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Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

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Susan Sessions Rugh: ‘The Golden Age of American Family Vacations’

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Break Bread and Brie in France

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Given the Weak Dollar Overseas, Any Tips on Long-Term Travel?

Dear Rolf,

I am a year into college and have decided to take several years off to circumnavigate the globe—this may be the only time in my life that I’ll be able to do it. But I am concerned about the weakening dollar when I’ll be somewhere relatively expensive, such as Europe. Do you have any suggestions about banking abroad and other ways to help preserve my precious travel money?

--Matt, Denver

Dear Matt,

Three things spring to mind:

1) The U.S. dollar might strengthen in the future; it tends to go up and down over the years.

2) If Europe is expensive (and it tends to be), you might focus your travels elsewhere, like India or Southeast Asia or Latin America. Those are all great, less-expensive destinations where your travel dollar will probably go further.

3) Don’t limit the notion of when you can and cannot travel. When I was in college, I—like you—thought I would have to travel ASAP, because it was the best time in life to do it. And it was a great time to do it—but the ensuing years have been as well. Twelve years later, I’m still traveling, and I feel like I’ll be traveling for many, many more years to come. Every person is different, of course, but if you want to travel in the future, it’s just a matter of positioning yourself to make it happen.

Columnist Rolf Potts is the author of Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.

Send your questions to . If you want to know whether Rolf has already answered your questions, see the Ask Rolf archive.

Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
* Ask Rolf: I’m in my Mid-40s. Am I Too Old to Stay in Hostels?
* Ask Rolf: I Daydream About Traveling All the Time. Should I Go Now or Wait Until I Retire in 14 Years?

Matt, the dollar is going to be stuck at the bottom for a long time, at least until the budget deficit is paid up. Avoid expensive places like Western Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other high standard of living locations. Now, SE Asia and Latin America have the best low cost living and travelling options with SE Asia (Bangkok comes to mind) offering the lowest airfares. And India and Nepal are not far from Bangkok. Also, try to avoid countries that charge high fees for visas like Russia or Brazil. Stick to countries with cheap or no visa required for US citizen.

Matt, You might have embarked on your travels already, but I just wanted to add that in Europe, there is usually a huge difference in costs between well-known cities, such as Paris, Barcelona, Venice - and small towns or villages that may be just outside them. In my experience these smaller towns are not only much cheaper, but friendlier. ANd the further afield you go from the mian cities, the cheaper it gets. These smaller places can also offer a traveler more of the feel of the local culture, unmixed with the international influences one finds in any city. There might be less English spoken in small towns but that can be part of the adventure. So by consciously avoiding the famous cities and concentrating on the smaller places, you can make your dollar go noticeably further. I used this technique very successfully on several trips to Europe. You have to be willing to sacrifice the usual stops on the Grand Tour, though, and believe, as Rolf says, that the future will offer you many more chances to travel to places you might miss this time around.

My recommendation is that, if you’re in college, check into study abroad programs.

For example, I go to West Virginia University. We have an AMAZING exchange program, and with our exchanges you pay tuition (already cheap compared to most colleges), the cost of housing and a meal plan. Our tuition for out-of-state students is cheaper than the cost of many public universities in-state tuition.

So, beyond what I’d be paying for an education anyway, it’s $100 processing fee (one time, upon acceptance), $150 a semester in travel insurance, visas and a plane ticket.

That’s one heck of a deal.

So, I spent last fall semester in Istanbul, and the next two semesters I’ll be in two new places. If your major encourages travel abroad (which mine—international studies—does), you can easily get courses to transfer back.

So, I’ll graduate, on time, with three semesters abroad and a four year degree, only having spen $450 extra in fees, the cost of 3 visas and 3 round trip plane tickets.

Conclusion: Check into your school’s exchange programs. You can combine travel and education. The travel bug will never leave me, but I have never regretted getting an education—only not putting enough energy towards it. If you can find a way to combine the two, relieving the wanderlust now and learning for the futire—do it.

Besides, it’s good practice towards finding ways to combine two things in your future—mixing work and travel.

You shouldn’t worry too much about the money. It’s true that Europe is expensive, but if you just know how to handle, if you look careful for cheap products I’m sure you will find very easy.
p.s.: Go to Wien in Austria! It’s beautiful out there!