November 30, 2004 -- New Year's Day at home can be a drag. The same bars, the same crowds, the same traffic. For some, New Year's is amateur night where big-time partygoers are outweighed by dilettantes throwing confetti and hogging up bar space with their orders Jell-o shots and Kamikazes. Who needs that? Why not get away this New Year's to somewhere totally different, where you won't let the "same old, same old" get you down.
Gate One Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) has special offers to Europe for the New Year's fete. Their six-day Paris trip goes for $499 per person with air and accommodations included. The trip, normally priced at $513 is reduced for last minute booking. Departing on December 29, this Parisian treat offers accommodations at small but comfortable hotels in five different Parisian quarters including Republique, Bastille and close to the Paris Opera. Airport departure and security taxes are not included. An extra $29 dollars gets you a driving tour of Paris by night and an up-close look at the Eiffel Tower. A daily continental breakfast is included in the total package. On New Year's night, the streets of Paris come alive with music and food.
In addition to Paris, Gate One offers similar New Year's trips to Prague, Costa Del Sol, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Florence and Venice. The four-night/five-day Venice trip starts from $989 (down from $1,018) and includes a trip of a glass-blowing factory and small tours of the city's historical architecture and political and cultural areas for an additional fee. Hit the Guggenheim Museum on your own so you can spend as much time as you want in the museum's outdoor garden and indoor galleries.
If you want to stay put in the Unites States, then American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) is offering some solid deals to a bevy of locations. The New York-Orlando roundtrip is $201 during the New Year's week. Although considered high-peak travel, the $201 fare sticks. Chicago to Austin and back runs $322 over New Year's so visiting Texas's capital city is easy as two-stepping to a Willie Nelson tune. You need to book these flights by midnight on December 22 to qualify for travel. To get down to sunny Florida, the Boston-Ft. Lauderdale route runs $235. With only a thirty-minute drive from the Ft. Lauderdale airport to South Beach, a crazy New Year with house music and sunny days can be yours.
The Wave Hotel (tel. 305/673-0401; www.wavehotel.com) is a less-expensive boutique hotel complete with WiFi, a cute hotel bar and a large veranda looking out on Ocean Drive, just one block from the beach at 3rd. Rates start around $149 per night for the week starting December 26 but go to around $300 for New Year's Eve, still a bargain for South Beach during high season. The New Year's package includes a complimentary beach bag, use of large beach towels and a great continental breakfast in the veranda. Call the hotel and ask Bob Sasani or concierge Jenny Alvarado for details.
If you're looking for the all-American New Year's deal at a super-huge hotel in a city that can't get any more Americana, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry Hotel (tel. 888/777-6779; ) is the place to go. A two-night package with party, an elegant gala meal and music all around starts at $378 at the Gaylord Opryland Nashville Hotel and $328 at the Radisson Hotel Opryland. A riverboat cruise is optional. If the gala is too rich for your blood, then the same package is available with a simple Dance Party on New Year's Eve starting at $232. Party favors and a balloon drop are even included in the hotel's popular and fun New Year's package.