The US dollar is getting stronger, the price of gas is way down, and hotel rates are sinking fast. So Travelocity's senior editor, Genevieve Shaw Brown, predicts that 2009 will be the Year of the Travel Deal. If you can afford a vacation at all, you may be able to get one of the best you've ever had next year...

"Because of the sharp drop off in bookings, we're seeing some pretty deep discounts to just about everywhere," Brown told the Associated Press recently. "It's definitely going to be a buyers' market next year."

The role of the exchange rate will be a key. According to the AP, in April it cost $1.60 to buy a euro. As of mid-December, a euro cost just $1.36, meaning your US dollar goes nearly 20 percent farther now. And if you're spending American dollars, you're buying power is also up at the moment in Canada and Australia.