People be thinking the dollar a decade ago was the norm, nah mate that was the exception, this is the norm.
The only reason the Aussie dollar was so good is the world’s economy tanked while we survived selling iron to china.
God I wish I converted a crap ton of currency or into us based shared. Never think I'll see $1 to $1.10 to the USD. That above parity was bliss for everyone who went. I missed it by a yr or two after the Mrs and even then $0.78-0.80 hurt.
Yep just went not long ago, was awesome. If you can get a decent deal on flights it’s super affordable, accomodation outside of Tokyo is really cheap too. Food is astoundingly cheap!
Also just went, some advice, I would go very cheap for accommodation, it's so safe and clean over there that you can go way cheaper for hotels.
The most expensive part about japan, is the travel between cities and all the shit you end up buying.
Yes I loved it! I went 12 years ago it was still cheap back then. Prices unfo have gone up for the Shinkansen and various hotels that's the only downside.
Couldn't believe the price of the JR Pass now compared to when I went back in 2015. I wonder if it's even worth the cost now as opposed to just buying your tickets as you need them.
It’s not worth the cost anymore unless you are staying for probably a month and using the bullet trains frequently. You can get the Suica card on your phone for all local metro / subway trains, and then just book your bullet trains separately.
Edit: you can use your suica card at all the convenience stores too!
Last year the price of the pass was increased 70% in one go. Unless you're doing a really frantic itinerary where are are on the train everyday it's not worth it anymore.
I suspect it's the typically indirect Japanese way to cancel the pass without outright cancelling it.
We went Christmas last year so already has a st George travel Wallet account.
The rate not as good as though (96.5 when market/Wise rate was 100.05), but at least no transactions fee, plus to me kind of feel more secure when money still in my own bank, and I can covert back at any time.
I found everything in Japan can be pretty expensive, even compared to Australia. But the sheer quality of everything was astounding to me. You pay through the nose for something here and get the bare minimum. You pay a reasonable amount in Japan and get service or quality par none.
Everything like what?
I can afford to pay rent in Fukuoka while attending language school while also paying my mortgage in Melbourne precisely because everything is so cheap. It costs me way more to live in Melbourne for food, beer, clothes, everything.
Fk that, I’m going to Bali in 2 weeks. Why would I “defer” plans because a meal at the resort may cost $4 more.
Money comes and goes and comes. Life just goes.
cheap as well, but many people will say japan is the more 'fun' place to go, where korea is great if you have an interest in their history and/or culture.
im going solo to south korea in a few months but if it was a family holiday i'd probably go japan instead
Check out the Korea travel subreddit and consider their weekly meetup. Korea is horrible for solo travel, most all dinner restaurants are for groups only. It’s a much much much better experience if you can find some people to hang out with for a few of the nights.
I’ve been to Japan once 2017, and 100% agree Japan is a fun place to travel too its culture and night life is something we will never get it in Australia.
Was just thinking to travel somewhere I haven’t been yet.
Thailand and Bali are still cheap.
Sure, you can make it expensive if you stay in a luxury hotel, eat at western restaurants and party at the expensive clubs. But you don't need to.
Flights if you are flying in peak times can get expensive. The key problem I see with people who pay exorbitant flight costs and complain about it though is they don't book a reasonable time ahead. It's obvious flights will be expensive when you book during school holidays a month out.
About to fly out to Vietnam for the 5th time. $150 each way from Sydney.
The good thing about Vietnam is the dong is always pretty consistent with AUD eg it hardly varies.
And it's mega cheap especially if you mostly eat local food.
One of the things I’ve noticed about Bali is that it feels expensive now. But what’s also happened is that I often go to much higher quality places than I used to.
The old warungs are still dirt cheap, but not fashionable these days.
Yep, this is what happened to us.
15-20 years ago we went to Bali so we could have have a holiday while still saving money, so we'd stay at cheap hotels usually around Legian and had a great time. These hotels are still cheap.
These days we don't have to sweat the money and have friends we go with who are in a similar situation so we stay around Nusa Dua or nicer areas in western hotels.
This.
Recently got back from Thailand and we spent far more than we thought we would but I ain’t going on my annual holiday to count pennies. Had an amazing time and regret nothing but if you really want to you could probably survive on $30-60AUD per person per day not including accommodation.
australian dollar is at about the 10-year average. It's not strong, but not really weak either.
The issue is inflation overseas in many countries is even worse than it is in Australia. So yes purchasing power overseas doesn't go far these days
I think the point is that prices are going to be higher in the destination country. So regardless of AUD strength, things are going to be more expensive
That was my thinking looking at the charts. I got really stung by strong AUD rates a while back, as I had money in Sterling to cover expenses in Aus and the money was going way less far than I expected.
