I don’t believe in bargaining anymore.

A few years ago, I couldn’t have disagreed more. As someone of South Asian heritage, I always felt wandering through markets, haggling with vendors, and negotiating a price down by 50 percent was like unlocking an ancestral achievement badge: the real reward was bragging about it later and earning the respect of my aunties.

Somewhere along the way, though, my thinking changed.

Maybe it was growing up. Maybe it was witnessing poor tourist behavior. Maybe it was realizing that paying more than a local doesn’t automatically mean I’m getting ripped off. Mostly, though, it was recognizing that I’d started treating bargaining like a game to win.

Hi, I’m Susmita Baral, a senior editor at Travel + Leisure, where I cover breaking news across all of experiential travel, from trains and hotels to food and aviation.

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And I’m not saying I’ve stopped shopping. I still love discovering handmade souvenirs and local specialties, whether it’s a woven rug in Mexico or pearl earrings in the Philippines. But these days, I do it differently.

First Up: I Do a Little Reconnaissance

If an item costs roughly the same as something similar does on Etsy, I know I’m probably not stumbling onto some elusive local bargain. If I’m traveling with a guide or know someone local, I’ll ask what a fair price looks like, and whether vendors usually build in room for negotiation. So the goal isn’t to pay the absolute lowest price; it’s to understand the value of what I’m buying.

If something feels wildly overpriced, I politely move on: “Thank you, you have beautiful products, but it’s a little more than I can spend.”

More often than not, that’s enough. Sometimes the price comes down; sometimes it doesn’t. If it’s something I really want, I may ask, “Is that your best price?” And then I’ll decide whether it’s worth it. What I won’t do anymore: Spend 20 minutes trying to shave every possible dollar off a purchase.

Ethicists have pointed out the strange contradiction of spending thousands of dollars on flights and hotels, only to aggressively bargain over amounts that are relatively insignificant to the buyer and far more meaningful to the people they’re buying from. Travelers rarely try to negotiate at hotel check-in, or bargain over the price of a museum ticket—but they’ll spend 10 minutes trying to save a few dollars from the person who likely has the least power in the transaction. Once you notice it, it’s hard to unsee.

There’s something else, too: my vacation time is worth more to me than the benefits of these kinds of negotiations. Once during a lengthy bargaining session in Bangkok’s Chatuchak market, it struck me I was winning the haggle, but losing valuable Pad Thai time.

Part of this comes from secondhand embarrassment. Over the years, I’ve watched otherwise reasonable people become strangely combative when bargaining enters the equation. I’ve seen them use patronizing language while arguing over negligible amounts of money, try to walk off with merchandise, treat vendors like they’re somehow beneath them, and become convinced they’re entitled to a rate they’ve invented in their own heads.

But a big chunk of it comes from something deeper: travel—especially international travel—that includes disposable income for souvenirs is a privilege. (Even in the United States, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, nearly a quarter of Americans have never been abroad, and travel is significantly more common among higher-income households.)

So, when I’m visiting a country where my currency stretches further, why am I fighting so hard? Those few dollars are often insignificant to me—the cost of an airport coffee or a ride-share fare—but for the artisan, shopkeeper, or vendor standing across from me, they may matter a great deal.

For an American, There’s Yet Another Layer to It

Sometimes I find myself standing in a market, thinking about the inherent imbalance that exists before I’ve even opened my wallet. My passport is powerful. My currency is strong. The opportunities available to me are not distributed equally around the world.

I’m not saying I can fix those inequalities by overpaying for a ceramic bowl. But I can stop treating every transaction as a contest.

Now, none of this means bargaining is wrong. Not everyone who bargains is wealthy; for plenty of travelers, every dollar does matter. And in many places and cultures, it’s practically a social activity; refusing to engage at all can be just as awkward as negotiating too aggressively.

In India, not bargaining would make me the laughingstock of my family, who already treat me like a walking foreigner-surcharge, convinced my “outsider aura” inflates prices on sight. My aunts have drilled into me that bargaining is part of the transaction, and paying the asking price is an invitation to be ripped off.

