Can anyone suggest places to travel where the exchange rate won't hurt so badly?! Obviously, Canada is one of them but looking for other possible options. Thank you.

Costa Rica, Cuba

Costa Rica is not cheap LOL and we've been 2x in the past 2y. It's all based on the USD also and we were very surprised how much more $$$ it was when we went in Dec. It is nice though! Pura Vida!

The convertible peso that tourists use in Cuba is based on the US $ so no saving there!

We were in Greece in June. Even though they are on the Euro, we found everything there to be cheap. Definitely cheaper than travelling in Canada where a decent hotel is a minimum of $140.00/night. Turkey is super cheap, but you may worry about going there now. We went in 2013, and it was my favorite place I've ever visited.

I don't reccomend Greece right now. Lots of unrest due to refugees arriving by the 10,000 a day

I didn't see one refugee while in Greece in June. (I realize there are more there now.) I also didn't see one refugee in Jordan last year, and they have taken in millions.

Yes it has gotten severe over the past 6 months or so. I am supposed to be headed over to give medical relief in 2 months, I guess it depends where you go but I would not vacation there right now... Complete chaos. I'm glad you made it there before the storm!

It really just depends where in Greece you go. We are sailing the Ionic Islands between Greece & Italy in August, the refugees are mainly only on the eastern side between Turkey and Greece.

Darren if you do decide on Greece, maybe make it part of your trip - these people have gone through hell and back. Volunteer for the day, hand out water, give hugs and hear their stories.

Greece is on my bucket list. Surprised is not $$$, I would have expected nicer hotels to be $200-400/night USD like most places. Any other tips? How would it be for our 8yo daughter? How hot/busy was it in June?

Hotels are plenty cheap... June is just at the start of the tourist season, so it's not really busy at all. If you go a couple weeks earlier in late May, it's shoulder season and many places were almost half the price of their June-September rates.
Temperatures depend a bit on where you are - we spent most of our time in the Cyclades, and temps were perfect - mid 20's for the most part, and always a breeze to keep things manageable.

Would early July be ok or getting too hot? Prefer not to take our daughter out of school (although we have many times in the past). How much are flights (approx.) and what's the routing?

it will vary depending on where you are, but still manageable. If you're away from the coast it'll be hot for sure. I'd expect high 20's, to mid 30's tops. It's a dry heat there, though.
Flights will vary depending on the carrier. I've always flown BA, so you route through London, but that was from Vancouver.

If your on the coastal side, July/August/sept will be very hot. Expect mid-high 30s.

Is it best to fly into Athens and go from there?

We've always flown into Athens. I also, no don't reccomend driving in Greece unless you're prepared for the chaos

Greece seems to be a reasonable aeroplan usage also. I just did a quick search and can get tickets for about $600 taxes only. Not bad as works out to ~1.4 cents per mile. I don't think I want AC rouge though from what I've heard.

spend 1-2 day max in Athens , then go to islands

We did a cruise that stopped at three Greek islands and ened in Athens. Then we rented a car and drove around Greece for a week. I don't know the pricing for hotels on islands (I've heard Santorini is expensive to stay), but on the mainland, they were cheap. In Athens, we stayed a 5 minute walk to the Acropolis for only $125.00 Canadian/night. I found it hot in June. We were permanently sweating. The water temperature is on the cooler side; we went swimming in the ocean a few times, and it was great. We found driving fine, but driving can be expensive as they toll the main highways. So be prepared to pay if you're driving. I couldn't imagine not driving as we were able to stop at remote beaches and towns which I love. The only place more difficult to drive is downtown Athens when going to our hotel. (Or in some small villages that were built before cars.) Once in Athens, we walked everywhere. My favorite place on mainland Greece was Meteora. We only found Athens (and the cruise stops) busy in June. The rest of mainland Greece wasn't. The food was delicious and cheap. I don't have kids, but I think an 8 year old would love the beaches, anicent Olympia, and Athens.