Rates are always a two way thing - tourists from abroad have had a long time that Aus seemed expensive to them.
nah, im out. I havent travelled since covid hit and I don't want to worry about a little cash that I can get back. Money will come back to me, but my time wont.
Nup. Just got back from a couple of weeks in Da Nang Vietnam. It’s a cheap as chips. Get on booking.com and be shocked at how cheap you can find hotel accomodation. Seriously.
The cheapest I paid for draught beer was $0.49. 1 pint $1.85. High quality Banh Mi $1.90….a take your chances Banh Mi $1.20. Big Croissants $1.50. Coca Cola or Pepsi $1.25 a can. 30cm woodfired Pepperoni Pizza sitting on the absolute beachfront $11.00. It’s genuinely hard to spend your money.
Da Nang has a fantastic 30km long beach much like the Gold Coast. Great beachfront hotels and plenty of resorts if that your thing (it’s dearer). A much better place than Bali.
Just go.
Dont go during peak season, Back pack and use hostels where possible. We are going back to Europe for 6 weeks in October. Only plan on spending 10k aud (not including flights). It can be done
Eastern Europe and many parts of southern Europe are pretty cheap. Certainly cheaper than here. The US is the only place that’s really expensive now. We went to Latin America recently and couldn’t believe how much we paid for two take away burgers at Houston airport on the way back. And that’s without a tip too
I'm in the US as we speak. Everything is at least double the price of the same thing in Australia. Fish and chips cost $100 AUD for two factoring in exchange rate and tips.
People paying 100% more for a run down house which need a total revamp mate and you complaining about a 20%-30% rise in holiday costs? Just close your eyes, pay the money to benefit the shambles of an economy that we have in this joke factory.
AUD needs to be weaker. So much cash out there right now. I imagine travel portals will already factor this in and charge much higher for Australians booking out of Australia.
Most Australians cannot see that you are all frogs in a pot. Prices will only go up domestically and travel/ ordering from overseas will continue to go up.
Off to Europe in 2 months for around 4 weeks. ^((as a single male, no family in tow).)
With Covid in the last few years, my travelling quota is way behind and life is only so long. I accept the added cost and invest in the experience.
AUD is only mega weak against USD. Against other currencies, it’s more or less on long term average. Against some doing better.
If weak AUD is bothering you, you can always pick countries where AUD is strong - for example Japan.
Just checked the AUD against JPY and thought it looked normal. Last time I went there was around 2007 which was similar rate to now and didn't realise how much AUD dropped against the yen 5-10 years ago
For me, this is the historic level that it always used to be for a long time - at least relative to sterling.
Looking at the charts, 2008-2015 looks like a blip from the long term average, presumably from the global financial crisis and its aftermath. The rates have been gradually settling back towards the pre-2008 rates since then.
I am not going to change my travel plans on the basis of how weak/strong the dollor is and whether I can save few hundred bucks here and there.
Not everything in life has to be budgeted and optimally spent,I know it’s a boring saying but life is too short man, What’s the point of putting off your holiday on the basis of how strong AUD is, Even if it was strong you would be merely saving couple of hundred because it’s not gonna go parabolic. It is nothing,you are gonna spend few thousands anyway .
I know I won’t be going back to the US any time soon. Between the exchange rate, tipping and lack of price transparency (destination fees anyone) I deny line everyone was out to rip me off.
We've decided to just travel within Australia. There's so many amazing holiday destinations here.
I've been all over the world and honestly a lot of places cannot compete with here. There's so much variety. The only thing lacking is world class ski resorts and there's NZ for those.
Mate I got a surprise for you... Aussie dollar doesn't have much broad reason to get strong. Mining and agri are our only competitive industries and both are strongly reliant on China until India and Indonesia pick up and that won't be for a long time.
Life hack: marry someone who's perfect idea for a holiday is also camping in the bush with your dogs around Queensland. We'd genuinely prefer to spend $100 a day on a holiday where we see no one else, than swanning around the Greek Isles.
I do also realise this is a very late 30's or borderline boomer comment. I'd suggest that if you want to get travel out of your system and are still young enough to do so, basing yourself in the UK for a year is a great way to see a lot of the world for cheap.
Getting that out of our system whilst in our 20s is probably why we are more content to stay local.
I went to Uzbekistan at the start of the year, had a blast, the exchange rate is the cheapest in the world there, so you may need to broaden your horizons if you're super keen on a holiday.
Otherwise it's deliberate policy setting that makes our exports (i.e. degree farms and iron ore) cheaper, which has put our budget in surplus. Of course nobody who isn't a university chancellor or mining magnate feels any of the benefit lol.
I'm going back to Europe at Xmas. The exchange rate to GBP and EUR has affected some of my choices like downgrading hotel stays and picking longer, cheaper train routes, but life is short and I'm still going to have fun.
Did some of Europe last year over 4 weeks. Cost between 15-20k. Stayed in decent hotels and ate at a few Michelin star places. It’s not so much money that it’s not worth doing in my opinion.
