This spring, you’ll be getting more baguette for your buck.
Americans traveling to one of the 20 countries within the European Union’s Eurozone — including Italy, Portugal, Spain, France and other destinations popular with overseas travelers — can expect to save significantly during the coming months.
With the current exchange rate at $1.03 to €1.00, finding a travel bargain on the continent is easier than it has been in years — compared to late September 2024, when you paid about $1.12 per €1.00, you’re getting a discount of nine cents on every dollar at the moment.
According to Afar, that means that a hotel that would have cost about $280 will now cost $256 — at least for the time being.
All this is subject to fluctuations of course, but it’s looking like we’re in for a run of savings the likes of which we haven’t seen since pandemic times.
And no need to rush off to buy a plane ticket — the favorable exchange rate could be with us for awhile, and perhaps even get better, according to the epxerts.
“The U.S. dollar has continued to defy gravity, rising 7% in 2024 despite two Fed rate cuts,” according to a recent report issued by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
The dollar is expected to stay strong in 2025 for a number of reasons, analysts stated.
Closer to home, that also means big savings north of the border — after a year-long downward slide, the Canadian dollar is worth about $0.69 to one American buck.
Last September, the USD was worth about $0.74 Canadian.
And the news is good for travelers to the UK as well — those paying in British pounds will currently see the same savings you’ll enjoy across the Channel.
As opposed to paying about $1.33 for each GBP, you’ll now pay $1.22.
Traveling within the next few months can save you even more money, with popular destinations along the Mediterranean, for example, costing a fraction of what they might during the peak summer months, where a growing number of Americans are competing with the hordes of Europeans who take their annual breaks in July and August.
Known as “shoulder season,” the months of March, April and May — as well as September and October — often feature spectacular weather, with a fraction of the crowds. Not to mention the cost.
In the sunny Algarve coastal region of trendy Portugal, for example, the same rooms selling for around $250 a night at an popular classic resort like the Brisa Sol in Albufeira can be booked for as low as $50 per night, sometimes even less.
And walking distance from the center of fashionable Antibes in the south of France, a serviceable B&B Hotel — a European chain anyone interested in affordable travel should know about — will go for approximately $180 over the summer, versus just $80 in early spring.
Other parts of the world currently favoring the American traveler include Japan, where the yen has overall been on a downward slide for a number of years now.
Last year, The Post reported that a trip to Tokyo would now cost someone paying in dollars less than a visit to the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, in December, a report revealed that prices were rising faster in NYC than in 12 other major US cities — the biggest spike since inflation-ravaged 2023.
