Trying to budget for a trip overseas isn’t always easy with fluctuating currency exchange rates.

But I don’t measure a prosepective trip cost by the airfare and hotel rates. I look at local goods and services, which is what the citizens of that destination pay for everything from a bus ride to toothpaste.

And for years, one of the best indicators of the true cost of travel is the Big Mac Index.

It’s run each year by The Economist, and it tracks the cost of a McDonald’s Big Mac in major cities around the world, and the price differentials are astounding.

Want a Big Mac in Venezuela? It will set you back a whopping $8.35.

If you want one in Beirut, it costs 37,000 Lebanese pounds. But don’t worry, that works out to just $1.68.

And how about other Big Mac bargains?

Those are in Vietnam, Turkey and South Africa.

The priciest burgers, other than Venezuela, are in Switzerland, Norway and the United States.