North Africa calls – but to which of its legendary destinations’ siren songs should you answer?
27.07.2023 - 18:07 / smartertravel.com
Choosing a destination can be a difficult decision when you’re looking to maximize your travel budget. By choosing a destination with a favorable exchange rate and strong U.S. dollar, you can make the most of every penny spent in 2019.
Travelers looking to stretch the U.S. dollar this year should consider Latin America and parts of Africa and Asia. Projected prices for Latin America and Africa are expected to decrease by two percent for air travel and about 1.4 percent for hotel costs in 2019, according to the Global Travel Forecast.
Related: Top Travel Destinations for 2019Whether you’re on a tight budget or looking for luxury without the high price tag, these undervalued currencies and decreasing foreign exchange rates should be on your radar. Check out the destinations where the dollar is strongest in 2019.
Editor’s note: For the latest version of this story, see 9 Places Where the Dollar Goes Furthest in 2020.
ArgentinaWhether you want colonial cities, glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, wine country or wildlife, the greenback will take you far in Argentina. The dollar is so strong this year in Argentina that the Economist’s 2019 Big Mac Index undervalues the Argentine peso by a 64.1 percent, a huge drop compared to last year’s also-favorable 25 percent. The exchange rate, which is likely to continue trending in favor of U.S. travelers, is forecast to decrease by 10.7 percent this year.
If you go: Wine lovers can take advantage of the favorable exchange rate in 2019 by shipping home bottles (or cases) of the Argentine wines you discover on your travels.
Where to Stay: For poolside Andes Mountain views in Mendoza wine country, stay at El Carmelo Mountain Lodge.
Check Prices for El Carmelo Mountain Lodge in Potrerillos Loading Rates... JS EgyptWith the exchange rate forecasted to drop 2.5 percent and a new museum set to debut, 2019 is a perfect time for travelers to visit Egypt. This year, Egypt’s currency is undervalued by a whopping 60 percent, according to the Big Mac Index. The new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will partially open in 2019. The 117-acre museum, situated about one mile from the Giza pyramids, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world, and will have a passage straight from the museum to the pyramids.
If you go: Take a dinner boat cruise down the Nile River to get an entirely different Egyptian experience on the water.
Where to Stay: Stay at Cairo Pyramids Hotel for luxury accommodations, two swimming pools, and a location 10 minutes by car from the pyramids.
Check Prices for Cairo Pyramids Hotel in Giza Loading Rates... JS MexicoYour dollar goes far when it becomes pesos in Mexico. The Mexican peso is undervalued by 54.5 percent,
North Africa calls – but to which of its legendary destinations’ siren songs should you answer?
Located on Central America’s northeastern coast, Belize has a distinctly Caribbean feel which sets it apart from its neighbours, Guatemala and Mexico. A visit here reveals an astonishing diversity of attractions and experiences, including hiking through jungles to enigmatic Maya sites and visiting national parks teeming with wildlife. Here are five incredible places not to miss.
Compared to the typical Latin American tamale — a corn-based mixture steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf — the Mississippi Delta’s iteration is smaller, spicier, meatier and often simmered rather than steamed. Some say the dish came from Mexican migrants or soldiers in the Mexican American war; its origins may lie in Native American cuisine, or hail from the African dish, kush — cornbread hash. The flavours are as varied as the backstory — here are some of the best places to try them.
Travel website, Trippy, has put together an awesome infographic showing prices for food, beer, taxis, and hotels in the most and least expensive countries. And the best part is that it updates daily, so you can see the average price of something when you’re planning a trip or once you’re in the destination.
There’s never been a better summer for travel. This year’s summer travel trends favor a personalized approach to vacation and bring once-in-a-lifetime moments into sharp focus. Here are the top summer travel trends to look out for in 2019.
The recent attention focused on a 60 Minutes report covering Allegiant’s maintenance problems may have overshadowed another airline horror story: Sun Country canceled two return flights from Minneapolis-St Paul—one to Mazatlan, the other to Los Cabos—this weekend, leaving somewhere around 250 passengers with return reservations stranded in Mexico.
AirHelp, the online service that files complaints against airlines on behalf of passengers entitled to compensation for air delays or cancellations, knows a thing or two about air travel. Because it’s hard for the average person to understand air passenger rights and pursue a legal claim when they’ve been wronged, AirHelp is always going toe-to-toe with airlines and airports—and reveals once a year which ones that treat their passengers for the better (or worse).
May is here, which means Memorial Day–the unofficial start to summer–is just around the corner. Memorial Day isn’t the biggest travel holiday of the year, with many people choosing quick, local getaways (read: driving, instead of flying).
A solar eclipse is a rare event—not just on Earth, where a total eclipse only occurs in the same location once every century or so, but also in the whole universe. Thanks to the relative size and distances of both the sun and the moon, the fact that we can experience an eclipse at all is a cosmically improbable coincidence. So, if you’re feeling bad for missing a chance to watch 2017’s solar eclipse that spanned across the U.S., I’m here to validate your FOMO.
American citizens are pretty fortunate in terms of passport power, but your little blue booklet may not be quite as powerful as you think. The list of countries that require visas for Americans includes some travel hotspots, for example Australia, Brazil, Cuba, and China.
With rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft taking over, you might be wondering where in the world it’s still possible to take a cheap taxi. Cabs aren’t dead, yet: These countries still heavily rely on them.
Beachgoers are accustomed to finding small clumps of seaweed scattered around the sand or amongst the waves. But lately, visitors to beaches in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida might be surprised to be swimming in far more seaweed than they hoped for on their summer vacation: Sargassum.