Ahh, the beauty of Big Ben and Parliament on the banks of the River Thames. Unfortunately today, to visit London it will will cost you at least $2.05 to buy one Pound, and thats not including the service charge from your currency exchanger or your bank.

This is really unfortunate for tourists of almost all countries. Even mainland Europe will be paying at least 40% more for their Euros. For Americans, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, Springboks and just about anyone else, this is nightmarish and almost not worth it. Thats terrible because London is such a great city and worth a visit but at these prices, why not go elsewhere.

London has always been expensive and the Pound has always been the most highly valued of the major currencies. But this is ridiculous. The dollar is trading at lows versus a lot of the majors which makes going to Europe extremely expensive. The Euro is trading at $1.38 per Euro which is a ton more than most Americans want to pay. It is tough. Eastern Europe is much cheaper but coming up in price nonetheless.

I keep thinking about the good old days when it was possible to shoot out to Europe to Paris or Florence and do all of your shopping; paying in Lira or Francs where the rates were very favorable to the dollar. The introduction of the Euro and the drastic drop of the dollar has really hurt our ability to really go all out in Europe. Everything from hotels to food, to transport and shopping are at historic highs and with more people traveling than ever before it won’t end anytime soon.

This is unfortunate for us but like anything else, it is cyclical and hopefully will start to come down soon, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. With regards to my favorite city, London…stay in a hostel or a cheap hotel and still go see it. It has so much to offer and once you try the food you will understand why the British travel so much, haha.

Sharing is caring!