May 14, 2004 -- Loyal readers know that we espouse off-season travel to beat the crowds and get more bang for your buck. Today, we've detailed an appealing listing of trips good for spring, late summer, fall and winter travel to Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Switzerland.
Aerpackages, the offshoot packager of Aer Lingus, is offering four Internet-only deals starting from $599 for travel this fall and early winter for departures out of Boston, Baltimore or New York's JFK. Travel is valid from November 1, 2004 through February 28, 2005; the booking deadline is June 15. Comparable packages for summertime trips in July and August can run as high as $1,171 per person.
One standout is the True Emerald Escape that includes roundtrip airfare, an eight-night rental car from Dan Dooley Rentals and accommodations. Your first night is prebooked at The Great Southern Hotel in either Shannon or Dublin (both of them fine hostelries), but you'll get a book of vouchers that allow you to stay in any number of over-450 farmhouse B&Bs on the remaining nights. Your farmhouse stays will be with shared bathroom. The price is based on two persons traveling, and a manual (standard shift) car, subject to availability. Taxes and fees not included. For departures from the Aer Lingus gateway in Chicago, add $100 to the price, from Los Angeles $200.
The other three packages are
- The Royal Grand Finale, a six-night, self-drive getaway (again with the first night prebooked at the Great Southern hotels mentioned), and the final night at your choice of three deluxe castle accommodations in Ashford, Adare or Dromoland. The intervening four nights are spent in the farmhouse B&Bs.
- City Slickers is a four-night city stay with hotels in the city of your choice, either Dublin, Cork, Limerick or Galway, as well as a standard rental car.
- The Most Popular Pub Tour features a bus trip involving four nights, including sightseeing at the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, Burren, Guinness Store House, a Dublin City tour and more. You get two nights each in Dublin and Galway.
For the above four packages, check out www.aerpackages.com.
At our request, Go Today has extended the purchase-by deadline for its Switzerland Fly & Drive program from May 20 to June 3. It's an eight-day/seven-night package that bundles together roundtrip airfare to Zurich out of Boston, JFK, Newark, Philadelphia or Dulles airports and a Hertz rental car for seven days. The per-person base price starts from $479 and is valid for travel from September 1 through October 31; local taxes, a collision damage waiver (CDW) and unlimited mileage are included as well. At this rate, you get a manual car, but you can get an automatic starting from $629. Add-on airfares from a multitude of other American airports range in price from an additional $80-$150.
The firm also has great three-day packages to Rome, Florence or Venice from only $399 for travel November 1 through December 15 if you book by June 24. They include airfare to any of the three cities on an available carrier, three nights of hotel lodging, daily continental breakfast, and hotel taxes and service charges.
For more information on these and many other packages from Go Today, visit www.gotoday.com or call 425/487-9632 to speak to a customer rep. (Please note, there is a $20 surcharge if you actually book over the phone.)
TourCrafters also has a hot deal to Rome costing just $839, for a four-night package at the four-star Hotel Diana, roundtrip air from New York, daily Italian buffet breakfast, hotel service charges and taxes, a city sightseeing tour, a 15% discount on a second sightseeing tour and a 15% discount at the Il Drappo restaurant in an old Roman neighborhood. Contact them at www.tourcrafters.com or phone 800/482-5995. This deal is valid through May 27.
And finally, to mark the start of new US Airways service to Glasgow on May 10 from Philadelphia, US Airways Vacations is offering a savings of up to $150 for air/hotel packages if you book by May 31 for travel June 1 through August 31, in the height of summer. Vacations start as low as $654 out of Boston for a five night-stay at the Novotel Glasgow ($764 at the Jurys Inn Glasgow, $1,075 at the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor, and $889 at Jurys Inn Edinburgh), with prices available from gateways including Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh and Charlotte NC, as well as from another 100 departure points. Rates are based on Thursday departures and do not include airport and security taxes and fees. Contact them at www.usairwaysvacations.com or phone 800/352-8747.