There’s also a very real difference between paying a fair price and being taken advantage of. If I think I’m being scammed, I walk away. If a price is simply outside my budget, I walk away. If a vendor is quoting numbers that bear no resemblance to reality, I walk away. After all, the beauty of a market is that there’s always another stall.

Once a jeweler in Istanbul tried to sell me a turquoise ring for $500. A quick flip revealed it was mostly clay with a turquoise veneer. I left quickly, but not before asking him which other vendors he trusted—purely for the purposes of curating my personal economic-sanctions list.

I once worried that paying anyone’s asking price would make me look naïve. Today I see it differently. Paying for someone’s craftsmanship doesn’t make me foolish—it makes me a participant in the local economy I’ve chosen to visit. And honestly? I’ve also come to think of paying a little more than a local might as a sort of unofficial tourist tax. Not because I’m being duped, but because I have the privilege of being there to make the purchase in the first place.

My wife draws the line on taking the bus to the airport.

But she allows me to use my finance chops to get more for our money.

Hi, I’m Caleb Silver, chief business editor of People Inc., and the editor in chief of Investopedia, where I spend my days explaining how money works and how to make it work for you. No one loves getting a great deal on travel more than me. For years, I’ve driven my wife and two daughters crazy chasing credit-card rewards hacks and ways to save on things like airport transportation and room upgrades—so that we can splurge on the parts of travel we actually remember, like sleeping in a fantastic suite or eating at great restaurants.

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The hottest word in luxury travel right now isn’t luxury.

It’s value.

It’s not that travelers like me are spending less. We want to maximize every travel dollar without sacrificing the experiences that make a trip memorable. And right now, the best travel hack isn’t necessarily a rewards program–it’s the almighty U.S. dollar.

Where the Dollar Goes Far Right Now

The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of global currencies, is up 2.5% from a year ago. Last year, tariff threats and geopolitical uncertainty pressured the dollar, making it painful for U.S. travelers to Europe or Japan. But with the greenback flexing its muscles in 2026, our dollars go a lot further around the world, especially in a few key destinations. In some cases, that currency arbitrage can more than offset high airline prices.

Let me break down a few of the top destinations where the dollar is strongest now.

Japan

For years, I thought of Japan as a splurge destination. Now, thanks to the strength of the dollar, it is one of the best luxury-travel plays in the world. If you’re willing to book outside of cherry-blossom season, a suite at the Conrad Tokyo for one night and a kaiseki dinner for two with wine or sake will cost you less than $1,200. Business-class seats on United Polaris or JAL in July and August are as low as $4,500, while first class starts around $9,000. United rewards members can use their mileage points to offset the cost of affiliate hotels like the Conrad or ANA Intercontinental.

South Africa

This is the destination I’m watching most closely right now, given the weakness in the rand. A chef’s tasting menu for two with wine pairings at Fyn, one of Cape Town’s finest restaurants, can be enjoyed for $150 per person. Airfares to Cape Town from New York are still relatively high, with first-class seats ranging from $8,000 to $15,000, but are half that in business class, and as low as $2,000 in premium economy.

My wife and I can fly business class to Cape Town, stay at one of Africa’s finest hotels, eat and drink at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and take a tour of South Africa’s Winelands with a private guide for 30 percent less than a similar week in Burgundy or the Amalfi Coast would cost.

That’s exactly the kind of trade I’m looking for right now—a similar experience for less money.

South America

Closer to home (and home time zones), several countries in Latin America offer exceptional value, given the weakness of their currencies. The Colombian peso offers most against the dollar, currently trading at about 3,400 to 1. A top tasting-menu in Bogotá or Cartagena can be enjoyed for as low as $50 per person, while a suite at the Elcielo Hotel & Spa in Medellin is available for as low as $350 per night. If you’ve never been to Cartagena, put it on your list. It’s relatively inexpensive to fly there, or you can take a cruise from Miami.

Further south—and colder during our summer—Argentina still offers strong value for U.S. travelers. Luxury travel remains very affordable in Buenos Aires, Patagonia, and throughout the Mendoza wine region. High-end wine lodges have particularly great deals—like Estancia Colome in Salta, home to the oldest winery in the country, which is currently offering suites for $284 per night in July and August. And if you love deep Malbecs and velvety Cabernets like I do, find your way to the Valle de Uco in the Andes foothills. You may never come back.

