Will a ~45% US Exchange alter your vacation plans for 2025?

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Ironus Butticus
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Our current reality. And quite possibly our reality for a good portion of summer 2025.

Today we spotted the first "Canadian Dollar At Par" special again with one of the cruise lines, and I expect to see the same with other US tourism-dependent places, so that's something, but no matter how you look at it, this will still sting for many other vacations.

Things like hotels are basically the same price as we pay on this side of the border, but now at +45%. Even that quaint little $99+tax motel room is now $150/night after some taxes and exchange. A $140/night chain hotel room, basically $200CAD. A "nice" $175/night hotel in an upscale hotel chain, $235/night.

Restaurants might be a little cheaper compared 1:1 with us on this side of the border, but once you add 45%, certainly not anymore. When we had dinner out at Texas Roadhouse a few weeks ago in Florida before a cruise that $55 tab for a pretty modest meal for 2, plus a $10 tip became the better part of $90 CAD.

Staying somewhere where you can cook your own meals and think you'll save there by going grocery shopping? I know it's a well beaten horse that people on this side of the border think our groceries are expensive, but when you actually go south and go to a grocery store (which I think most people haven't actually done, still believing US groceries are cheaper), the reality is anything but - poultry, some beef, and dairy are indeed cheaper. Almost everything else is basically the same $:$ as we pay here, not including the exchange...so add 45%.

Gas, cheaper in many places, absolutely, even with the exchange.

So, leaving the politics out of it...will this affect your vacation plans for next year?
 
We have 1 major trip planned for next year and most likely the only one aside from some local stuff.
Just booked a trip to Greece and pretty much nothing will stop us from going. We were supposed to do this trip this past summer but by the time we looked into it it was too late. If she has to, the wife will do the trip on her own.. lol.

We still need to book our returns via Portugal.

We don't do many trips in a single year especially into the US so this will most likely not affect us much.
I might do a 2-3 day to PA on the bike but that will be with riding buddies where luxury is not a necessity so basic accommodations are always preferred. Its a short trip anyway so not much cost etc.
 
Not a big deal for me, I earn my keep in USD.

I’m back and forth between the GTA and FL over the winter. US prices are comparable on food and restaurants, gas and booze are much cheaper in the US.
 
Lightcycle said:
We camp a lot and don't eat at restaurants, so not really.

Plus gas is most definitely cheaper, so it takes the edge off if you're on a long tour.
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Camping in the USA was a lot cheaper than here but the last time was a decade ago.Back then you could get a cheap motel for little more than a campsite here.
 
nobbie48 said:
Camping in the USA was a lot cheaper than here but the last time was a decade ago.Back then you could get a cheap motel for little more than a campsite here.
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True, but a decade+ ago (2012) USD was par with CAD, if not slightly lower.

I remember back then traveling through the US and debating about camping vs moteling, but the motels were $35-40 USD/CAD. They were nice too, no fleabag motels. Served continental breakfast and everything.

No brainer.
 
We paid $37/night USD for our campsite in WV last fall. Over $50/cad a night now.
 
The wife was pretty much dead set on getting our Galapagos cruise out of the way and some time in the Amazon. However, she's taking my MIL for her 75th bday on a 2 week Mediterranean cruise this summer, so maybe she won't want to spend more time on a boat. I suspect we'll spend a week some place warm, maybe Turks and Caicos.
 
jc100 said:
I don’t spend any more time in the US than I have to and vacation in countries where the $Can goes further.

Don’t know which restaurants you go to in Florida Mike but I had to basically pawn a kidney for decent meals in Miami and that was only three years ago.
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I like Denny’s for breakfast, $20 for two. Local Mexican, a roadhouse, or sports grille for dinner cost me $60 for 2. After tax, tip and exchange I find prices comparible to here.
 
The Mid-Ohio trip will involve camping so that helps like others have said.
Either way the dollar up or down is something we live with and I doubt it will curtail any of my plans dramatically.
 
Years ago (2012) a TD wealth advisor suggested keeping the majority of my retirement savings in US securities. It was good advice.
 
It will mine. Though I didn't really plan to attend a 2025 Deal's Gap run for the first time since 2021 (nobody went), I bought a good steak dinner in Watertown a couple of weeks back ... $55 USD was $88 CDN if I recall correctly... that's an expensive steak.
 
Not far off my local steakhouse after you add 13% tax. IMG_1102.jpeg
The Tomahawk at Peters is a classic. .
 
If this year is like last, there will be one short track-day trip to USA (during which I sleep in my van, which is set up for that) and a week at Deals Gap. The US$-C$ exchange rate isn't far enough out of its recent historical range to matter for that.

From yahoo finance ... 5-year low was 1.2008 in June 2021 and 5-year high was 1.4667 in March 2020 (pandemic) and it has spent most of the time 1.3lowsomething. Meh. It's a thing, but it's not a decision-changing thing.

C$ to euro exchange rate is close to the middle of the 5-year range (about 1.5 C$ to 1 euro). I'm more likely to take a big vacation in Europe than in USA, I just haven't decided where yet.
 
Mad Mike said:
I like Denny’s for breakfast, $20 for two. Local Mexican, a roadhouse, or sports grille for dinner cost me $60 for 2. After tax, tip and exchange I find prices comparible to here.
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I have expensive tastes :)

Tacos were cheap but then again tacos are cheap anywhere.

Panama, Costa Rica are ok if you eat the “typico” menu. Fresh fish/chicken/beef, rice, beans and salad with plantains.

Nicaragua is dirt cheap even for “expensive” meals etc.

For the US once I’ve visited a few national parks I’ll probably be done visiting aside from a few Adirondack rides. For travel there’s a lot more interesting places just a few hours further away by plane with the added bonus of less of the loud kind of Americans.
 
Mad Mike said:
Not far off my local steakhouse after you add 13% tax. View attachment 71503
The Tomahawk at Peters is a classic. .
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It looks as if your local has jacked their prices:

a6983a376556a152221b7526e7f4a8c8.jpg
 
Won’t change our plans much , Feb trip is in euros , June trip is US dollars in NY , ( sailGP) hotels in NY are spendy and restaurants cost what they cost . Sept is US dollars in the Michigan peninsula diving . We are going to buy a trailer trailer ( yes again) so the dog can come along .


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
I’m never giving anybody two hundred bucks for a tomahawk steak . Thats just silly . Even at a corporate dinner I could not order that in good conscience.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
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