Best Vacation Values, Where To Go To Save On Luxury Travel Right Now

24.05.2024 - 14:53 / forbes.com

The dollar is strong right now, and its value has risen steadily against many foreign currencies throughout the end of 2023 and up to today. On May 1, the New York Times listed ten major foreign countries that had lost significant ground against our currency since the first of the year, making them less expensive to visit. By significant I mean as much as 10% (Japan)—and that’s just the past five months. Many of these currencies had already dropped last year, making the travel savings for travelers even more dramatic.

In addition, there was a vital eleventh entry, the Eurozone, which has lost 3% more in 2024 and includes 20 additional countries, many of which are among the most desirable tourism spots on earth, such as Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Portugal. I traveled in the Piemonte region of Italy just a few weeks ago and while I have been to Italy many times over the years, every day I was shocked by how low the prices for food and drink were, and Italy is one of the pricier of these popular Eurozone countries.

Beyond this, the Times reported that more than two thirds of the 150 global currencies tracked by Bloomberg had weakened against the dollar. That’s not always a great thing for industry, business and investments, but it is a big bonus for travelers going abroad. However, some of these roughly 100 declining currency destinations are much better buys right now than others, across nearly every type of travel, from luxury to budget.

Eating is one of the areas the strong dollar saves big on, and to exacerbate this, just about everywhere in the world tips less, usually much less, than we do. In most of Western Europe tipping at bars and restaurants is not expected and when you are wowed and do tip, we’re talking 5-10%. Just as the dollar has strengthened in recent years, our tipping culture has gone insane, tipping more for more things, including self-service. No one in Europe is going to use a credit card machine that tries to get you to tip for taking a water bottle out of a cooler like we do here, and when you eat out, you’ll be saving 10% or more on top of the currency just by following normal dining protocols and etiquette.

Two weeks ago, London’s Telegraph, one of my favorite newspaper travel sections, ran a big package on the “50 Greatest Bargains in Travel.” Mind you that’s for readers spending pounds, which have also declined against the dollar, 1.5% just this year, making these bargains even more dramatic for Americans. They wrote, “You can find plenty of bargain places to eat in different cities around the world, but among the major tourist destinations surveyed by Post Office Money each year, it is Cape Town that delivers the best value overall. You can typically find a