I loved the Peloponese and the areas of Olympia, Meteoria and Delphi much better than the islands.

Crete is amazing, huge and beautiful beaches. I would fly right there via London or Frankfurt. Skip Athens or go for only a few days. It will be high 20's or 30's but you will be in the water. Our kids loved the islands! Mykonos and Santorini are very touristy and expensive. Paros is nice as is Zante, kefallonia, skiathos and yes the food and hotels are reasonable.

Darren try for Heraklion.

Singapore and Canada $$ close to par but Singapore is expensive.

We are going to Bali next month and it looks like a good bargain and exchange rate.

I've always been interested in Bali. If you don't mind me asking..Where in Bali? Where are you staying? Who flying with?

China airlines is who we are flying with. We haven't finalized all our details yet but we will be going to Ubud and Nusa lembongan for sure. We will probably stay on the north side of Bali for a few days too. It's really tough to decide because there are so many neat places to see! I just saw someone below write that they saw flights for 500's but that wouldn't be accurate. I've been watching the flights for 2 years so I have a good idea what a deal is. If you can get flights in the 900's it's a really great deal

Thank you for the info! That flight must be a pretty long one?

Yes it's 12ish hours to Taiwan and another 6 I think into Bali

Ohh my! Knew it'd be long, but didn't realize THAT long! Lol

Agreed lol! I hadn't really paid attention to the flight times until we were booking

Might not make into this year's plans then. But, would love to hear about it and/or see some pics!

When we went to Bali we went to Thailand first. But on the way home we flew Bali to Shanghai and choose a long layover 60 hours, and then saw Shanghai and broke up the flight. Then Shanghai to Vancouver. I'm happy we didn't fly all the way through and got to stop somewhere else for free. We stayed in Seminyak when we went, but it was over Christmas two years ago. Food and everything once you get there is quite cheap. Dinners on the beach with drinks, appetizers, and entrees were under $30 US.

Thanks for the info Bryanna! That sounds a little more appealing. Lol

It was definitely an amazing trip and I would have felt comfortable having a kid there. But definitely see about a long stop over each direction.

Did you only stay in seminyak or did you venture anywhere else Bryanna?

We only stayed in Seminyak but we hired a driver for two days to take us around the other days. Up to Ubud, Monkey Forest, to Uluwatu, etc. Sunsets in Uluwatu are absolutely amazing. It was pretty cheap to have a driver for the day. Maybe $20 us/Canadian a day and we were with him from probably 8 am-7pm each day. We would stop at restaurants for meals and he would do his thing. We tried inviting our driver to eat with us, but found they would never accept (same in Thailand). I try to talk with and get to know the locals as they have lots of tips and secret spots. Gili islands are beautiful and only a 3 hour fast boat ride away. The manta ray snorkel/dive is probably the coolest thing I've ever done. They are so friendly and do like ballet flips underneath you at night.

Mexican pesos are ok

South Africa

following

Following

mexico always

Australia is close to par.

How does that compare to past years?

Austrailia at times has been higher then us, and at times below us....but as mentioned...it's basically at par at the moment, and does not follow the US trend like so many other currencies. BUT...it is more expensive there in general.

What's it like in July/Aug?! I know it's winter but still everything open, not too cold, etc.?

their winter can be MORE busier...summer can be too hot for most.

I have heard it is very $$$ once arrive though. And not sure my daughter would enjoy a 10hr+ flight.
Maybe we'll stick to gool 'ol Canada!

my friend is considering the same...either Mexico, Cuba, or Salt Spring Island BC

Try a 20 - 30 hour flight when you factor in the two or three connections you'll likely have. The AUD is almost always on par with Canada. The flight sucks, the winter is never 'cold' unless you go Tasmania, and even then it isn't below 0 very often. Winter up north can still mean 15 to 20 degree days.
Prices aren't too much more. Travel smart, use airbnb to save money on accommodation. You'll pay a bit more for meals and alcohol but you also don't tip. If you can get flights for $1500 it's good, but the distance is so great that if you only really want a get away and don't want to spend a lot, there are better options. That being said it is definitely worth a visit some day.

