Exchange rate used in travel guides?

I think you should just assume it will be slightly less. If you are starting the planning process, get real quotes from booking.com and renfe. Food costs are always something you can control on the spot, like living on baloney sandwiches or ordering that extra bottle of rioja.

Strange for a RS guide to not have an "Exchange Rate" box in the early chapter showing the then prevailing rate.

Most prices throughout the book are shown in euros. Exchange rates are recapped in a box at the start of the hotel section for each city, $1.40 in the current Spain edition (no longer very applicable). If you're looking at the overall trip costs section starting on page 5, then you can assume they're related to that exchange rate, but they're also just rough averages to start with. The basic formula of $10 for lunch, $25 for dinner, and $150 for a double room does not change much from year to year. Of course, there are plenty of double rooms listed in the book that cost less than $150 at any exchange rate, depending on hotel amenities and location. Separately, the rail pass summary on p. 964 shows 2014 pass prices and features (some of which have changed) and full-fare point-to-point tickets at an exchange rate of $1.25 but rounded to nearest $5.

This week the euro costs $1.08. If you can find out the euro cost of things, just multiply. I have some reservations that I made a few months ago; prices are expressed in euros and U.S. Dollars. Hap
Ily, I will be paying less than I anticipated. I will pay in euros. My hotel bill for four days this week will cost $25 less than originally estimated. I'm so glad I didn't prepay much on this trip.

Hi,

It is only reasonable and realistic not to expect the book to have the most current exchange when computing prices. I look at them as a close estimate given the continued slide of the Euro. True, it is $1.08 now, a few days ago it went back down to $1.05. The rail Pass I got a month ago cost $135 less than the exact same Pass I paid for from last year. In Euro 397, which means even though the exchange rate after mid-March was ca $1.09 or so, the rail Pass was computed at $1.18, plus an additional bonus of the 11th day, no shipping fee (I've never paid for that anyway), all in contrast to last year's Pass when it was computed at $1.36 or so....a very welcomed relief.

On this site you can find exchange apps and also print out exchange lists

http://www.xe.com/

A weak Euro doesn't always equate to your dollar "going farther" is the local Eurozone economy is impacted by inflation. For example petroleum is typically USD denominated.

An interesting comparison is cost of living say Spain vs US. For what it's worth an interesting tool:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Spain&country2=United+States&city1=Barcelona&city2=Medford%2C+OR

It's not very accurate in that it reports a .5 L domestic beer in a Medford restaurant costs 1.87€. A pint of micro brew cost $3 to $4 in a local brewpub while the reported 46.69€ midprice restaurant meal for two is in the ballpark if a drink or two is included. But the takeaway is Barcelona is cheaper than my home town unless I eat at McDonalds in Spain.

Maybe he doesn't print it anymore. The rate has changed so much I am sure it would not be the same right now as it was when the 2015 book was printed. Every phone, tablet, laptop has a currency exchange rate. Today it is 108 Euro to the dollar.

108 euro to the dollar? You wish!

The other thing is that you should try to think in Euro when planning an European trip. That way your numbers are constant from one page to another and over time. When you hit the ground you can worry it is 1.05 or 1.15.

Sorry, but as of late March, the dollar had increased 25% against the euro in the past year -- so your dollar is absolutely going further against the euro than it would have a year earlier. Given that the Eurozone economies for the most part are struggling, and Spain experienced DEFLATION in the last nine quarters, your dollar is also going further.

And as for petroleum being USD-denominated -- that's on world oil markets, not at the pump. Consumers won't see any of that playing into their purchases. Gasoline is much more expensive in Europe because it's taxed so heavily by local governments.

To sum up: you're in luck as an American traveling to Europe: your dollar is going WAY further than it was when the RS2015 books were finalized!

The short answer is to use an online currency converter for current rates; they can swing too much to include in a guide with any sort of accuracy. Also, a convention, holiday or other event can increase hotel rates sharply, and they can change a lot per season as well.