Canadians, are you rethinking RS tours because of the dollar?

Andrea, it's not that many years ago that our dollar was worth 65 cents against the U.S. dollar, so, no, the present unpleasant fall is not worrying me. I have two trips to Europe planned before summer's end and have already bought my euros for Paris, and the second trip is a Med. cruise on Holland America which means American dollars and euros, so I have bought them, too. It's only money .... pay what it costs and have a good time. If you wait for our dollar to rise again the price of the tours will have gone up in the meantime, very likely.

Hi Norma

I do recall those days. I remember on my first trip to England my flea bag £60 hotel cost me $150. I guess I've just gotten used to a better deal in the past few years.

Normally I'd just suck it up and go, but as I mentioned the budget is tighter this year. We'll have to see what (if anything) we can fit in.

Andrea,

The dropping Canadian dollar is certainly a concern, but it's not causing me to rethink taking a tour. Hopefully it won't fall too much further. The only options I have in this situation are:

• Pay the tour cost and exchange.
• Travel on my own without the tour
• Don't travel at all.

It is possible to reduce the tour costs a bit by paying the final balance in cash rather than by credit card. That will shave a few bucks off the top.

Cheers!

If the Canadian $ is dropping with respect to the US $, isn't it also dropping in relation to the euro? Then all travel in Europe will be more expensive, tour or not. If the CDN $ continues to fall, you are better off paying now rather than later. ( which youdo with a tour).

No rethinking here - we're taking our 3rd RS tour this June and it includes the monetary sinkhole aka
Switzerland. We've been travelling since the 70s and the Cdn. $ has been all over the map - so to
speak - and it just evens out over the long run.

We're just accepting that this will be a tad pricier than our previous excursions and carrying on (literally).
Happily, this is a short trip with no car rental and I won't be tempted by dirndls or coocoo clocks so that's
a big saving there!

BTW, the Best of Turkey is well worth the extra lira - don't hesitate!

@Sasha,

Yes, the Canadian dollar is also suffering against the Euro. When I travelled last year (using mid-June as an example) the exchange was about 1. 357. Today the exchange rate is about 1.50.

Aside from not travelling at all (which is NOT an option), I can only hope that the rates will improve at least slightly by the time I travel, but I'll have to deal with whatever they are at the time. There's always a few ways that I can save some money on trips, such as shortening the duration slightly, eating less restaurant meals, choosing slightly cheaper hotels, etc.

You could do it cheaper on your own if that’s a possibility. If not, you’re talking about $35 per day more for that particular tour due to the value of the CAD. You should be able to save somewhere between $0-$35 per day by going a tiny bit cheaper on some food, beverage, shopping, sites, etc. (i.e. some of the stuff not covered by the tour). When you break it down that way, it seems a little easier to figure out some savings somewhere so that it doesn’t seem like an impossible goal to try and erase $456 more than you were expecting to spend. I can’t answer your question as a Canadian, but I’ve never skipped a trip due to a poor exchange rate. The closest thing was skipping the UK in favor of the continent, but if I really wanted to go to the UK and nowhere else, I would still go. YOLO, as the kids say. Happy travels.

Thanks for your replies.

I have always traveled independently and thus save a bit compared to tours but was browsing the RS tours and had a jolt at the exchange. It's been a few years since I had to consider it!

I guess I'll take Ken's advice and shorten the trip. A short one is better than none at all!

I hope for parity between USD and euro.

@George,

When I checked the exchange rates I just used a historical graph for an approximation, as that saved me some time compared to going back through my trip records. I didn't check on what rates were used in the graph.

@Andrea,

The most likely scenario in my case is that I'll still take the tour and still travel for about the same duration as on past trips, hoping of course that the situation improves by that time. However, perhaps I'll cut down on my restaurant meals as that should save a few hundred, and I may lose some weight in the process.

Ken, I have a feeling that you could sell off half of your camera and techie stuff, and finance quite a nice trip! ;)

@Karen,

That would probably pay for part of a trip, but I still need at least some of my camera gear and techie stuff. And what would I do the following year as I wouldn't have any gear left to sell.

If you want it, go for it. It is only money! When the euro came in we got 1.60 EUR for 1 GBP. A couple of years ago it was 1.05 EUR and is now around 1.15 EUR for the pound. It has not stopped us travelling. What it has changed is some spending. We no longer get breakfast at the hotel at 7 EUR each, 4 GBP in 2002, about 6.70 now. Last time in France it was to the coffee shop in the local supermarket, and a hot chocolate and a croissant for 2 EUR each. And felt more 'holiday' than the hotel breakfast.

Andrea, I did the RS the Best of Turkey Tour with family friends from Vancouver BC. The exchange rate when we traveled there wasn't the best at the time (for either of us) but the cost of the trip would of been way over double had we gone on our own and not with RS. I would highly suggest going on the trip if you can make it happen, cause what they show you and where they take you is well worth it. This country isn't like the rest of RS tours where you could easily do it on your own. It's a big country and they show you nearly everything.

Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I have been seriously considering this option, as well as other European destinations, but everything changed in the last couple of weeks. My beloved Liverpool Football Club announced their pre-season tour in the States and we got our tickets to the matches in New York and Charlotte. We got a decent price on a hotel in Charlotte but NY is looking like it will break the bank. But this trip really is non-negotiable, especially as I'm travelling with a pair of ex-pat Scousers.

Looks like my European dreams are on hold for now...

As a New Yorker (except for the last few years...) I know hotel rates here are crazy. Have you thought of trying Priceline? There is a website, Bidding for Travel, that will give you a handle on what is available and what to bid. How about Airbnb? Good luck!

I'm not an expert in the area of international currency, so I did a little research and wanted to comment. It seems that the Canadian Dollar in more valuable than an American dollar, so I don't understand why paying for a Rick Steves Tour is a problem. I do understand the increase in the Canadian dollar to the Euro going from 1.37 to 1.50, but most of your expense will be in paying for the tour and your airfare. Like I said, I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems to me like you're in good shape. I think I'd avoid the UK though where the pound is 1.85. Regardless, the tours will continue to get more expensive over time, so go and enjoy it now while you have the good health to do so.