I took advantage of the strong US dollar to spend 11 days touring Spain — and it was completely worth it

When I studied abroad in London in 2008, the British pound was worth roughly 1.7 times the US dollar.

Visiting my friends in continental Europe, where the Euro was worth about 1.3 USD, felt like a bargain at the time.

So when EUR and USD inched closer to equal value over this past winter, Americans started to get excited. "Thanks to a strong dollar, it is now the best time for Americans to travel abroad," headlines exclaimed. "It's now cheaper to travel to Europe than it has been in years."

I took the advice of the internet at large and booked an 11 day trip to the Balearic Islands off the southern coast of Spain with a friend: Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca, and Menorca.

Before I tell you how it went, let me be upfront about one thing: I could have done it cheaper. I could have stayed in hostels and spent eight hours on a ferry between islands instead of shelling out more for flights. I could have begrudged every 10€ admission, refused to rent a car, and never set foot in a restaurant.

But I didn't do any of that.

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In the fall of 2014, I started setting up email alerts for flights in May 2015. In December, a $777 round trip, with a short layover in Switzerland, came available and I grabbed it. Summer is the high season, so by traveling in May, the "shoulder season," we avoided the highest prices.

The Balearic Islands — Ibiza, the party island, and Mallorca, the island of vacation villas, in particular — are known for being luxury resorts and favorites of celebrities and millionaires alike. They are also extremely beautiful, which is why we wanted to go.

Our first stop was Ibiza, where we stayed for three nights in the most expensive accommodations of our trip: an oceanview AirBnb flat in Platja d'en Bossa for $860. My friend and I split every hotel cost, and we paid for flights and hotels from the US, which is why they're listed in USD. It didn't end up being anything too special, so I won't show it here.