Where to Travel on a Weak Canadian Dollar?

30

By Mariya Postelnyak for The Globe and Mail

Ken Mudry was eager to spend the month of February in Kauaui, Hawaii, this winter. But with the plummeting loonie, CADUSD +0.79% increase the B.C. resident ditched the volcanic terrains for the sprawling barrier reef of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, where he estimates his dollar will be worth about $14.1 pesos, CADMXN -0.72% decrease a 15-per-cent bump over the same time last year. Changing plans will let him stretch his loonie for miles (quite literally).

“I’d say I’m paying about half on accommodations alone,” said Mr. Mudry, who lives on Vancouver Island. “And I’m a block off the ocean.”

An $1,800 trip to the U.S. at the beginning of this year now costs almost $1,900 today. The cheaper peso makes Mexico look that much more attractive.

But Mexico is far from the only place where Canadians can find more value when weathering a weaker loonie. As the Canadian dollar tumbles to new lows against the greenback – dropping below 70 US cents on Wednesday – travellers can still find savings in places where the loonie has held its value or even strengthened. And it’s not always where you’d expect.

Travellers to Europe face a new headache: electronic travel authorizations

A surprising one: Japan CADJPY +0.93% increase. Specifically, the ski resorts of Niseko and Shiga. “It’s becoming more accessible with the Canadian dollar strengthening against the yen,” said Amra Durakovic, a spokesperson for Flight Centre Travel Group.

“[Canadians] are going skiing, they’re going to all-inclusives – they have some of the best ski slopes in the world,” said Ms. Durakovic. A 10-day Japan tour, including flights, trains and stays in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka starts at about $3,800 she said, though an all-inclusive ski vacation could be more.

Further Southwest, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand CADTHB +1.13% increase are surging in popularity with Canadians looking to save by “multistacking” trips.

“Flying from Thailand to Toronto is really far, so a lot of people are doing a stopover in Japan,” Ms. Durakovic said. The move has considerable savings: “Once you get to a place in Asia, it’s so, so cheap to travel.”

Graeme Bligh, who shares travel tips with nearly 100,000 followers on his popular social media page, The Canadian Jetsetter, has crunched the numbers himself. He was astounded by the savings in Phuket and Ko Samui in Thailand.

“It’s a bit more difficult and expensive to fly there,” he said. “But once you get there, one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at, Conrad Bangkok, a five-star luxury hotel, it was $160 Canadian a night.”

Hidden Canada 2024: Ten corners of the country to explore

In Thailand, Mr. Bligh said he could spend about $8, on average, a meal. But he admits the prices can get considerably higher in touristy parts of the country.

Discussing affordable travel can’t go without mention of Portugal CADEUR unchno change. “I was blown away with how reasonably priced things are,” Mr. Bligh said. “We were getting 30-minute rides across Lisbon for $10 Canadian.”

In addition to the cheap car rides, he said he paid about $10 for an average meal and slightly more for classier dining.

Hotels weren’t terribly cheap – “$200 Canadian a night for a middle-of-the-road hotel.” The added cost was more than offset by other savings.

A round trip flight to Lisbon from Toronto can cost less than $350, according to Expedia. And though seasonality will affect cost, Ms. Durakovic said the city has reasonably mild weather most of the year. “When you travel off-season, the temperature, it’s not going to be a sun destination but it’s still going to have a nice, temperate climate … around 10 to 14 degrees.”

For those opting to save big bucks in places such as Mexico, Ms. Durakovic has a warning: “The thing with Mexico – they strongly favour the U.S. dollar,” she said. For places that don’t accept the Canadian dollar, “you’re going to have to be sort of an adventurous type who’s willing to go walk around, find an ATM and take out pesos.”

Adventurous types will find steep savings in places like Huatulco in the south and other spots off the beaten path. “You can go to coffee plantations, mezcal boutiques, really just sort of travel responsibly and support the local community,” she said.

For those open to long-haul travel, Ms. Durakovic recommends South Africa and Australia. “Australia – wonderful place to travel to this time of year, and also our Canadian dollar stretches far,” she said. She added that the loonie also holds up strongly against the South African currency.

For those looking to cut costs outside of switching destinations, picking the best travel credit card and finding optimal exchange rates will make a huge difference.

Globe and Mail readers previously raved about services run by Knightsbridge Foreign Exchange and the Canadian Snowbird Association. Mr. Mudry swears by Wise – an app for payments and transfers in different currencies. You can deposit Canadian dollars into an account and withdraw it in other currencies at exchange rates that are often better than those at banks, he said.

Source: The Globe and Mail