Is this a good year for UK residents to visit the Usa?
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011As of the date of this article you could get 1.5883 greenbacks in return for every pound when you buy US dollars online. As late as May of 2011, the rate was around 1.4706. This is over 10% more than you could get last year. Ten percent more to indulge yourself in diners or amusement parks. 10% more to spend on your motel or to go do some shopping with, or even to save towards your next trip.
There are a large amount of other reasons to go to the United States. The airfares are relatively inexpensive. The U. S. is still one of the safest places to visit. They speak English (well at least a version of it), and the US has a wide variety of visitor destinations available to choose between. There are good towns like New york City and San Francisco. You cold visit the Statue of Freedom, The Empire State Building, The Guggenheim Museum or the Golden Gate Bridge. There are places with great beaches. You could visit a relaxing beach with tiny wave action on the Gulf of Mexico, or go surfing on the Atlantic coast of Florida, or even on a Pacific beach in California. You might see glaciers in Alaska, or tour the Grand Canyon in Arizona. There's even a rain forest you can visit in Washington state. You could visit Amish country in Pennsylvania, go hiking in the Appalachians, or go antiquing and see the fall colors in historical New England. Wherever you choose to go, the best thing is your money will go 10 per cent further than it might have last year.
When you are exchanging money there are a couple of things to watch out for. Usually exchanging cash is best done at a bank. It will regularly cost more if you do it at your hotel or at the airfield. Also look into the rate you can exchange cash for before you leave home. That's often referred to as selling currency (as opposed to buying it when you arrive). The rate differences between buying and selling currency can be discernible, and you wish to make sure you select the best one. Try and make a precise appraisal of how much money you want to exchange, before you take the plunge, as you lose a little p.c. in any transaction, and there is no use exchanging too many pounds only to be forced to convert new pounds back to greenbacks.
Try and plan your currency conversions in advance. Americans aren't always used to accepting foreign currency. Apart from hostels in major visitor destinations, merchants may insist that you convert your pounds some place else before you shop with them. This is particularly true if your trip will include rural destinations or anything off the well trodden route.
Like with any tourist destination, visitors to the US should guard their cash fastidiously. Consider buying traveler’s checks or employing a money belt. You might want to utilise credit cards in some examples, but be cautious about the exchange rate. If you are going to buy an item in one currency, and pay in another, most credit companies will charge you a charge. They also may convert the currency using a rate that doesn't compare favourably with the one you could get at a bank. Some items that are dear in Great Britain are cheaper in the USA and vice versa. To get the most out of the 10% bonanza, you'll need to get the articles that fall into the previous category before you leave, and wait until you arrive in the States to get the others.
If you're one of those people that has always had difficulty with arithmetic, you'll find currency converters available online. Just make absolutely certain you are going the right direction! You should usually finish up with more dollars than you had pounds.
The US has a large range of temperatures, so take under consideration all the places that you plan to visit when you pack. You do not want to blow your extra 10% of new found money buying attire you had not planned to buy as you aren't comfortable. Plan carefully, find a great US destination and enjoy having 10% more cash to spend than you would have last year, all thanks to the current rate of exchange!
George Thomas is a currency expert based in Birmingham, England. He recommends Fair FX as your money transfer supplier.
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