Escorted & Package Tours

Package Deals for the Independent Traveler

Before you start your search for the lowest airfare, you might want to consider booking your flight as part of a travel package such as an escorted tour or a package tour. What you lose in adventure, you'll gain in time and money saved when you book accommodations, and maybe even food and entertainment, along with your flight.

Package tours are not the same thing as escorted tours. With a package tour, you travel independently but pay a group rate. Packages usually include airfare, a choice of hotels, and car rentals, and packagers often offer several options at different prices. In many cases, a package that includes airfare, hotel, and transportation to and from the airport will cost you less than just the hotel alone would have, had you booked it yourself. That's because packages are sold in bulk to tour operators -- who resell them to the public at a cost that drastically undercuts standard rates.

One good source of package deals is the airlines themselves. Most major airlines offer air/land packages, including American Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/321-2121; www.aavacations.com), Delta Vacations (tel. 800/221-6666; www.deltavacations.com), US Airways Vacations (tel. 800/455-0123; www.usairwaysvacations.com), Continental Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/301-3800; www.covacations.com), and United Vacations (tel. 888/854-3899; www.unitedvacations.com).

Vacation Together (tel. 877/444-4547; www.vacationtogether.com) allows you to search for and book packages offered by a number of tour operators and airlines. The United States Tour Operators Association's website (www.ustoa.com) has a search engine that allows you to look for operators that offer packages to a specific destination. Travel packages are also listed in the travel section of your local Sunday newspaper. Liberty Travel (tel. 888/271-1584; www.libertytravel.com), one of the biggest packagers in the Northeast, often runs full-page ads in Sunday papers. Or check ads in the national travel magazines such as Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, and Condé Nast Traveler.

To save time comparing the price and value of all the package tours out there, consider calling TourScan Inc. (tel. 800/962-2080; www.tourscan.com). Every season the company gathers and computerizes the contents of about 200 brochures containing 10,000 different vacations in the Caribbean. Write to TourScan for their catalogs, costing $4 each, the price of which is credited to any TourScan vacation.

Other options for general independent packages include:

Just-A-Vacation (tel. 800/683-6313 or 301/559-0510; www.justavacation.com) specializes in all-inclusive upscale resorts in Puerto Rico.

AAA Island Tours, 1759 Pinero Ave., Summit Hills, San Juan (tel. 787/793-3688; www.aaaislandtours.com), offers some good packages ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks.

Escorted General Interest Tours

An escorted tour is a structured group tour with a group leader. The price usually includes everything from airfare to hotel, meals, tours, admission costs, and local transportation.

Puerto Rico Tours, Condo Inter-Suite, Suite 5M, on Isla Verde in San Juan (tel. 787/306-1540 or 787/791-5479; www.puertorico-tours.com), offers specially conducted private sightseeing tours of Puerto Rico, including trips to the rainforest, Luquillo Beach, the caves of Camuy, and other attractions, such as a restored Taíno Indian village.

Backstage Partners (tel. 787/791-0099; www.backstagepartners.com) offers customized tours that take in a wide range of island attractions, including eco-tours, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling, safaris, and golf packages.

Other leading escorted tour operators include Atlantic San Juan Tours (tel. 787/644-9841; www.puertoricoexcursions.com), which helps you take in all the major sights of the island from Ponce to El Yunque; and Sunshine Tours (tel. 866/785-3636; www.puerto-rico-sunshinetours.com), which covers much the same ground as the others. Legends of Puerto Rico (tel. 787/605-9060; www.legendsofpr.com) hosts personalized tours, specializing in entertaining cultural and nature adventure tours.

Value: Great Discounts through the LeLoLai VIP Program

With San Juan's LeLoLai VIPs (Value in Puerto Rico) free program, you can enjoy the equivalent of up to $250 in travel benefits. You'll get discounts on admission to folklore shows, guided tours of historic sites and natural attractions, lodgings, meals, shopping, activities, and more. Of course, most of the experiences linked to LeLoLai are of the rather touristy type, but it can still be worth joining the program.

With membership, the paradores puertorriqueños, the island's modestly priced network of country inns, give cardholders 10% to 20% lower room rates Monday through Thursday. Discounts of 10% to 20% are offered at many restaurants, from San Juan's toniest hotels to several mesones gastronómicos, government-sanctioned restaurants that serve Puerto Rican fare. Shopping discounts are offered at many stores and boutiques, and, best yet, cardholders get 10% to 20% discounts at many island attractions.

The card also entitles you to free admission to some of the island's folklore shows. For more information about this card, call tel. 787/722-1709 or go to the Centro de Información Turística, Plaza Darsenas, Old San Juan. Although you can call for details before you leave home, you can only sign up for this program once you reach Puerto Rico. Many hotel packages include participation in this program as part of their offerings.