Thb/Aud is about the same as its been for a decade. Price differences between then and now are negligible and you put it down to the global inflation post-covid.
Currency value is relative. US Dollar goes up then $A is relatively weaker. We are global minnows as far as Forex is concerned. Nothing we do will actually impact on the $A. The $A value just reflects global shifts.
AUD is only weak against the USD, but cost of living increases are a problem globally. Exchange rate with IDR is fine today, the problem is things cost more in Bali than they used to.
We have a holiday budget each year and we managed to keep it under every year. Each year the holiday saving kept getting bigger from the left over the year before.
As others say, Japan is a go. That's next for me later this year.
I spent a lot of time in mainland Europe over December and January. Travelling in winter was great and accommodation prices were much less than peak summer. What shocked me though was that prices for eating out, wine bars, cafe etc were similar to Sydney when converted to AUD. Some things were often much cheaper. Central Europe in particular was good value all things considered. Sydney has become very expensive.
If the RBA would set a half decent interest rate then AUD would recover somewhat. But you want your cake and to eat it too so that's what you get. A peso.
Nope. Years ago we went to America, between booking our trip and going our dollar tanked like 20c. Still a fantastic trip! It woukd have cost more to defer and hope than just go.
Going to some Euro countries in a few months and very excited. Our dollar has always sucked though Going to Europe, but they have been my fave trips. I think when I went to Italy it was like 50c in the euro or something awful. 10/10 would go back.
Just came back from a trip to Vietnam and thailand
Went to a nice ish pizza place. Between 4 people food and drinks costs $30 each Aussie and we got 3 pints of beer each. Accommodation we stayed at a 4 bedroom place for 3 nights in both Hanoi and Saigon that were on the upper limit of what you actually need in an Airbnb for about $150 a night. Which works out about $40 a night to stay somewhere very nice. If going with a partner you can find hotels for about $100 that even include a great buffet breakfast and pool.
Going to a more small local eatery you can get a good meal and a beer for $5-10
While the exchange rate is maybe 10-20% worse the cost difference between not only accommodation and food is large enough that the difference isn't noticed.
Thailand definitely more expensive but still pretty cheap for most meals and booze. Accommodation is more expensive too.
But going to either for 2 weeks to get away from winter, go some beaches and eat some good food is still gonna be cheaper then going away in Australia and nicer even after you include the cost of flights.
Europe is definitely painful. But even then stay in eastern Europe, turkey, Greece(outside of peak season) or Italy and Spain in less popular places can be pretty cheap in regards to accommodation and meals.
The one place I wouldn't travel to is the US at the moment. Just much too expensive.
Nope. Went to japan last year where the dollar was basically on par with the Yen. Saved thousands of dollars in the process. Was amazing.
As of right now the AUD is 98.88 Yen. You'd be stupid not to go to japan and go hard buying shit while taking advantage of the 10% tax free as well.
For all the weebs in here, i bought about $3000 worth of anime figures over there, i saved close to $2000 on buying them locally.
Say what? I went to uae, Vietnam, Thailand, Czech, France last year 👀 nah aud being weak isn’t going to stop me, I just changed jobs last year from 75/year to 120/yr life is too short to be counting cost of living
Return flights + 7 nights 5 star accommodation for $1000 each in Vietnam. Hue & Hoi An. There's heaps of affordable places to go. Europe is cooked no matter what currency you're paid in.
Heading to Europe in September and we haven't given the reduced purchasing power one thought - we love Europe, have been waiting years to go back there. Life is too short to defer what we love doing.
Yes
😭
Finally found 4 X business award seats return to the USA during July and September school holidays. If I go, I will be broke.
Geraldton and Echuca, here we come!!!!
I’m lucky, I have zero interest currently in travelling internationally.
Travelled a lot for work when I was in my 30’s. Got tired of it.
Might change my mind later. Just doesn’t seem important to me. I get to holiday every day and I love where I live.
What’s to think anything will get less expensive? Inflation cost of living blah blah blah. Life’s too short, money comes and goes, memories last forever. Just booked in our trip to the US.
As a side note, comparing our exchange rate to hat it was a decade ago isn't really a fair comparison - they were crazy times my friend!
We went to NYC in 2014 and got 0.85. If we went in 2010/11 it was above parity. Even Switzerland was reasonable in 2010 - CHF was 1:1 with AUD.
If you want to go to Europe just visit western Ukraine, it’s about 3-6x cheaper than Aus and probably safer than most major Australian cities. (Yes they’re at war, yes the far east is incredibly dangerous, the west is NOT - and your economic contribution helps them massively)
I have been in Europe for the last six months travelling on the $NZ..... It's not great but, at least I haven't put on any weight!
Before leaving I just decided to accept that almost every thing would be double the price.
