I am definitely revisiting my old assumption of a European trip every 2-3 years. I still want to take the trip to Spain I've been coveting for about 15 years (other trips keep getting in the way), and I will still visit once in a while to see friends. But I've pretty much written off Europe as a place to poke around and see what intriguing places I can find, and there's a lot of the continent I still haven't seen.

I'm much more focused on travel in the USA and Canada now.

We went to Iceland and Norway this year. The focus of the trip was a 1 week cruise around Svalbard looking for polar bears (we saw about 10!). The rest of the trip was looking around since we know we don't like going across the pond for anything less than 2 weeks.

The most painful part of the trip was food costs.

Oh, and please tell Cindy that we stayed at the Hotel Holt in Reykjavik. It suited us perfectly - although we didn't eat in the hotel's restaurant but once for breakfast. Too pricy.

Europe is still on my radar, but yes the dollar does effect plans. For instance, this thanksgiving we are giving up amsterdam/paris for a nice little costa rica getaway. Probably not a move i would have made 2 or even 1 year ago. All in all, I hope to return to europe every 4 years and visit somewhere new across the pond at least every 8. Ambitious yes, but you only live once!

The World!
Continue to cover everything!
Even if I don't go now, I may be inspired.
And we all have at least a bit of arm-chair traveler in us, what better way than with the Post (double meanings freely taken). OK, not always as entertaining as Bill Bryson, and haven't seen the videos like Rick Steves, but y'all are doing just fine in my book.

Took a trip to Ireland this summer that was financially crippling, and I'm used to NYC prices! I have been doing a lot more travel to South America in the past few years and now planning my Xmas holiday trip, it looks like Nicaragua will win over Paris, partially due to the exchange rate (and the warm beaches, those help too).

The old joke is when the dollar declines, bring more money. I'm sure many of the people who travel regularly to Europe will have no trouble finding a few hundred extra dollars. If you are young and like to time things, the next few years will be a good opportunity to see the US. When the dollar goes back up against the Euro in five years, go then.

Europe is still on my radar, but definitely not this year. I'm going to South America instead (Argentina & Uruguay). Lots of things to do and see there, fantastic cuisine, and excellent accommodations--all at a fraction of the cost for a comparable trip across the Atlantic.

Yes, I'm going to wales and france next month. We try to visit one new country a year. We've actually already planned our vacation for next year too - we're heading south - to Brazil - in March 2008.

I think it really depends on individuals' or families' disposable income. I've encountered a couple who hoped to do a U.K. biking trip but cancelled it due to the projected costs, but I've also seen folks go through with plans for 1 to 2-week-long vacations this summer & autumn in some of the more "expensive countries" like France, Germany & Switzerland. Perhaps overall demand is down, but I'm still seeing a lot of interest in Europe. Especially France.

I went to Spain this year, but only because my boyfriend's sister was studying abroad. We spent some time in Morocco, which was my first step out of Europe.

As for upcoming, I'm staying clear of Europe unless I find a deal that's too good to be true. I'm focusing on South/Latin America and Asia. That's only partly monetarily motivated; airfare to those places can run significantly more than a trip across the pond and negate any potential savings from the crappy exchange rate.

The weak dollor has definitely affected my plans. My husband and I have been talking about a Europe trip for a couple of years. I have family and friends in England and Belgium; Hubby wants to explore his family's Dutch/Flemish roots. While work issues have prevented the trip in the past, money issues are putting a damper on it now. We're much more focused on U.S. destinations for now. Europe is still on the radar screen, it's just unlikely we'll be headed there any time soon.

We are going to Italy for 2 weeks next year - the euro has impacted us some but not much. We find that if we travel off season (no kids helps) and plan ahead - we come out OK. For example - we've prepaid for almost everything and the trip will only cost about 2,500 for 2 people (total not each) 14 nights of 4 star hotels including breakfast, multiple short tours and musuem passes, airport/hotel private car transfers, and rail pass and seat reservations. The plane tickets were pricy because we upgraded - but all we will spend when we get there is for lunch, dinner, shopping and anything we foreget. (This is not a tour - we've just researched and found a number of good deals.)

