significantly more expensive than travel within the US.

For me, the most off-putting expense is the air fare. I can not find anything near the fares I got a few years ago, and I am just happy I was able to take advantage of some real bargains when I did.

julies

I'll jump in too on the increased cost of flights. From where we are, I'd say flights are running a couple hundred dollars more than they were a couple years ago. This is regardless of time of year.

nancy1652

One of the ways we are combatting the weak dollar is to do house swaps. This makes it possible for us to go longer to places, like Paris for a month, than we could currently afford.

LadyOLeisure

That works great if you live somewhere people would like to visit. Knocks out a lot of the rest of us! While WE love living in an uber-university town in North Carolina, most people around the world would prefer visiting New York, Florida (or just about any lovely beach), and Los Angeles. That's what they "see in the movies" and that's what they want for their vacations.

Not lots of takers for Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Michigan, etc.

Europe is an "easy" destination. We have totally enjoyed our trips to France, Spain, Italy and the UK and would love to do more, but since it is "easy" to get around there, we're now concentrating on places we should see while we are physically fit and able. Just had a fabulous trip to China at a phenomenal value $$ in comparison to anything we've done in Europe the past three years. Now we're more seriously examining South and Central America. Hopefully in ten years we'll still be able (fit) and can afford to travel to Europe again.