For more affordable European vacations, go off beaten path
WASHINGTON - Try Dubrovnik instead of Paris; head to Lisbon rather than Rome. Opt for picnics over restaurants; family-run three-star inns in favor of five-star hotel chains. And put the whole trip off until fall if you can.
These are a few tips the pros are offering for summer vacationers battling a slumping dollar and record fuel prices that have sent trans-Atlantic airline ticket prices soaring.
"The majority of the calls I get now are frantic people looking for a better airfare," said Lee Woodriffe, owner of Pegasus Tours and Travel, in Lithonia, Ga.
Prices for a round-trip ticket from Atlanta to Paris in mid-July start at $1,416 on the Delta Airlines website. For travelers who fondly recall trans-Atlantic fares at about a third of that price just a few years ago, today's rates trigger more than sticker shock: For many travelers, they're a show-stopper.
"We're never going to get back to those good old days," lamented Woodriffe.
Once on the ground, Americans traveling in Europe these days can quickly feel like paupers.
That's because one euro - the common currency shared by France, Italy, Germany, and a dozen other European countries - now costs $1.57, up from $1.25 three years ago and $1.07 in 2002.
The dollar has lost 25 percent of its value against the euro over the past three years; it's down 46 percent against the euro since 2002.
"The 200-euro-a-night hotel, which would not have been too dreadful even a few years ago, is now $300," said Tom Meyers, editor-in-chief of Eurocheapo.com, a budget travel website. "That's too expensive."
That 10-euro charge many hotels tack on for breakfast, he said, is costing the American tourist $15.50.
"Ten euros per person quickly adds up," said Meyers. "And for what? Coffee and croissant? It's just not worth it."
Many travelers are drawing the same conclusion - and vacationing closer to home.
"Right now, we're recommending a lot of Mexico and Costa Rica and the Caribbean islands in general," said Terese Ternullo, owner of Hibiscus Travel in Juno Beach, Fla. "Pretty much all the tourist boards of all these places are slashing prices, because they know what's going on in the United States."
Ternullo recently sent a couple to the Virgin Islands for seven nights in a beachfront room in a 4-star hotel. The tab: $1,550 per person, including round-trip airfare from Miami. Upon arrival, they received a $200 food and beverage credit, part of a so-called Sizzling Summer Sampler special being promoted by the US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association.
"When budget becomes a concern, then I work with that," said Ternullo. "Usually it's Mexico because the dollar's worth so much more there."
The dollar has slumped about 5 percent against the Mexican peso over the past three years, not enough of a hit for the average tourist to feel.
If the allure of Europe beckons, said Woodriffe, take heart.
"You can still see Europe on an affordable basis," she said. "You just have to be flexible."
For starters, she said, travelers should consider destinations off the beaten path - and off the euro.
The euro is the common currency for these countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain.
Going elsewhere doesn't necessarily shield the America wallet from the ravages of the weak dollar. In the past three years, the greenback has lost 35 percent against the Polish zlotych, 34 percent against the Czech koruny, and 7 percent against the British pound.
There remain, though, relative bargains to be had in newly discovered European destinations from the Baltics to the coast of Portugal.
"A lot more people now are venturing to Central Europe," said Woodriffe. The medieval port of Dubrovnik, in southern Croatia, offers the splendor of the Adriatic Sea at a fraction of the prices charged in the neighboring Mediterranean.
Romania and Bulgaria offer old-Europe culture without the prohibitive prices.
"They are becoming really hot spots," said Woodriffe.
Meyers likes the Portuguese capital of Lisbon as an alternative to more popular European destinations.
"The people are friendly, the food is wonderful, and you'll have a great vacation that will cost you about half of what it would cost to go to Barcelona or Rome," he said.
Woodriffe and Meyers both urge travelers to put off their Europe vacation until the fall or, better yet, the winter, when crowds, fares, and hotel rates all fall off with the season.
"If you can stand a little bit colder weather," said Woodriffe, "you'll make up for it on hotel price; you'll make up for it in airfare."
Another way to stretch the travel dollar - and the traveler's mind - is to try to live as local people do.
In Paris, said Meyers, skip the hotel breakfast, along with the pricey tab. "You can go to a grocery store or the local cafe. It's much more Parisian than eating in a dark breakfast room," he said.
With the right frame of mind, said Meyers, budget travel can be enlightening. 