I read washington post from spain. Of course I´m spanish. I work in the tourism industry and here people is travelling mainly to other european countries. Those who choose visiting the states, most of them are travelling to N.Y.

We are just back from 2 weeks in England and Wales. We complained a lot and did not shop much, but I think you just have to build it in and decide if you can afford to go.

Spent a week in Prague and Vienna. Prices are lower in Eastern Europe - something to consider if you want a "European" trip without the high costs. Prague is beautiful, you can return to it again and again. Like Paris.

In Prague I stayed in an inexpensive B&B on a subway line. In Vienna, where it's more expensive, I stayed in a hostel.

After experiencing the exchange rate pinch in Munich and London in 12/06, we told our friends in Munich that it was definitely their turn to visit us. We just spent 10 days with them and went to Williamsburg and New York city.

This will be the first year in a number of years when we won't get to the U.K., but at £1=$2, it just doesn't make sense.

There's a reason that the Travel Channel's Samantha Brown is in South America!

At twice the price of a dollar, the UK is definitely out. Was in London earlier this month. 41 bucks worth of soveniers translated into almost 90 USD. Not worth it for a few key chains and a candle. Can't imagine paying that much for mushy peas! Love the UK but not at those prices! Continental Europe is still on however. I go 3 times a year, Euro or not.

We travel to Europe twice a year, despite the increasingly poor exchange rate. One trip is always to Scotland and the other to somewhere else in Europe. This fall, we are heading to London and Stockholm (over Thanksgiving), where prices for hotels and rental cars drop substantially in the off-season. Yes, the exchange rate is still terrible (particularly vs the GBP), but the offseason timing makes everything OK. You just have to plan, and save, and save a little more.

I'm leaving in just under three weeks for 16 days in France and the UK. Despite the horrible exchange rates, I still believe that travel in Europe is affordable. I don't mind traveling in off-peak season to save a little money, in fact I prefer to miss the throngs of people ...

Even with the unfavorable pound to dollar ratio, I'll be staying at one of the best B&Bs in Cornwall for less than $70 US (35UK) per night. This includes nice toiletries, private room and bathroom, robe,full gourmet breakfast and a prime location - one block from the ocean with an ocean view. I recently spent $120 per night for a stale room and a lousy breakfast in North Carolina. Yes, in the UK, I might be pinched in the exchange for theatre tickets, food and a few gifts to take back. But it's a vacation, it's a luxury and really, it's not that expensive.

In my mind, there's no contest ... I'll be in Europe.

I will always continue to prefer Europe as a travel destination, no matter what. There's so much diversity in terms of places to see and things to do - and yet a comforting familiarity since my family has roots in Europe. Although I usually go to Europe on business, this fall I'm taking a real vacation to Istanbul (OK, maybe it's not Europe the way most people think of Europe, but I am going primarily because it is very European; I am actually not that interested in travel to the Middle East).

We haven't cancelled a long ago planned trip to London for a week in October despite the scary prices. This is for a special anniversary and neither my husband nor I have ever been there. We can't wait and we've just decided to splurge a little here and there, but still see all the sights of London. This may be a once in a lifetime trip, so we're just going to try to be careful about what we spend $$ on.

We just got back from a 2 week tour-Vienna, Salzburg and Venice-way expensive-even though we anticipated it would be and paid for everything except meals and admission fees in advance. We have been many times before and so planned it all on our own. We flew on milespoints, so airfare was low. Found deals on hotels due to off season and special rates on train travel. The big bonus-when we toured Schonbrunn in Vienna, Doges Palace in Venice-we were nearly the only people there!! Same thing for a number of other places. Many places-Sissi Apts. in Hofburg in Vienna and all the Christmasmarkets were only crowded on weekends. The lack of American tourists seems to be having an impact -
shopkeepers in Venice came out to us on the street to ask please come in and shop. Apparently the few Chinese tour groups we saw don't have people separating from the group to shop. We bought few souvenirs-good dig photos are the best ones anyway. One noticeable difference for us and a big reason we will travel only in the US for awhile was the cold and sometimes rude attitude toward Americans-even when we speak the language.