While scarcely anyone has paid attention to it, the Canadian dollar has fallen to a rate of One U.S. Dollar equals $1.25 Canadian dollars.  And in Mexico, amazingly enough, you now receive nearly 14 pesos for one U.S. Dollar, as compared with the 10 pesos you received about a year ago.  While everone has been following the fate of the Euro and the British Pound, the currency shifts in our closest neighbors may have an even greater impact on our vacation plans.

At its cheapest several years ago, the Canadian Dollar sold at a rate of $1.35 Canadian for one U.S. dollar.  Americans traveling within Canada thus found that most prices were nearly 40% cheaper than we were normally accustomed to spend.  Then, in more recent years, the Canadian dollar sold at near-par to the U.S. dollar, and Canada seemed just as pricey as here.

Now, the former situation of "Bargain Canada" has returned.  Change your American dollars for Canadian Dollars and you, the American visitor, enjoy an advantage of nearly 25%.  The cost of traveling in Canada has suddenly (and inexplicably) become cheaper, and you might want to dust off those plans for a theater weekend in Toronto, a fling at those casinos in Montreal and Quebec, a  driving vacation through the awesome Canadian national parks of Jasper and Banff.

Mexico is even cheaper (for holders of the U.S. dollar, that is).  Provided only that you can arrange to pay for hotels, meals, sightseeing and shopping in Mexican pesos, you now receive about 40% more value than before.

Keep in mind, of course, that most resort hotels in Mexico quote their room rates in U.S. dollars, to begin with, and the recent shift in currency rates won't make you any better off those accommodations.  But for all the other purchases you make in  pesos--meals at local restaurants, purchases at stores and shops that price their goods in pesos, taxi rides, sightseeing tours priced in pesos, etc., etc., you now enjoy a bonanza.

Pay close attention to the currency rates for Canadian dollars and Mexican pesos (one way is to consult www.xe.com), and you may have reason to choose Canada or Mexico for your next vacation.