The single greatest travel bargain continues to be the air-and-land packages to Barbados for vacation trips in September and October. Obviously subsidized by the Barbados government (a fact they've never denied), one-week trips to that faraway and rather elegant island are priced in the mid-$500s in these two, early-fall months, including not simply seven nights of lodging with daily breakfast but round-trip air there from as far away as New York -- and airport-to-hotel transfers.

I've been reminded about the Barbados promotion by an urgent e-mail from the enterprising Atlas Vacations of Brooklyn, New York, which lists the following September prices for an air-included (on an Air Jamaica flight) week-long hotel stay (at the Golden Sands Hotel):

• From Miami: $326 per person
• From New York: $430
• From Philadelphia: $478
• From Chicago: $552
• From Atlanta: $506
• From Orlando: $529

There is no single supplement to these rates. And thus, amazingly, single persons traveling alone pay no more than each member of a couple traveling together. But you'll need to add $150 for airport transfers and taxes (a transfer being necessary from the somewhat remotely-located airport of Barbados). Packages go up by about $100 for departures in October.

As I've said, these particular rates and conditions are available from Atlas Vacations (tel. 800/634-1057; www.atlasvacations.net; note: the website does not properly render without Internet Explorer or a PC). It's my guess that Atlas has space in late September and October, unlike one or two other tour operators that shut down their "Best of Barbados" program at that time.

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Labels: barbados

Subsidized by the government of Barbados, which scarcely attempts to conceal its involvement in the promotion, "The Best of Barbados" brings you round-trip air to that elegant and faraway island, and seven nights of accommodations at beachfront hotels, with breakfast daily, for rates as low as $485 from New York and for as little as $399 (and less) from gateways like Charlotte, North Carolina. You have probably been among the many travel-savvy people who have blinked their eyes, and disbelieved what they were seeing, when they spotted the prices of this heavily-advertised program.

The rates are correct, but the dates aren't often revealed until you move into the process of booking the bonanza. If you'll go to such websites as that of CheapCaribbean.com (tel. 800/915-2322; www.cheapcaribbean.com), or Liberty Travel (tel. 877/823-7777; www.libertytravel.com), you'll discover that the remaining dates of availability are all in the month of September, and sometimes only in the latter half of September. I'm not criticizing that policy of limiting an offer which would otherwise bankrupt that island-nation if it were too generous, but I am pointing out a sensible caution. "The Best of Barbados" is perhaps the most spectacular bargain in travel today (it's offered at near-unbelievable prices from scores of U.S. cities), but it's limited in time. Hold your breath until you first realize it's only in September (and sometimes only for limited dates in September) when you can obtain air-and-land to Barbados for a cheaper price than to any other tropical island.

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Labels: barbados, deals

Their computer system is not the greatest (and users of Macs will shun them entirely), but Atlas Vacations, founded many years ago by Jamaican ex-pats, continues to offer stunning air-and-land packages throughout the year. For departures in July, August and September, in particular, their offerings are remarkable for persons willing to take the risk of stormy weather at that time. Consider the following:

To Jamaica, their top bargain, they'll fly you in July, August or September round-trip to the Shields Hotel in Negril for seven nights of hotel accommodations starting from:

• $394 from Miami
  
• $441 from Orlando
  
• $557 from Los Angeles (and that unusually low price from the west coast is no mistake)
  
• $568 from New York
  
• $588 from Philadelphia
  
• $596 from Chicago
  
• $598 from Baltimore
  
• $664 from Charlotte

Extra nights are $35 per person, and single supplement is $245.

To Barbados, Atlas will fly you there round-trip, and put you up for seven nights in a studio apartment of the Hotel Golden Sands, at the following base-prices:

• $698 from Miami
  
• $795 from New York, Philadelphia, Boston or Baltimore
  
• $713 from Charlotte
  
• $770 from Los Angeles

Extra night rate is $59 per person; single supplement is $350.

You can book by calling 800/634-1057 or by accessing www.atlasvacations.net via Internet Explorer (please note this site does not display properly using a Firefox browser). Bear in mind that airport transfers are not included and are your own responsibility.

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Labels: barbados, caribbean, negril, tour companies

It's interesting to note that the top travel bargains currently advertised in the newspaper travel sections include not a single package to Europe, even though low-season airfares are still partly in effect over the Atlantic. Rather, the Sunday newspapers are full of offers to the Caribbean, whose most dramatic travel bargain -- available from most major tour operators to the Caribbean -- is a one-week stay in Barbados for only $369, including round-trip air from the northeast.

