In The News: The U.S. Dollar Is Up

Yeah, the U.S. Dollar Is Up. While that is good news overall what it means for travel to Europe is huge. Not only does that mean your dollar goes farther against the Euro it means competition for that dollar is higher than in recent times and that competition means lower prices up front.

You will find that savings can range from 20 to 35 percent.  For the best savings on airfare you may want to consider a airline that isn’t a US based carrier. Just about everything from hotels to luxury handbags to McDonald's hamburgers is cheaper abroad than in the United States right now. When you take dollars to the foreign exchange booth, you get a lot more of another country's currency back than you used to.

If you have always dreamed of a vacation in Paris, it's a steal right now. Recent roundtrip flights to Paris are running $100 a seat less than last year. Travelers are enjoying the savings. 

Travel to the euro area -- Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Austria, among other nations -- is almost 20% cheaper now from a year ago. The European economy is struggling, causing more bargains and discounts.

Is a South African Safari on your bucket list? The famous ocean views in Capetown look even better now: It's nearly 15% cheaper for folks with dollars to vacation in South Africa. Similar to other south of the border vacations, South Africa's currency is losing value against the dollar as commodity prices slump.

Flights from New York to Capetown are down around 25% from a year ago. To put it another way: South Africa is more than double distance to New York than Paris, yet flights there cost a mere $130 more. If you don't mind really long flights, South Africa offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Brazil is also a bargain. Now is the right time to go to Rio de Janiero -- or anywhere else in Brazil.

Brazil's currency, the Real, has lost almost 30% of its value against the dollar from a year ago. That means places like Rio and Sao Paulo are much cheaper to visit now.

A typical flight from New York to Rio was $1,170 last March. Now it can be under $900, which points out that flights have gone down since the World Cup last summer.

Hotels in Brazil are 12% cheaper compared to a year ago. By the way, you want to go now before prices soar again for the Summer Olympics in 2016.

How long will these deals last? At the moment, experts predict the U.S. dollar is likely to stay strong through the end of the year, but it's unclear whether travel will pick up enough to lift flight and hotel prices even sooner. The word is getting out.

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you get there and if you want to stay in comfort rather than camping out we can help. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

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