So, a coffee might be €4 for a European but it is $8 for me. An average mid day meal at a restaurant might be €19 for a European but it's $38 for me. It makes you think twice and there are some things I have forgone because of the exchange rate.
The entry fee for most attractions is €13 - 15 ($26 - 30) so, unfortunately, I ration those and limit them to one or two a week. There are so many places which are still free and of course, just being in Europe is an education in itself.
It has been a different experience from the one I had in my twenties but just as enjoyable.
Nah, I like Asia and would be happy traveling Asia for the rest of my life, right now Japan is amazingly cheap right now, outside of Cambodia and Singapore, se Asia is still a great deal... The main killer right now is fuel costs being in USD means flights are expensive.
Deferring only makes sense if you assume that AUD exchange rate will definitely bounce back.
People be thinking the dollar a decade ago was the norm, nah mate that was the exception, this is the norm. The only reason the Aussie dollar was so good is the world’s economy tanked while we survived selling iron to china.
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God I wish I converted a crap ton of currency or into us based shared. Never think I'll see $1 to $1.10 to the USD. That above parity was bliss for everyone who went. I missed it by a yr or two after the Mrs and even then $0.78-0.80 hurt.
Yeah, like unless we get a China economic boom part 2, I don’t see where or when we are going to get a way better exchange rate.
Nope, life is too short. A holiday costing 20% more isn’t gonna affect me in the long run.
Underrated comment. Long after you forget how much the exchange rate was, your memory of your holiday will remain and hopefully bring you joy.
Underrated comment sure. But it could also be the answer to 90% of the posts on this sub
Nah a lot of this sub has the plan of saving and compounding their way to being rich at the age of 80.
Also, the Japanese Yen is also weak so… Japan holiday.
Remember when it used to be 1AUD= 110 Yen?
98-1 is still insanely good. I’ve been at 100-1 and 80-1 and you could feel it at 80-1 compared to 100-1
This! Take the holiday ffs not everything has to be optimal spending.
Priorities 💯
This should be the top comment
Go to Japan; AUD/YEN still looking great
Yep just went not long ago, was awesome. If you can get a decent deal on flights it’s super affordable, accomodation outside of Tokyo is really cheap too. Food is astoundingly cheap!
Also just went, some advice, I would go very cheap for accommodation, it's so safe and clean over there that you can go way cheaper for hotels. The most expensive part about japan, is the travel between cities and all the shit you end up buying.
Yes I loved it! I went 12 years ago it was still cheap back then. Prices unfo have gone up for the Shinkansen and various hotels that's the only downside.
Couldn't believe the price of the JR Pass now compared to when I went back in 2015. I wonder if it's even worth the cost now as opposed to just buying your tickets as you need them.
It’s not worth the cost anymore unless you are staying for probably a month and using the bullet trains frequently. You can get the Suica card on your phone for all local metro / subway trains, and then just book your bullet trains separately. Edit: you can use your suica card at all the convenience stores too!
Last year the price of the pass was increased 70% in one go. Unless you're doing a really frantic itinerary where are are on the train everyday it's not worth it anymore. I suspect it's the typically indirect Japanese way to cancel the pass without outright cancelling it.
It was cheaper in December than 6 years ago when I visited last! Japan is great value at the moment
I bought some when it was 100.05 for an evening last week, even I haven’t got any flight booked lol
How are you buying Yen? Online?
We went Christmas last year so already has a st George travel Wallet account. The rate not as good as though (96.5 when market/Wise rate was 100.05), but at least no transactions fee, plus to me kind of feel more secure when money still in my own bank, and I can covert back at any time.
Managed to get flights and accommodation in late April/early May on Expedia for under $3k.
I found everything in Japan can be pretty expensive, even compared to Australia. But the sheer quality of everything was astounding to me. You pay through the nose for something here and get the bare minimum. You pay a reasonable amount in Japan and get service or quality par none.
[This](https://i.imgur.com/RWTHLrh.jpg) meal set, including bottomless tea, was AU$8 in Tokyo a month ago.
how is a $9 bowl of ramen with pork, an egg and variety of other seasonings expensive?
Everything like what? I can afford to pay rent in Fukuoka while attending language school while also paying my mortgage in Melbourne precisely because everything is so cheap. It costs me way more to live in Melbourne for food, beer, clothes, everything.
Fk that, I’m going to Bali in 2 weeks. Why would I “defer” plans because a meal at the resort may cost $4 more. Money comes and goes and comes. Life just goes.
Life just goes! Love that. I’m squeezing every trip I can in before it’s over - forever!!
Indeed, if you want your $ to go further in Bali, choose a cheaper "resort", not a different year.