Close runners-up are air-and-land packages to the Maya Riviera, that stretch of Mexico's Caribbean Coast that lies immediately south of Cancún. It has seen so much new hotel construction in the past several months that hotel rooms are widely available at breathtaking low rates.

For an interesting cultural adventure at low cost, you might consider treating yourself to Barbados or the Maya Riviera in April or May.

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Labels: barbados, mexico

Several weeks ago, I disclosed the details of an off-season $399 air-and-land package to Barbados (from Charlotte, NC) operated by Atlas Vacations (tel. 800/634-1057; www.atlasvacations.net). It was obvious that the package was subsidized by the government of Barbados, and that fact has subsequently been confirmed by a well-known Caribbean specialist who was interviewed (and pre-recorded) by me for last Sunday's broadcast (www.wor710.com) of the Travel Show.

I have now received a press release from Atlas Vacations that they are reducing the price of the package for the month of September to $250 per person. That's for round-trip air from Charlotte to the very British island of Barbados (add-on fares are available from most other major U.S. cities), and seven nights of accommodations with breakfast daily at the Golden Sands Hotel, along with extras. It's clear that Barbados is anxious for a torrent of tourists to their island in the worst of the off-season months (September), which brings in its wake a great deal of spending by those tourists in restaurants and shops.

I can't think of a better way to list the details and conditions of the package than to simply reprint the language of the press release. It follows below, and it needs to be supplemented only y my own words of strong recommendation for Barbados. This is an exquisite island of friendly people, fairly prosperous as the Caribbean goes, with superb beaches, an exciting capital city, good public bus transportation for getting around, and excellent fish-fry restaurants. At $250 per person from Charlotte, only slightly more from other cities, you'd be remiss to pass up the opportunity.

Details from Atlas' press release:

Includes: Round-trip airfare from Charlotte, 7 nights' hotel accommodations, breakfast daily. Rates are per person based upon double occupancy only; single and Children rates are additional. Not Included: Add departure taxes and transfers of $150.00 per person; departure taxes from Barbados is not included which is approximately $20.

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Labels: barbados, deals

The island of Barbados is usually a pricey place; the airfare going there is high and the cost of lodgings is relatively high. But everything changes in the months of May, June and July when several tour operators suddenly and inexplicably announce a totally atypical "Best of Barbados" program at rates lower than you'd pay for packages to the ultra-cheap Dominican Republic! (I think it's fair to infer that subsidies of the Barbados government support that abnormal price condition).

However the bargain comes about, "Best of Barbados" is back for May, June and July of this year -- and it's an exciting offer. A New York tour operator called Atlas Vacations (the first to announce) will take you to that exquisite, British-flavored island, for a seven-night stay at the Golden Sands Hotel for only $538 per person including round-trip air from New York, Philadelphia or Baltimore, $419 including air from Miami, $565 from Charlotte, and $696 including air from Los Angeles.

There are big bonuses, too: a free fish-fry dinner at a famous Barbados restaurant, big discounts on various ground activities, a free rental car for one day when you book for two days. What's more, your room at the Golden Sands for seven nights is a studio apartment, and you get Full American Breakfast each day. When you consider that most other packagers provide only four or five days in a standard hotel room, this air-and-seven-nights-hotel deal is a real bonanza.

Contact Atlas Vacations at tel. 800/634-1057 or at www.atlasvacations.net.

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Labels: barbados, deals

The next three months will see a unique opportunity to vacation on the island of Barbados for a fraction of the normal cost. Because of its distance from the U.S. and the high level of its price structure, Barbados is usually one of the more expensive of the Caribbean islands to visit. Its hotels are mainly elegant and patronized by well-off British travelers. Its atmosphere is tea-party-British. Its judges wear white wigs and its population is a rather formal lot.

But in the Caribbean off-season, its government works hard, and offers subsidies, to attract tourism from up north. And a well-regarded, 20-year-old New York tour operator called Atlas Vacations will again offer a yearly "Best of Barbados Sale" for stays from September 1 to November 15. This year, the price is as little as an amazing $399 from New York, only slightly more from other cities, for round-trip airfare to Barbados, seven nights of accommodations in a studio oceanfront room at the Rostrevor Apartment Hotel, full breakfast daily, and all hotel taxes.
You call tel. 800/634-1057 or access www.visitatlasvacations.com, and pay $399 per person from New York or Philadelphia, $438 from Baltimore, $483 from Miami or Charlotte, $533 from Boston, and $545 from Los Angeles. I can't help but conclude that these bargain rates are brought about with the assistance of the government of Barbados. You'd do well to take advantage of their generosity.

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Labels: barbados, deals