My New Rule: Four-Star Hotels, Five-Star Experiences

The best decision I’ve made recently is to follow the lead of savvy travelers and adopt the “4-star hotel, 5-star experiences” strategy—because these hotels are where the real value is right now.

My wife and I just did this in Miami, for the World Cup. We flew on Delta using Amex points, stayed at the Kimpton EPIC hotel in downtown Miami, and splurged on ceviche and pisco sours at Jarana, one of our favorite Peruvian restaurants. The hotel was lovely, and at less than $400 per night, I slept like a baby.

The same principle applies overseas. Luxury-hotel prices remain fairly firm, but leveraging weaker currencies, especially in destinations like South Africa and South America, can dramatically bring down the overall price. Rates for rooms during shoulder seasons are even lower. In Cape Town, boutique luxury suites at hotels like Gorgeous George and Camissa House start at around $180 per night, and many include breakfast.

Transferable Points Are the New Flex

I’d argue that the biggest trend with premium credit cards like American Express Platinum and Chase Sapphire isn’t that they’ve raised their annual fees (and yes, we all felt that pinch). It’s that they have all leaned into more flexible points programs, allowing customers to transfer even more of their points to airline or hotel partners. That trend accelerated coming out of the pandemic, as luxury airfares and hotel prices spiked. In addition, apps like Point.me and Roame, not to mention ChatGPT, make it easier than ever for tech-savvy travelers to calculate and maximize their transferable points. That can be very valuable when you’re traveling to a country where the dollar is particularly strong.

For example, a business-class ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo, which costs an average of $6,000, is also available for 75,000 to 100,000 airline points, depending on the season. That’s a redemption value of 6 to 8 cents per point, compared with just 1 to 1.5 cents through most travel portals. In cases like this, it makes most sense to use rewards for the flights and pay cash for hotels and restaurants.

I’ll be using that strategy this summer. My family still won’t let me take the bus to the airport—but with the dollar this strong, that’s a compromise I’m willing to make.

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The first person I contacted after finding out I had cancer wasn’t a family member or a medical professional. She was a publicist for Marriott.

“I’m in for London.”

I’d been invited to run the London Marathon as a media guest of Westin, and while I wasn’t particularly into running, I felt an urgent need to prove to myself that cancer wasn’t going to slow me or my travel schedule down.

I’m Nina Ruggiero, senior editorial director at Travel + Leisure. As the head of our digital content, I’ve covered everything from luxury hotels in Italy and beach getaways in Fiji to Alaskan cruises and the world’s longest flights. Lately, I’ve been exploring the wellness beat, including a babymoon at Sensei Lanai and a women’s retreat at Canyon Ranch.

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And although I haven’t limited my scope exclusively to wellness, I have been running around the world ever since.

I ran the hills of Sicily while planning my destination wedding. I ran the streets of Paris and Rome with one of my colleagues and best friends, who travels for marathons now too. I ran miles back and forth through a tunnel in Mexico, when I had to keep the surgical scar across my neck out of the sun. I ran over boardwalks and man-made beaches connecting stilted bungalows in the Maldives. I ran the early-morning Las Vegas Strip past more walks of shame than I could count.

Most notably, I ran across the London finish line down The Mall by Buckingham Palace, and then another in New York City’s Central Park, that time with my husband by my side.

Meanwhile, “runcations” started to trend. Hotels like the Westin London City added positions like “running ambassador” to their payrolls. One of them is Charlie Watson, an avid marathon runner and dietitian known as @therunnerbeans on Instagram. Her main role is to give guests recommendations on the best routes based on distance, points of interest, safety, and ability. “Running encourages you to look up from your screen, to step off the well-trodden tourist path, and to see the city like a local,” she says.

When I ran London, Raymond Braun was serving as Westin’s global marathon ambassador, and we hit it off over a group dinner on night one of my trip. I was drawn to his genuine enthusiasm for sharing the sport with others. Running helped Raymond recover from debilitating OCD, and he now holds the world record for completing seven triathlons on all seven continents in seven consecutive days. He has run 14 marathons in total, most of them as a guide for runners with disabilities.

