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(The author is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressedare his own.)
By Chris Taylor
NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - Jane McManus can hardlybelieve her luck. The New York-based sportswriter for ESPN.comis planning a summer vacation with her family in Ireland.
Following the strength of the U.S. dollar, McManus upgradedtheir travel plans, reserving a swankier hotel room in Dublinand booking a couple of days at an actual 13th-century castle.The overall cost will be about 30 percent less than lastsummer's vacation to Italy when the dollar was much weaker,McManus estimates.
"Wow, it's so different," she marvels.
With the Superdollar near parity with the euro, airfares toParis are down 14 percent from a year ago, according to populartravel site Orbitz. Hotel rates have sunk 10 percent from lastyear.
London, Rome and Barcelona are among other popular localeswith cheaper hotels and airfares than last year, according toOrbitz data. Travel expert Brian Kelly, known as "ThePoints Guy" (www.thepointsguy.com), also singles out Japan,thanks to the weak yen; Finland, the only Scandinavian countryto use the euro; and South Africa, whose currency has sunk byalmost half over the last few years.
You do not have to leave North America to feel the impact.Next-door neighbor Canada's currency has slumped to around 80cents on the dollar.
As a result, travel trends are already shifting:International air traffic for U.S. citizens in January was up7.2 percent over the previous year, according to the NationalTravel & Tourism Office.
Of course, it is still only March. Currency markets arefamously volatile and could turn at any moment. That is why sometravelers are wondering how to lock in these favorable exchangerates, and make sure that they are able to see Europe or Canadaor Mexico on the cheap.
CURRENCY MOVES
One easy move is to prepay at current rates - not justbuying your flights as soon as possible, but hotel rooms andexcursions as well.
"Hotels that used to be $160 a night in U.S. dollars are now$130," says Carl O'Donnell, 23, a New York-based reporter forMergermarket who is planning a summer jaunt with his girlfriendto historic French-Canadian Quebec City. He is thinking aboutlocking in some prices now.
O'Donnell is tacking on additional days to their trip, andadding pricey excursions like boat rides through fjords in theQuebec countryside. "It feels great to be getting a bigdiscount," he says.
You can even hedge your cash needs with a foreign-currencybank account. Florida-based EverBank offers a variety, rangingfrom the Indian rupee to the Chinese renminbi, that you buy attoday's rates to hold and spend later.
"Usually, most of our clients are investors," says ChrisGaffney, president of world markets for EverBank. "Butrecently, with the euro hitting multi-year lows, we have seenmore people coming to us to lock in travel-related expenses."
EverBank's foreign-currency deposit accounts do not chargemonthly fees, but do require a $2,500 minimum. Before youdepart, Gaffney suggests buying a bank draft, or having themoney wired overseas, so you do not have to convert cash backand forth (and get hit with fees both ways).
Another way to hedge your bets is to secure some traveler'schecks now, or load some money onto a prepaid card like theTravelex Cash Passport. (That does come, though, with acard-purchase fee and foreign ATM withdrawal fees at about $2.50a pop.)
You can even buy a few euros at your local bank to spendlater, although you have no consumer protections if that cashgets lost or stolen.
Superdollar savings can be significant. If you had planned asummer trip to Europe that was going to set you back 7,500euros, and the euro drops from nearly $1.40 to $1.07 (as it hasin the past 12 months), you are talking about more than $2,000in your pocket.
Do not blow any exchange-rate windfall by using the wrongcredit card, though.
With every $100 trinket you buy, you might be gettingknocked another $2 or $3 for foreign transaction fees withouteven realizing it. One card Matt Schulz, senior industry analystfor CreditCards.com., likes: Barclay's Arrival Plus World EliteMasterCard, which has no foreign transaction fees. (Editing by Lauren Young, Beth Pinsker and Richard Chang)
