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Settle in Snowy Scandi-Save-ia: Air & Hotel Start from $519

October 27, 2004 -- Although Scandinavia in summer has its undeniable charms, in winter it shows its true face, the one we associate with Santa Claus, reindeer, cross country skiing, and young ladies wearing crowns of lit candles in honor of Saint Lucy. Here are three packages to Denmark, Sweden and neighboring Lithuania that might make you think about frolicking in the snow (or just looking at it from a toasty room).

One of our favorite tour operators has a "Stockholm Weekend Getaway" (Thursday departures only, arriving on Fridays), priced from only $519, operating form November 11 through December 14, then again from January 6 through March 17. You must book by November 11, in order to get this rate and taxes and security fees are additional. The base price includes roundtrip air from New York or Newark, three nights of hotel lodging at the Arcadia, daily continental breakfast, and hotel taxes and service charges. You can upgrade to pricier hotels, if you wish. Add-on sample airfares include $50 from Boston or Washington, D.C., $100 from Atlanta, $150 from Chicago or Miami, $180 from Los Angeles or Seattle, and $200 from Denver. Contact them at www.go-today.com or phone 425/487-9632 (reservations made over the phone run an extra $20).

Another outstanding tour operator, Nordic Saga, recently announced its "Copenhagen Winter Escape" that starts from $694. The package includes roundtrip fare from Newark on SAS, three nights at the Hotel Alexandra with daily breakfast and all hotel taxes and service charges. You have to book by November 12, but you can travel anytime from November 1 through December 12. The city's famous Tivoli Garden Christmas Market opens November 12. Sample prices for other gateway cities include: Boston $719, Philadelphia $724, Washington, D.C. $774, Chicago $779, Los Angeles $844 and Seattle/San Francisco $869.

Nordic Saga also has an unusual package that takes you to Lithuania for a land-only spa experience that starts from an amazingly low $475 before taxes. The package includes seven nights at the Hotel Regina in Druskininkai, roundtrip transfers from the Vilnius airport, daily breakfast and dinner, two spa procedures daily, hotel taxes and service charges and more. The town of Druskininkai is set amid lakes and forests next to a national park. You must book by November 19 and travel from January 1 through May 26, 2005.

For either tour, phone 800/848-6449 or visit www.nordicsaga.com.

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