Who’s felt the Pound–Euro strain? Did it affect your holiday?

BiggaThanBen

chriz1000 wrote: »

or head to countries that hasn’t adopted the Euro.

Some countries that have not adopted the Euro have their national currency's rate linked to Euro (e.g. Denmark - DKK, Sweden - SKK probably too)

Austin_Allegro

I went to the Algarve in January and even with Euro parity it was still cheaper (and with much nicer weather) than most summer holidays in England!

I'm going to Hungary for a week this autumn - lots of decent hotels for about £30 a night for a twin room, food and drink cheap as well. I'm just hoping the country doesn't collapse economically before then!

apt

lady_lucan wrote: »

I love Eastern Europe and fortunately it always makes for a cheaper holiday compared to the Euro. I can highly recommend Montenegro and Albania in particular for summer hols. This year I've been to Budapest, am off to the USA next week, and am having my main holiday in Croatia this year.

I'm also a big fan of Croatia, but prices there have gone up a lot since the late 1990s. Doesn't Montenegro use the euro?

Thrugelmir

I import goods for a side line business I operate. It wasn't so long ago that I was getting US$2.06 to a £1. More recently I've been getting around $1.38 .

If you factor in import duty @8% plus VAT at 15% on the total cost of the imported goods. I am now paying £99 per $100 of product compared to £66. A rise of 50%.

Try Norway for a foreign holiday. Exchange rates are little changed over recent months.

Fungusfighter_2

I Love Amsterdam, loads of @rse both hairy and smooth.:beer:

Graham.p_2

apt wrote: »

I'm also a big fan of Croatia, but prices there have gone up a lot since the late 1990s. Doesn't Montenegro use the euro?

Yes, you are right. Montenegro has used the Euro since 2002. Slovenia also uses Euro. Croatia is still relatively cheap but watch out for Dalmatia (Dubrovnik) which is on a steep rising cost scale.

I will be leaving for Europe (part work) soon and have to travel by Motorhome across Europe, through the CZ, Hungary, then Slovenia, across to the Istrian peninsula and then down the coast to Dubrovnik - around 2,600 miles. I'm cringing at the thought of the cost of the diesel :lipsrseal .

For those that have recently returned from Europe - what can I expect as an exchange rate for the Euro from cash machines? Fuel I buy with my credit card. But what are the prices like at the moment - usually, I get a list from the AA fuel price site just before I go. Still have a few Euros left from my last trip
Any news of fuel prices in the Balkans? And finally, what about the exchange rate in Kuna (Croatia) - last time I checked it was about Kn8 = £

I think I will be looking at about a 25% increase in overall costs this year as against last year.

Martinslovechild

Mini_Bear wrote: »

We are avoiding the eurozone this yr for our holidays - we have been to Marrakech, Eqypt and now looking at Croatia. The exchange rate simply makes it too expensive. I guess places like Turkey will do well this summer as they dont have the Euro.

I was in Croatia in August last year and found eating & drinking out very expensive. I regularly paid £35 equivalent for dinner. Drinks were more expensive than UK prices too. A pizza in a local restaurant works out at about £10, but if you want local fish (sea bass etc), you will be looking at a minimum of £30-plus. A nice meal in a good restaurant on the castle perimeter in Dubrovnik is around £80 per person.

Mini_Bear wrote: »

The US will not do well this yr either with the dollar-pound exchange rate, we went to Vegas in March last yr and got $2-£1, we wont return until we get decent rates again (havin said that i think we were extremly lucky with the dollar!)

The Aussie Dollar has fallen at a similar rate to the UK pound, so eating & drinking out in Australia hasn't really changed in the last 12 months. Staying in Sydney and eating & drinking out there are not expensive. Other places in Australia are cheaper still, particularly areas such as Perth/Fremantle, Cairns & Melbourne. New Zealand works out cheaper still.

A couple of people mentioned Malaysia - it's a great place, inexpensive (but quality) food and hotels are excellent quality. Thailand is also great for a holiday, but South Thailand is generally more crowded with English folk than the North in places such as Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, both of which are sensational for a holiday, providing you're wishing to forego a beach for a swimming pool.

I was in Hong Kong in February and prices there aren't too bad, providing you don't want to drink. Eating out is very inexpensive there and in Singapore (providing you stay away from the touristy western restaurants and eat in the restaurants where all the locals go). Drinking in both of these places (particularly Singapore) is expensive, but taxis in Singapore are extremely cheap and very frequent.

baby_boomer

Over the past two years I have enjoyed top of my budget holidays in Ireland and on the Amalfi Coast.

These are no longer affordable, so I'm glad I went .

ManAtHome

Graham.p wrote: »

For those that have recently returned from Europe - what can I expect as an exchange rate for the Euro from cash machines?

Was around 1.08 a couple of weeks ago (Nationwide Flex card) - seems to have wobbled between 1.06 and 1.09 since then.

Gorgeous_George

I've just come back from Gran Canaria. I got slightly more than a euro for a pound but gave the extra as a small tip.

We only went for a week and never visited the 'all you can eat' buffet Chinese which is one of my favourites and costs less than six euros per person. Eating at home isn't free and a decent T bone steak costs £7 at the local butchers'.

At my timeshare resort beer was 2.8 Euros per pint and you get two for one at each of the happy half hours. A litre of good sangria was 12 euros - again, get one free at the happy half hour. Less than 70 cents for a litre of petrol.

I can't wait to book my next holiday. If anything, the poor exchange rate keeps some of the rowdy Brits away. It's not as cheap as it once was but 25 degrees and almost guaranteed March sunshine is priceless.

Maybe I'm getting old

GG