“Running has improved my mental health in so many ways,” he says, “and to combine the joy, excitement, and discovery of travel with the routine of running has such a grounding effect for me while I’m on the road.”

I’ll never forget high-fiving Raymond along the London course. He was running with retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant Cedric King, who had both his legs amputated and ran the 26.2 miles on blades.

Running has such profound meaning for Raymond, but sometimes he simply laces up in search of a good cup of matcha. “When I’m in a new environment, I love to put on my running shoes, no headphones or distractions, and just see where my curiosity takes me,” he advises. “I’ll keep an open note on my phone and write down interesting coffee shops, restaurants, or places I discover along the run to look up later.”

Travel journalist Stacey Leasca, my aforementioned colleague and friend, found her first fix in London a year after I did, and now she’s outrunning me everywhere from Portugal to Africa. (She actually got to go for a run with a Maasai warrior in Tanzania—show-off!) “I plot out entire days around a run,” she says. “Running has motivated me to get to know a place before I get there, but it’s also taught me to go with the flow—like when I run by a cute shop and need to press pause and stop in.”

Some of us are looking for stress relief or an energy boost. Some are chasing personal goals, while others aim to burn extra calories before eating their way around a new city. Many are simply looking for an efficient way to explore new neighborhoods and hoping to stumble upon a great bar for an ice-cold post-run beer. But at the end of the day, we’re all chasing a certain type of traveler’s high.

Part of that high comes from the thrill of discovering new paths, and part from a sense of accomplishment—but we’re also fighting off some of the biggest challenges that come with travel in the process.

Another of my best friends, Dr. Kristin McKitish, is a preventative-medicine expert at Evolved Science in NYC, which is one of those places A-listers go to age backward. (If I suddenly start looking younger, you’ll know why.) She also happens to be a fitness freak, so I had to pick her brain about this. Kristin reminded me that travel disrupts the body’s normal rhythms and can cause symptoms like bloating, constipation, fatigue, and even anxiety. “Even a short morning run or walk can make travelers feel noticeably better both physically and mentally,” she said.

And then there’s the benefit of connection. As Charlie put it, “runners have an immediate kinship with one another that transcends languages and cultures.” And while I’ve had a few good chuckles over the endearingly cheesy runner’s nod, she’s right.

But here’s the funny thing: I still don’t know if I actually like running. There have been plenty of times I’ve dreaded it, or wondered why I torture myself with a 10-mile Saturday morning instead of sitting by the pool with a mimosa.

But I do know I’ve never regretted adding a run to my day—or seeing the places my two feet have taken me. After the Queensboro Bridge nearly broke us, I promised my husband the 2025 NYC Marathon would be my last. Yet here I am, with our first baby due in July, waiting in line for a spot in LA’s Nike After Dark Tour half-marathon in October. Just the other day, Abbott World Marathon Majors added Cape Town to its lineup. Stacey texted me immediately. We exchanged big “eyes” emojis. “Should weeeeeee?” she typed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we do.

In case you’re considering a runcation of your own, Raymond sent some tips I had to share:

• “As runners, we can sometimes get caught up in the data (distance, pace, time), but I recommend an entirely different mindset for vacation and travel running: be open to stopping and starting based on what you find. For example, instead of setting your goal as a certain distance, you could make it to run until you’ve discovered 10 new matcha spots.”

• “Make jet lag work for you. If I’m up super early, instead of trying to fall back asleep, I’ll put on my running shoes and go catch a sunrise. Some of my most cherished memories in cities like Tokyo, London, and Auckland involve running and being able to see a normally bustling city in its quieter moments.”

• I am a huge proponent of joining a local run club while you’re traveling. If you don’t find anything off a Google search, look up whether the area you’re visiting hosts a marathon/5K/10K, and reach out to the organizers to see if they recommend any local running groups. You can also visit a local running specialty or fitness store and ask the employees for recommendations.”

• “For the experienced runners: I absolutely love building a vacation around a marathon. Being in a new city during marathon week is extra meaningful, because you not only get all the benefits of exploring the city, there’s also all kinds of special events, pop-ups, panels, etc. specifically for runners, and you get to meet like-minded people from all over the world who share a passion with you.”

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