It used to be the case that we went to where the sun was, or the best waves for surfing, or perhaps even the quietest place we could find.
But things are very different now and 2009 sees us booking our holidays according to where our money will stretch the most. This news story from the Times Online website tells us more about this new way of planning our holiday time.
So are you booking your holiday according to what your currency converter is telling you? If you are, it could be the smartest move you make this year. We all know that the pound has taken a nose dive against the US dollar, and things aren’t any better against the Euro either. That means that any holiday ideas we might have had for the US, or practically anywhere in Europe – since most of it uses the Euro now – are pretty much in tatters. We could still go… but it would cost us more than it would have done a couple of years ago. That isn’t something that many of us are prepared to do any more.
Some people are sticking to home shores this year. The promise of a good summer has decided things for many people, but if you aren’t among them then it can be worth using your currency calculator to help you make this all important decision.
The Danish krone might be worth a look, even though it has taken a dip for the worse in recent times. Two weeks ago a pound would have got you 8.6959 Denmark krone, but it dropped back to 8.6096 on the 8th. Within two days it showed distinct signs of bouncing back though – scoring an exchange rate of 8.6531 on the 9th and 8.6790 on the 10th. That is pretty good going for forty eight hours of trading, so keep an eye on it. It could lead you to a good break for the future.
If you fancy somewhere completely different then Iceland might be a good bet. A lot of people don’t consider this at all but it can provide a great venue for a holiday. Try Reykjavik for a great time!
The pound has done quite well against this currency recently too. It was bagging 208.120 Icelandic krone two weeks back, and although it dropped to 205.762 on the 6th, it then staged a mini comeback over the space of three days.
Tuesday saw a rate of 206.299 achieved by finishing time; twenty four hours after that it had gone up to 207.939. And the 9th achieved a final exchange rate of 209.107. If this kind of level holds up, perhaps you should consider it for a good holiday venue later in the year?
As you can see, no matter how the pound might be doing against the Euro and the US dollar, there are always more promising areas to go to. And the upside is that it encourages you to look for more unusual holidays than you might otherwise have considered. Many people who do this end up having a great time, and surprising themselves by having an altogether different holiday in a different location completely.
So why not try it? It could be the solution for this year’s break away.
You know, I hadn’t thought of going anywhere different abroad until I read this. You may just have changed my ideas for a summer holiday this year!
I always think that good things can come out of bad, and if we all end up doing something different just so we can get a reasonably priced holiday, would that be so bad? I know people that always go to the same place in Spain – every single year. I can’t imagine anything more boring. It’s fine the first couple of times, but I wouldn’t want to go to the same places every year.
Iceland? Hmm – not the best place to get a suntan I don’t think! Could be wrong I suppose, but it’s probably a good place to go to see something different. There have got to be more places that would give us a good exchange rate haven’t there?
Most of us stick with the same places all the time. If we spent a bit more time searching for something different and not getting stuck in a rut, we might get better deals on our holidays a lot more often. Oh well, I might just try Iceland yet. Who knows?
It’s good to read about different places we could all head on holiday to, but I still don’t think it will make much difference to my holiday plans this year. I reckon I’ll be stopping at home unless something radically alters my plans. I just don’t have the cash this year.
Perhaps I will take a week or two off from work and live through articles like this instead. Maybe looking at wonderful destinations on various websites will have to do! There are always last minute bargains but they will have to be super cheap for me this year. I think Iceland would be out of my reach.
Who knows we might actually get to go on holiday this year, now the recession has ended and we are all trying to climb our way back out of it again. It’s good that it has finished but we still have a long way to go before things are anything approaching normal.
I don’t know whether a holiday abroad would be good anyway with the state of the pound. I think it will depend on how much it is worth much nearer the time. Maybe I’ll give it a few months to see what happens over the summer.