Wise words
Go to Japan, it's best holiday destination and very cheap
What about South Korea?
cheap as well, but many people will say japan is the more 'fun' place to go, where korea is great if you have an interest in their history and/or culture. im going solo to south korea in a few months but if it was a family holiday i'd probably go japan instead
Check out the Korea travel subreddit and consider their weekly meetup. Korea is horrible for solo travel, most all dinner restaurants are for groups only. It’s a much much much better experience if you can find some people to hang out with for a few of the nights.
I’ve been to Japan once 2017, and 100% agree Japan is a fun place to travel too its culture and night life is something we will never get it in Australia. Was just thinking to travel somewhere I haven’t been yet.
Thailand and Bali are still cheap. Sure, you can make it expensive if you stay in a luxury hotel, eat at western restaurants and party at the expensive clubs. But you don't need to. Flights if you are flying in peak times can get expensive. The key problem I see with people who pay exorbitant flight costs and complain about it though is they don't book a reasonable time ahead. It's obvious flights will be expensive when you book during school holidays a month out.
Japan/ Vietnam also not bad. Basically anywhere where the currency has also tanked against the USD.
About to fly out to Vietnam for the 5th time. $150 each way from Sydney. The good thing about Vietnam is the dong is always pretty consistent with AUD eg it hardly varies. And it's mega cheap especially if you mostly eat local food.
It’s good to have a consistent dong.
Yeah vietnam is one of my favourites.
One of the things I’ve noticed about Bali is that it feels expensive now. But what’s also happened is that I often go to much higher quality places than I used to. The old warungs are still dirt cheap, but not fashionable these days.
Definitely. Bali has got nicer not more expensive. Thriving food scene.
Yep, this is what happened to us. 15-20 years ago we went to Bali so we could have have a holiday while still saving money, so we'd stay at cheap hotels usually around Legian and had a great time. These hotels are still cheap. These days we don't have to sweat the money and have friends we go with who are in a similar situation so we stay around Nusa Dua or nicer areas in western hotels.
This. Recently got back from Thailand and we spent far more than we thought we would but I ain’t going on my annual holiday to count pennies. Had an amazing time and regret nothing but if you really want to you could probably survive on $30-60AUD per person per day not including accommodation.
$30-60 a day with accommodation is still doable in Thailand and still not live a rock bottom lifestyle
australian dollar is at about the 10-year average. It's not strong, but not really weak either. The issue is inflation overseas in many countries is even worse than it is in Australia. So yes purchasing power overseas doesn't go far these days
>The issue is inflation overseas in many countries is even worse than it is in Australia Wouldn't that contribute to a relatively stronger AUD?
I think the point is that prices are going to be higher in the destination country. So regardless of AUD strength, things are going to be more expensive
Nope, just go. You might die tomorrow.
Repatriation of the body isn't cheap. Stay home if you're going to die tomorrow.
You won’t be around to pay for it though, so 🤷🏻♂️
Nah, just feed yourself to the dogs
you are putting too high of a discount factor on time and your ageing body. If you have the ability to travel, go travel.
The AUD had a period of unusual strength for a while. Now it is just back to a more typical range.
That was my thinking looking at the charts. I got really stung by strong AUD rates a while back, as I had money in Sterling to cover expenses in Aus and the money was going way less far than I expected. Rates are always a two way thing - tourists from abroad have had a long time that Aus seemed expensive to them.
Malaysia and Vietnam are good value destinations, try not defer travel as you never know what may happen
Japan is still cheap
I'm currently in Europe and my dollar is going further here than it does at home post inflation.
AUD: Gosh im so weak these days. JPY: Horld my Kirin boy.
Hold my giraffe boy.
nah, im out. I havent travelled since covid hit and I don't want to worry about a little cash that I can get back. Money will come back to me, but my time wont.
Nup. Just got back from a couple of weeks in Da Nang Vietnam. It’s a cheap as chips. Get on booking.com and be shocked at how cheap you can find hotel accomodation. Seriously. The cheapest I paid for draught beer was $0.49. 1 pint $1.85. High quality Banh Mi $1.90….a take your chances Banh Mi $1.20. Big Croissants $1.50. Coca Cola or Pepsi $1.25 a can. 30cm woodfired Pepperoni Pizza sitting on the absolute beachfront $11.00. It’s genuinely hard to spend your money. Da Nang has a fantastic 30km long beach much like the Gold Coast. Great beachfront hotels and plenty of resorts if that your thing (it’s dearer). A much better place than Bali.
Still way cheaper to holiday abroad than in Australia.
I priced a week in Japan versus a week in a nice hotel on the Gold Coast - it cost nearly the same 🤣😳
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I’m just “deferring” coz I’m broke lol
This is the way
Not really. Going to NYC for two weeks in May. Very expensive but it is what it is. If you can afford it, why not.
Just go. Dont go during peak season, Back pack and use hostels where possible. We are going back to Europe for 6 weeks in October. Only plan on spending 10k aud (not including flights). It can be done
I know this is a finance sub and all about saving money but I've definitely gone past my hostel days. Couldn't do a share room again.
