As September begins and the pound slumps, Simon Calder took readers’ questions for an hour in a live Ask Me Anything session.
Here’s the top pick of queries and answers:
US costs
Q: We will be in Florida for the first two weeks of April 2023. Hotels and motels are looking expensive for these dates. We are wondering whether to hold off booking until the new year? But we are also concerned about the pound weakening against the US dollar over the next few months, which I guess will increase prices too?
A1 Jeco
A: The last place I stayed in Orlando was at the decidedly mid-market Dockside Inn and Suites at the Universal Endless Summer Resort; it’s a reasonably good location, with a huge pool and excellent standards. I have just priced up a room for the first two weeks of April, and it comes out at $3,326. At the moment that converts to £2,853, or £202 per night – including tax but excluding breakfast.
That is about one-third more than I paid in early December 2021, but compared with current rates across the US it represents a fairly decent deal: in August, even for budget motels in the Midwest I was paying £150 for a night at times.
If I knew how the pound would perform against the US dollar I would be sunning myself in Florida right now. The people I have talked to believe that the economic guarantees made by Liz Truss, if she becomes prime minister and actually does what she has promised, will lead to a run on the pound and therefore prices in sterling everywhere abroad would increase.
Conversely, were the next leader to move closer to the European Union (ideologically highly unlikely, but you never know) sterling could strengthen as the nation’s economic prospects improve. But the best way to protect yourself against currency shocks and a range of other issues is to book a proper package holiday.
I sense, though, that you may already have your flights arranged. In that case, you might consider a house-swap – which can work very well for both parties.
Passport advice
Q: I am travelling to Croatia at the end of the month and come back on 2 October. My passport was issued on 2 January 2013 and runs out exactly 10 years later on 2 January 2023. Some chap at easyJet said I should renew my passport before I go, but I don’t think I will have time. Where do I stand?
SCHG1960
A: After the UK’s choice to become “third country nationals” when leaving the EU, two post-Brexit conditions on validity apply to British passports for travel to the European…
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