Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Ask me about Mexico and Central America

I’m pretty good about answering e-mails from readers, even if they do sometimes want me to serve as their surrogate guidebook and travel agent (ahem). But a lot of questions are common ones that more than one person is asking, which is why Budget Travel magazine’s Trip Coach online chat is such a good idea. I’m on it this coming Tuesday.

Each week they have a different expert on to talk about a specific style of travel or a specific part of the world. Since I’ve got a new planning guide on Mexico and Central America coming out at the end of this month, I’m coming on to chat about that region. Submit a question!

I think the timing of my co-author and I was pretty fortunate on this release. The dollar is tumbling even further, yet it’s still 2005 in this region. The economies and currencies are too tied to the U.S., plus in Panama and El Salvador they even use our money. So if you’re American, this is a safe refuge where you can still feel rich. If you are European and are coming here, you are rich. You’ll be flabbergasted at how far your money goes, especially if you avoid the purpose-built tourist trap resort areas, like Cancun and Los Cabos.

For those in the U.S., there’s also the benefit of relatively inexpensive flights (compared to flying to Europe or Asia) and there’s no jet lag to deal with. Almost anyplace you go you’re on Central or Mountain time. No daylight savings time though in most of these countries, so you might have to change your watch after this weekend.