Ben I love Cuba, but keep in mind that their tourist pesos is pegged to USD. Not as good of a value as historically right now if you buy extras on the all inclusives.

Following

Mexico for sure. Guatemala and belize and even thailand is good for cheap vacations. Also depends how you travel as well.. living on the cheap or 5 stars.

Also saw a round trip flight somewhere for less than 500 to bali in Indonesia.

Not for Bali. I've been watching the prices for 2 years and if you can get a flight in the 900's, it's a steal.

Definitely not from Calgary.
High 800s to low $900s CAD has been the record roundtrip price over the last 6 years.

South Africa

west jet is offering good prices to Europe, got one way to London from Calgary non stop for 300

Was that w/ the promo code? I got an email a few days ago. It's expired now though.

I'll check my emails as I am a member. Thank you.

I just got back and go frequently because it is home but it is extremely expensive and the exchange rate for the pound is awful. We found things much better in Paris as the Euro gives a somewhat better exchange rate. Something to consider.
Fiji ........great exchange rate and gorgeous to boot. Highly recommended it.

Australia

Canada for sure

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Go to Mexico and take pesos with u. The peso to the Canadian dollar is still good...If u go VRBO..some Mexican owners will allow u to pay in pesos......Puerto Vallarta is safe and has tons of reasonably priced restaurants..Groceries are pretty close to the same as ours..

Summer though . . .you want a summer vacation. Canada is best!!

Mexico. Convert directly to Pesos. No need to bring American

Mexico vs Cuba????

Brazil. We were in Rio in November and did the entire trip (flight, accomm, food, etc.) for about $3000 (two adults) for 6 nights in Rio and 3 nights on Ilha Grande (we did airbnb and only self catered breakfast). The exchange rate really worked in our favour and our most expensive meal out came to $70 CAD. Most meals were around $20-30 for the two of us (including liquor). We took cabs everywhere for convenience and didn't really skimp on experiences or splurges (only thing we kept in mind was our overall budget).

I second Brazil, their currency has tanked more than ours has. I'm going in Feb, already paid for everything at about 2.86 to 1 CAD. Was down last Christmas and couldn't even get 2 to 1.

This sounds random...but Romania. when I went a few years ago, it was about 1/3 cheaper for food and accommodation than in north America. Bucharest is a ugly city, so as soon as you land, I would suggest heading North. Transylvania has some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in the world. stunning.

Indonesia. Bali/ Lombok.

Mexican peso great right now

And get your pesos at a Mexican bank

Vietnam or Thailand just spent the past year traveling both, flights between countries are super cheap so you can explore tons

Following

Cliff Murphy It means I'm following this thread bc I want to know some of the feedback others have to the question as well.

lol, where are you going exactly?....and who are you? lol

Very strange

ikr

Inboxed you Jackie about travel

we always order our pesos from the bank here and take them with us..have had better luck with rates that way???

SE Asia

* following

Australia there dollar in on par with ours

Nafisa Pirbhai
Natasha Karim some ideas here

New Zealand our dollar is worth 1,16 there

We were in Punta Cana a couple weeks ago and they said they accept CAD there.

Mexico. 12.5 pesos to the dollar!

Kristy Couture

South Africa - you are sitting 8:1 there!!! An airline had a sale JFK to Johannesburg for 650 return not so long ago. And it is summer there now. I'm from SA so can give you all the good places to go!?

Morocco , 7:1 , many beautiful towns and medinas .

Ran across this site that allows you to plot the historical currency rates against the Canadian dollar for up to 5 countries...
http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/
- set range to 5 years
A higher line in 2016 relative to the past = better for us
A lower line in 2016 relative to the past = worse for us
screenshot:
http://www.yycdeals.com/img/ul/caelxf16zbgkm8jf.jpg

This is so useful!