That means you’ll save more than $100 on four nights at a hotel that costs 200 euros a night, and a 28 euro train ticket from Rome to Florence will cost $37 instead of $41 — small change in some cases, but the savings add up over a 10-day vacation.

According to travel executives and industry analysts, the strengthening dollar, combined with fading panic over the economy and Americans’ fondness for cobblestone streets and Riviera promenades, has already contributed to an increase in bookings to Europe this summer.

“Leisure travelers are really back,” said Jean-Philippe Pérol, the United States chairman of the European Travel Commission, which expects overall peak travel to be up slightly this year, though tempered by soft business travel numbers.

That bullish leisure travel outlook meshes with double-digit increases in summer bookings to Europe, as reported by American Express, with London, Paris, Rome, Athens and Barcelona as the top five destinations so far.

The Airlines Reporting Corporation, which handles ticketing for most travel agencies in the United States, has seen about a 20 percent increase in the number of tickets sold through March for travel in May and June to Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain — sales that a company spokesman called “phenomenal.”

But with the number of seats on flights to Europe this summer remaining about the same as last, the laws of supply and demand are working in the airlines’ favor, allowing them to raise prices as more people plan trips.

“Fares to Western Europe are up 17 percent,” said Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor at Travelocity, referring to tickets the company sold through March for travel from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

“That’s not to say that getting a decent fare is out of the question,” Ms. Shaw Brown said, suggesting that booking a flight and hotel package was one way to save. “But it’s going to be a lot harder this year than last to score a last-minute deal.”

Prices also vary depending on your destination.

According to Travelocity’s sales data, the average round-trip fare to Western Europe was $1,330, compared with $1,141 in the same period last year, but the price is roughly the same as it was in 2008. The average fare to Eastern Europe is actually down 5 percent, to $1,255. Flying to Dublin is still generally less expensive, with an average fare of $1,006.

While fare information is fuzzy until actual tickets are sold, the consensus among fare watchers is that prices to Europe will be higher this summer, owing in part to increased demand and to reduced competition on trans-Atlantic routes.” (via nytimes.com) by SUSAN STELLIN

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click Here to read the rest of – Europe-Save Money once you land!

Travelers in our Fodor forums recently shared their tips for keeping money and other necessities safe while traveling abroad…
For example, some minimize pickpocketing risk by investing in an inconspicuous day pack, or splitting cash and credit cards with a travel partner…

Below are some other useful strategies…

Tip #1: Don’t carry your wallet in your back pocket
“Resistant at first to the idea of keeping his wallet in his front pocket, my husband is now sold on the idea after several instances where he detected his back pocket being checked out by a stray hand, (we were in crowded areas).” — brioche

Tip #2: Divide and conquer
“I put my 1-2 day’s need of cash in my wallet. If there’s extra cash I have, I split it up into various inside zippered pockets within my bag. CC and ATM cards go inside other pockets in my bag.” — yk

Tip #3: Do not treat a money belt like a wallet
“A money belt is not a substitute for a handbag or wallet. It is essentially a ‘body safe’. You do not access it during the day or in public. It is for the surplus cash, back up ATM and/or credit card, passport.
Not for your walking around money — use a handbag/wallet just like you would at home.” — janisj

Tip #4: Or ditch that money belt all together
“A million years ago when I started traveling I used a money belt all the time, and carried a nifty backpack or daypack that just screamed ‘tourist.’ Now, I carry a regular purse that is big enough to hold a pocket umbrella, map, camera and whatever guidebook I am carrying that day, but doesn’t advertise ‘strange person in a strange land.’ I finally realized that I live in a major metropolitan city that is a huge tourist area, so if the way I’m dressing at home isn’t attracting pickpockets, I should try to replicate that when visiting another tourist area.” — tejana

Tip #5: Get crafty with your clothes
“I usually travel in the fall and have my black microfiber raincoat. I made a pocket with a zipper and sewed it to the inside of the raincoat so I can carry something in there. I use a money belt but only keep out cash for the day. If I keep out any large amount, I separate it and carry it in different places on my body. With using ATMs it isn’t like when we would carry large sums of money from home.” — bratsandbeer

Tip #6: Don’t make a scene rifling through your money
“The best way to carry money is QUIETLY, wherever you are…Distractions are just as likely to make you leave something behind, or carelessly turn your back…There’s no need to fear pickpockets once you’re aware that they will work tourist areas. Carry as little with you as you can, so it can be as close to you as possible.” — tomassocroccante ” (via fodors.com)

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for the other six tips for Safely Carrying Money in Europe