April 2, 2004 -- Three times the size of Illinois (and then some), the Iberian Peninsula contains two countries and every type of terrain imaginable. We've corralled a hefty herd of bargains that will get you there, whether it's to take in sultry and sophisticated cities, to veg out on a sunsoaked beach or hike through the mountainous countryside.
Go Today, extending booking deadlines at our request, are now available through April 8, and include some beauts. The "Barcelona Supersale" starts from just $599 out of Washington, D.C. with six nights in the Coronado hotel, continental breakfast daily, hotel taxes and service charges, and airport transfers per itinerary. You may have to book now, but you can travel all the way through June 7, a perfectly pleasant time of the year before the heavy heat settles in. Other gateway prices: from Philadelphia $629, Chicago $679 and from Newark or Houston $719.
For the "Madrid Supersale" you get more of the same: The starting price is $699 out of Washington, $729 from Philadelphia, $799 from Chicago, and $819 out of Newark or Houston and includes your roundtrip airfare, six nights' lodging at the Principe Pio hotel and morning meals.
If you can't make the April 8 deadline, a similar package, the "Barcelona Special," is available from $949 for travel from July 1 through August 31, 2004. It includes the roundtrip air (at this price, from New York or Newark), six nights of lodging at the Coronado Hotel in Barcelona, daily continental breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges, and copies of a guidebook (while the latter last).
As with all programs, additional gateways to those mentioned are available. Check out www.gotoday.com. You'll incur a $20 charge if you book by phone at 425/487-9632.
Reliable Gate 1 Travel has at least seven separate combos to Spain and Portugal, the cheapest of which is an eight-day "Madrid Fly & Drive" from just $429 out of New York City. An eight-day "Malaga Fly & Drive" out of New York costs just $10 more, while there's a six-day "Madrid on Sale" trip from $699 out of New York. Winding up our sampling of their Spain tours is an eight-day "Madrid & Andalucia by Rail" tour, from $1,069 out of New York.
In addition, Gate 1 has a 14-day "Iberian Kaleidoscope," a posher escorted trip from $1,929 out of New York, including travel to Lisbon, Seville, the Costa del Sol, Granada, Madrid and Barcelona. The book-by date for these special prices is April 30, 2004. Travel dates vary per package, but most can be booked all the way through the end of March, 2005. More trips in Iberia can be viewed at their website, www.gate1travel.com.
TourCrafters has a Madrid/Lisbon package that costs $1,488 from April 1 to June 15, and $1,648 from June 15 to August 31, 2004. The deal includes roundtrip air from New York, arrival transfer from Madrid airport to hotel, four nights at the first class Tryp Ambassador Hotel in Madrid, daily Spanish breakfast, transport throughout by air conditioned bus, expert local guides, sightseeing tour in each city, entrance fees to museums, and two lunches and sightseeing in Merida (en route between the two cities), and three nights in first-class Metropolitan Hotel in Lisbon. Other gateways available. Check out www.tourcrafters.com for a copy of the Spain brochure. For reservations, phone 800/621-2259 or e-mail info@tourcrafters.com.
Spain Pass
If you can get yourself to Spain on our own and want to flit about as you please, consider the Spain Pass Program from Spanair. You can buy a (minimum) three-coupon flight pass starting at just $165 for intra-Spain itineraries. Each additional flight is only $60 for three-coupon users. The pass doesn't include taxes, but you can fly on some of the 600 daily flights (using 54 airplanes), serving 18 destinations in Spain. You need only make a single reservation for one of the flights when you book using the Spain Pass Program. The other two flights can be reserved later. You can change your mind for just $10 if it's the same routing you want, $20 if you make it a different destination.
Contact Spanair at 888/545-5757 or visit www.spanair.com.
Primarily Portugal
The world's oldest travel agency, Abreu Tours, has three packages of interest, one including air and hotel from just $699. You fly into Lisbon from New York and stay for three nights at the three-star VIP Berne Hotel. Other packages include the land-only "Palace Hotel Plus Pousadas Special" in which you book any pousada, and stay at the five-star Palace on any weekend night for only $120 per person, per night.
There's also a "Sao Miguel Weekender," land-only price $280 per person, in which you get three nights in a four-star hotel in Ponta Delgada on the Azores and a rental car. With air, it's $730 per person out of Boston on Fridays, three or four times monthly throughout 2004. Check out www.abreu-tours.com for details.