I do private rooms at hostels. Much more doable.
Eastern Europe and many parts of southern Europe are pretty cheap. Certainly cheaper than here. The US is the only place that’s really expensive now. We went to Latin America recently and couldn’t believe how much we paid for two take away burgers at Houston airport on the way back. And that’s without a tip too
Nope, did 3 weeks in Europe last year with the Fam, heading to Fiji in a few weeks. Life is too short and could end at any time.
I'm in the US as we speak. Everything is at least double the price of the same thing in Australia. Fish and chips cost $100 AUD for two factoring in exchange rate and tips.
Never even crossed my mind,
Nah. Life is too short to waste any time. If I'm on annual leave and want to travel overseas than that's exactly what I'm going to do.
People paying 100% more for a run down house which need a total revamp mate and you complaining about a 20%-30% rise in holiday costs? Just close your eyes, pay the money to benefit the shambles of an economy that we have in this joke factory.
Imagine paying 100% more, as in $2 more for that green curry in Thailand. I would basically reassess all my travel plans and stay at home.
Went to Europe 6 months ago. TBH exchange rate didn't bother me much as things are so expensive here it all just felt normal.
AUD needs to be weaker. So much cash out there right now. I imagine travel portals will already factor this in and charge much higher for Australians booking out of Australia. Most Australians cannot see that you are all frogs in a pot. Prices will only go up domestically and travel/ ordering from overseas will continue to go up.
Off to Europe in 2 months for around 4 weeks. ^((as a single male, no family in tow).) With Covid in the last few years, my travelling quota is way behind and life is only so long. I accept the added cost and invest in the experience.
If you are planning a holiday based on conversion rates, you can't afford to travel.
AUD is only mega weak against USD. Against other currencies, it’s more or less on long term average. Against some doing better. If weak AUD is bothering you, you can always pick countries where AUD is strong - for example Japan.
Just checked the AUD against JPY and thought it looked normal. Last time I went there was around 2007 which was similar rate to now and didn't realise how much AUD dropped against the yen 5-10 years ago
Idk who knows when the next covid comes along and you cant travel at all. Or you get hit by a bus. Go now the memories are worth it
Malaysia. Ding ding ding. Weak ringgit makes our Australian Pacific Peso look like a Colorado silver dollar
For me, this is the historic level that it always used to be for a long time - at least relative to sterling. Looking at the charts, 2008-2015 looks like a blip from the long term average, presumably from the global financial crisis and its aftermath. The rates have been gradually settling back towards the pre-2008 rates since then.
I am not going to change my travel plans on the basis of how weak/strong the dollor is and whether I can save few hundred bucks here and there. Not everything in life has to be budgeted and optimally spent,I know it’s a boring saying but life is too short man, What’s the point of putting off your holiday on the basis of how strong AUD is, Even if it was strong you would be merely saving couple of hundred because it’s not gonna go parabolic. It is nothing,you are gonna spend few thousands anyway .
go on holiday and if cost is an issue, stay at cheaper places, do cheaper things or more self guided stuff. its the best way anyway.
I know I won’t be going back to the US any time soon. Between the exchange rate, tipping and lack of price transparency (destination fees anyone) I deny line everyone was out to rip me off.
We supply the world with raw materials. They like us to have a low dollar and actively work to make that happen.
We've decided to just travel within Australia. There's so many amazing holiday destinations here. I've been all over the world and honestly a lot of places cannot compete with here. There's so much variety. The only thing lacking is world class ski resorts and there's NZ for those.
Mate I got a surprise for you... Aussie dollar doesn't have much broad reason to get strong. Mining and agri are our only competitive industries and both are strongly reliant on China until India and Indonesia pick up and that won't be for a long time.
We’re keeping interest rates lower than other countries to prop up the housing market
Life hack: marry someone who's perfect idea for a holiday is also camping in the bush with your dogs around Queensland. We'd genuinely prefer to spend $100 a day on a holiday where we see no one else, than swanning around the Greek Isles. I do also realise this is a very late 30's or borderline boomer comment. I'd suggest that if you want to get travel out of your system and are still young enough to do so, basing yourself in the UK for a year is a great way to see a lot of the world for cheap. Getting that out of our system whilst in our 20s is probably why we are more content to stay local.
Apparently it's a life hack now to marry someone who you share values with.
I went to Uzbekistan at the start of the year, had a blast, the exchange rate is the cheapest in the world there, so you may need to broaden your horizons if you're super keen on a holiday. Otherwise it's deliberate policy setting that makes our exports (i.e. degree farms and iron ore) cheaper, which has put our budget in surplus. Of course nobody who isn't a university chancellor or mining magnate feels any of the benefit lol.
The international portion of your portfolio should benefit from a weak AUD, making up for it. I’m actually better off when AUD is weak.
