[kealina]

When you travel internationally or within your country, how much of an affect does the exchange rate/prices have on your decision?

i don't know that it has an affect on where we go... it might have an effect on when we go or how long we go for... what and how much we buy and what we spend on...

People sometimes wonder why I choose destinations like Bosnia, Croatia, Poland, Hungary. Well, they are intersting, fascinating places. And, they are cheaper than other fascinating places. I am sure Paris and Venice are incredible, but I'd be hard pressed to find $13 rooms and $1 cappucinos.

lol, welcome to Vietnam... we went there two years ago and had a blast... it's a fascinating place with a lot of culture and tons of fun to explore...the airfare was the most expensive thing at around $1,000 for each of us.... we spend less than $500 for 2 hotel rooms our entire trip... we were there for 5 weeks and we did quite a bit of shopping (for x-mas and for us), got some clothing tailor made, etc, etc and still didn't spend more than $1,000 including food... gotta love those 50 cent expresso and $1 french bread sandwiches... yummy...
i love it when the price exchange is that favorable because money goes so far and it's kind of fun to splurge as a change of pace...
we got haircuts for $1 each, partway thru we went to a hotel and got a 1/2 hr massage for $10, and right before we came home we went to a salon and for $12 we both got pedicures/manicures, facial and our hair washed... it was great...

When you travel, is it already in the realm of splurge so price is not too much of a concern? Or is the choice of destination made with reagrd to how strong the dollar (or your currency) is in the destination country?

same as the first answer above for the most part... for us, price is usually something we at least take into account... we might decide to spend anyway but that's after weighing how much it's worth to us...