Veteran globetrotters still reminisce over the halcyon days before 2000 when luxury travel was attainable even for those Americans with only house-wine budgets.

The dollar was strong and stable against all currencies and had remained for 50 years the currency of choice among most countries in the world. For dedicated travelers, purchasing with dollars was as good as it gets.

Whatever the monetary climate, budgeteers will always find relative bargains in economy airfares and cheap hostels around the globe, but luxury lovers have suffered severe strains to their wallets in this decade.

The tidal shift in the global balance of spending power is dead serious for anyone traveling on the dollar but especially when only the best will do.

And just about everyone in the hospitality and travel industry is aware of the current U.S. financial crisis.

I read a report last week that even the most venerable watering hole in Venice was jibing at our pain with a cardboard sign declaring, "In an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, Harry's Bar of Venice has decided to give them a special 20 percent discount on all items on the menu."

And if you want an excellent example of how the costs of travel have increased since the beginning of the millennium, look at Canada, where average daily room rates have declined 10 percent in Canadian dollars since 2000 but increased 20 percent in greenbacks.

Just last November, the currency of our neighbor to the north surpassed the U.S. dollar in value for the first time ever.

And the result for Canada, just as for more distant destinations, is that fewer and fewer Americans are going there.

This monetary downturn is quite a come-uppance for Americans who have been accustomed to crisscrossing the globe with the world's strongest currency jingling in their pockets.

The dollar has been in a rout, and upscale travelers are compelled to plan their indulgences in a new and completely different travel landscape.

Following are reality checks, compiled by journalist Alexander Zaitchik, on a few popular destinations whose escalating prices since the glory days of 2000 have made the wealthy wince — and the budget-challenged traveler become more inventive.

Bangkok, Thailand: After the Asian financial crisis of 1997, when irresistible rates prevailed, Westerners flocked to Thailand for cheap shopping and sybaritic creature comforts.

Today, hotel prices in the deluxe-to-luxury categories have soared 55 percent, with no ceiling in sight.

Prague, Czech Republic: Once considered a travel bargain compared to its Western European neighbors, the Czech capital is rapidly losing its monetary advantage, with some costs running 70 percent to 80 percent ahead of 2000. Prague's posh shopping boulevard, Parizska, is now one of the most expensive addresses in all of Europe. A fine dinner on Vltava now runs to at least $200, more than double what it was in 2000.

The Czech koruna is already pegged to the euro, which will become the official local currency around 2012. When that happens, expect to pay even more for that once-famously-cheap Czech beer.

Beijing: It's becoming more and more pricey to spend a night in one of the Chinese capital's better hotels. As recently as a few years ago, you could still sleep five-star for $60 a night, but room prices in anticipation of the Olympics and beyond have risen steeply as the dollar declines.

New luxe developments in the Chinese capital, including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Intercontinental and Amanresorts, will sport ultra-ouchy five-star pricing.

Moscow: A luxury-class traveler visiting the Russian capital for the first time since the economic crisis of 1997 would have a hard time recognizing the city.

The economy is surging at a clip reflected in room rates. Before 2000, the best rooms in the city cost about $800 a night, an exorbitant price for the times. This figure would now rank toward the bottom of a rate chart for top-level accommodations.

London: As expensive as the Eurozone — the 15 European states that have adopted the euro as their official currency — has become for Americans, it is rivaled in cost by Britain and its pound sterling.

Like the euro, the pound has steadily increased in value against the dollar over the last several years. In 2000, a grand suite at one of London's premier hotels would have cost about $1,100 per night. Today, that same suite can be booked by American guests for about $1,600. (The ultimate sticker shock: On a recent foray through Harrod's men's department, my husband examined a simple wool-plaid scarf and dropped it like a hot potato when he mentally converted the price tag: $1,982.)

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Similar to so many other Asian cities, Vietnam's capital has seen a boom in its luxury sector in recent years as its economy expands, and that means bidding farewell to the low prices that drew Americans like magnets. Four- and five-star hotels in 2000 averaged between $120 and $150 per room.

Those same rooms now range from $180 to $340 and are creeping upward. The better restaurants in the city cost about 30 percent more than they did at the beginning of the decade.

The United States: The weak dollar has had an unexpected effect on domestic hotel prices. From Manhattan to Las Vegas to Hawai'i, the declining greenback has drawn increased numbers of European vacationers to America and kept more U.S. vacationers inside our nation's borders. This dynamic has decreased room availability and increased average rates. Nationally, 72 percent of hotel rooms were occupied over Memorial Day weekend, the highest level since 2000. In New York, the average room rate spiked 5.5 percent in the last 12 months, to $304.52.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.