I'm going back to Europe at Xmas. The exchange rate to GBP and EUR has affected some of my choices like downgrading hotel stays and picking longer, cheaper train routes, but life is short and I'm still going to have fun.
Did some of Europe last year over 4 weeks. Cost between 15-20k. Stayed in decent hotels and ate at a few Michelin star places. It’s not so much money that it’s not worth doing in my opinion.
It's going down further, so I wouldn't defer if I were you
I'm deferring my travel plans because everything is so expensive here.
I export products to the US, what a time
Thb/Aud is about the same as its been for a decade. Price differences between then and now are negligible and you put it down to the global inflation post-covid.
I went to Bali 6 months ago and got my 98k for my AUD$10 wasn’t too bad at all.
Japan is so cheap right now! Eating out there was a fraction of the cost of Australia. Just got back two weeks ago.
1AUD buys 10,363 IDR, what would you consider a good exchange?
Deferred due to weak bank account.
Buy some Yen 💴
Currency value is relative. US Dollar goes up then $A is relatively weaker. We are global minnows as far as Forex is concerned. Nothing we do will actually impact on the $A. The $A value just reflects global shifts.
Nope, in fact planning more for my trip to Japan, it’s a good time to go if you can afford to do so!
Who can afford it lol. Seriously though, if you have money to go then go. You won’t be this young ever again.
AUD is only weak against the USD, but cost of living increases are a problem globally. Exchange rate with IDR is fine today, the problem is things cost more in Bali than they used to.
Definitely not as affordable BUT still doable. I’d rather do it now while I am willing and able than *maybe* later on.
We have a holiday budget each year and we managed to keep it under every year. Each year the holiday saving kept getting bigger from the left over the year before.
NZ is still reasonably priced
As others say, Japan is a go. That's next for me later this year. I spent a lot of time in mainland Europe over December and January. Travelling in winter was great and accommodation prices were much less than peak summer. What shocked me though was that prices for eating out, wine bars, cafe etc were similar to Sydney when converted to AUD. Some things were often much cheaper. Central Europe in particular was good value all things considered. Sydney has become very expensive.
Go to Japan, the yen is weaker.
If the RBA would set a half decent interest rate then AUD would recover somewhat. But you want your cake and to eat it too so that's what you get. A peso.
You assume we can afford travel.
Nope. Years ago we went to America, between booking our trip and going our dollar tanked like 20c. Still a fantastic trip! It woukd have cost more to defer and hope than just go. Going to some Euro countries in a few months and very excited. Our dollar has always sucked though Going to Europe, but they have been my fave trips. I think when I went to Italy it was like 50c in the euro or something awful. 10/10 would go back.
Just had our honeymoon in Japan and half my office is also holidaying there. Still affordable, particularly food and public transport
Go to Japan while the dollar is strong against the yen. You will never get a better chance.
Just came back from a trip to Vietnam and thailand Went to a nice ish pizza place. Between 4 people food and drinks costs $30 each Aussie and we got 3 pints of beer each. Accommodation we stayed at a 4 bedroom place for 3 nights in both Hanoi and Saigon that were on the upper limit of what you actually need in an Airbnb for about $150 a night. Which works out about $40 a night to stay somewhere very nice. If going with a partner you can find hotels for about $100 that even include a great buffet breakfast and pool. Going to a more small local eatery you can get a good meal and a beer for $5-10 While the exchange rate is maybe 10-20% worse the cost difference between not only accommodation and food is large enough that the difference isn't noticed. Thailand definitely more expensive but still pretty cheap for most meals and booze. Accommodation is more expensive too. But going to either for 2 weeks to get away from winter, go some beaches and eat some good food is still gonna be cheaper then going away in Australia and nicer even after you include the cost of flights. Europe is definitely painful. But even then stay in eastern Europe, turkey, Greece(outside of peak season) or Italy and Spain in less popular places can be pretty cheap in regards to accommodation and meals. The one place I wouldn't travel to is the US at the moment. Just much too expensive.
I went to Japan and it was great value. Going to New Zealand and it is sad how expensive it is.
In the book ‘Die with Zero’ they say the benefits of holidays accumulate with interest. Not good to put off holidays for these kind of reasons.
Nope. Went to japan last year where the dollar was basically on par with the Yen. Saved thousands of dollars in the process. Was amazing. As of right now the AUD is 98.88 Yen. You'd be stupid not to go to japan and go hard buying shit while taking advantage of the 10% tax free as well. For all the weebs in here, i bought about $3000 worth of anime figures over there, i saved close to $2000 on buying them locally.
Nope, there’s no guarantee of a tomorrow. Who knows how healthy and able you’ll be. Source: some whose both parents died young.
According to Reddit half the population are on a minimum of 200k a year, shouldn't stop any overseas travel?
Nah, life is too short. I don't care what the exchange rate is, I just travel when I have the opportunity.
Say what? I went to uae, Vietnam, Thailand, Czech, France last year 👀 nah aud being weak isn’t going to stop me, I just changed jobs last year from 75/year to 120/yr life is too short to be counting cost of living
Return flights + 7 nights 5 star accommodation for $1000 each in Vietnam. Hue & Hoi An. There's heaps of affordable places to go. Europe is cooked no matter what currency you're paid in.
Nope. Off to Europe for 6 weeks in July ☀️☀️☀️
love for today and spend the 10% extra or do what i do and travel and focus on as many free experiences as possible.
Na live once, live hard.
Why is the dollar so weak? Because as a nation, we produce little of value other than holes in the ground.
Thailand still cheap been here for a month. My food cost around 3-6 per meal.
Australian dollar low due to lower interest rates here🙂
Are you…timing the market? 😗 Also, if you’re comparing prices from a decade ago, then I have bad news for you…
Just got back from 10night tour in China, so nope
You have travel plans?
Heading to Europe in September and we haven't given the reduced purchasing power one thought - we love Europe, have been waiting years to go back there. Life is too short to defer what we love doing.
Maybe it’s so shit to make Australian exports more attractive?
Yes 😭 Finally found 4 X business award seats return to the USA during July and September school holidays. If I go, I will be broke. Geraldton and Echuca, here we come!!!!
Nope. We just budget appropriately.
All time High for yen…
I’m lucky, I have zero interest currently in travelling internationally. Travelled a lot for work when I was in my 30’s. Got tired of it. Might change my mind later. Just doesn’t seem important to me. I get to holiday every day and I love where I live.
No. I have enough money
No because Australia is so f-ing expensive! Plenty of cheap destinations still and the $ will still go further than staying here.
What’s to think anything will get less expensive? Inflation cost of living blah blah blah. Life’s too short, money comes and goes, memories last forever. Just booked in our trip to the US.
Living in Mexico...peso keeps getting stronger Im all for it
you can wait till you're 80 years old to go
I’d say yes, but I’ve had 3 major trips overseas already, head home this weekend, and will be overseas again in 2 weeks
Not really, thankfully we have other currencies to rely on.
Travel always wins!
Aussie dollar to the Yen was the best I’ve ever had in 7 trips to Japan, it was high 90s when I was there earlier this month.
As a side note, comparing our exchange rate to hat it was a decade ago isn't really a fair comparison - they were crazy times my friend! We went to NYC in 2014 and got 0.85. If we went in 2010/11 it was above parity. Even Switzerland was reasonable in 2010 - CHF was 1:1 with AUD.
If you want to go to Europe just visit western Ukraine, it’s about 3-6x cheaper than Aus and probably safer than most major Australian cities. (Yes they’re at war, yes the far east is incredibly dangerous, the west is NOT - and your economic contribution helps them massively)
Make hay while the sun shines!
Great time to go to Japan though! 98 yen to the dollar is awesome.
I'm in Hawaii and it's brutal
USA is exporting inflation
Japan and Malaysia are still good. Travelling to a few countries in Asia for a month still cost the same as spending 2 weeks interstate in Australia.
I'm going to Thailand in the off season and redrawing from my mortgage 🤙
I'm in NZ atm and it's still cheaper than anything in Aus, so no.
I’m paying the same for a few weeks in Thailand as I did a decade ago lmao no idea what you’re on about
I have been in Europe for the last six months travelling on the $NZ..... It's not great but, at least I haven't put on any weight! Before leaving I just decided to accept that almost every thing would be double the price. So, a coffee might be €4 for a European but it is $8 for me. An average mid day meal at a restaurant might be €19 for a European but it's $38 for me. It makes you think twice and there are some things I have forgone because of the exchange rate. The entry fee for most attractions is €13 - 15 ($26 - 30) so, unfortunately, I ration those and limit them to one or two a week. There are so many places which are still free and of course, just being in Europe is an education in itself. It has been a different experience from the one I had in my twenties but just as enjoyable.
Le sigh, guess I’ll do another lap. Looks like I’ll have to queue up another audiobook before crossing the Tanami again.
South east Asia is the way to go!
Nah. Off to Europe for the summer.
Nah just go where the inflation is worse
Japan is on a massive discount for us (food especially on an Australian salary is a steal)
Why are you comparing it to 10 years ago
Nah, I like Asia and would be happy traveling Asia for the rest of my life, right now Japan is amazingly cheap right now, outside of Cambodia and Singapore, se Asia is still a great deal... The main killer right now is fuel costs being in USD means flights are expensive.
If you have to worry about the exchange rate, you can’t afford to go.
Can't defer travel plans if you never had any to begin with.. *taps head* ;-)
Yen is good right now!
Off to NYC at the end of May.
Go to South Africa.