July 2, 2004 -- No-wheels, two wheels or four-wheels, you'll find plenty of bargains just south of the border. The best bargains run through December 20, when prices spike as peak season begins. We found some decent packages for points across the country, plus special bike tours and golf holidays.
Two guys, a Canadian named Basil and a Mexican named Joel, run a series of bicycle tours down Mexico way, in which you pay the guide fee and are then responsible for your own lodging, food and other expenses as you go. Most of their trips are one or two weeks, with the guide fees of $500. For that, you get a packet of information before leaving home, and assistance in Mexico, with guidance, bike repairs, and arrangements for lodging and places to eat. They also arrange for English-speaking guides on local tours, provide translation services and offer additional options or alternatives.
You bring your own bicycle and other gear, and arrange and pay for your transportation to the tour starting point in Mexico, though they will lend a hand with the details if necessary. They have on their website a list of estimated personal expenses you might incur. On the Views of the Pacific tour in November 2004, for example, they show the $500 (US) guide fee, estimated lodging at $130, food & drink at $170, and "miscellaneous" at $120, making a grand outlay of $920 for your trip (land-only).
Other trips include Mexico's South Coast in December, and Yucatan to the Clouds (February 2005, 3.5 weeks); Roaming Backroads Yucatan (Jan. 2005); and Mountains & Natural Wonders (April 2005). Contact them at www.bikemexico.com.
On the Beach
More traditional is a Pleasant Holidays land-only package that puts you in the Hyatt Regency Cancun at slightly reduced rates this summer, from July 5 to August 14, 2004, to be exact. The four-night holidays start at $283 per person, a savings of only $28 per person, but children 12 and under stay free in their parent's room. If you want air-inclusive packages, Pleasant Holidays has six-night holidays from Los Angeles starting at $827 per person, with a savings of only $41 per couple, from now through August 29, 2004. Contact them at www.pleasantholidays.com or by phoning 800/448-3333.
You can visit Cancun with three-night lodging at the Riu Caribe beginning at $459 out of Chicago (Midway) for departures October 11 through December 13, 2004, and from $474 out of Indianapolis for a few departures in October, November and December, 2004. All-inclusive resorts such as the Reef Cocobeach begin at $529 from Chicago, $544 from Indianapolis. All these are through ATA Vacations, which you contact at www.atavacations.com or by phoning 800/442-8952.
Another deal is on the Mayan Riviera south of Cancun, offered by Apple Vacations through the Best Travel Mall. It's for early July 2004 and involves a seven-night stay at the Bahia Principe Tulum, an all-inclusive place (meals, drinks, watersports and more), where the original price was $1079.99. Now it's just $869.99, which means you save $420 per couple. Package price includes roundtrip airfare from Chicago (O'Hare), hotel transfers, hotel taxes, baggage handling and more. (Does not include airport taxes and fees.) Arrivals on July 4, 6 or 8, 2004. This deal is at www.bestravelmall.com/mexico.htm, or you can phone them at 877/895-4834.
Petrabax, ordinarily thought of as a provider of low-cost tours to Spain and Portugal, has some eight-night/nine-day deals going to the colonial cities of Mexico, costing from $929 for land-only offerings or from $1,335 including air. Destinations on the tour include Mexico City, Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara, Patzcuaro and Morelia. First class hotels include the Plaza Florencia in Mexico City, the Mision de los Angeles in San Miguel de Allende, the San Javier Parador in Guanajuato, the de Mendoza in Guadalajara and the Posada Don Vasco in Patzcuaro. Rates valid through October 31, 2004.
Your tour includes the roundtrip airfare from New York (add-ons available from all major US gateways), airport transfers, the hotels, daily breakfast, air-conditioned bus transport, English-speaking tour guide, escorted city sightseeing tours, entrance fees, hotel taxes and service charges. For more information, contact www.petrabaxusa.com or phone 800/265-4842.
Marquis-style Golfing
At the deluxe Marquis Los Cabos Beach, Golf, Spa & Casitas Resort (that's one of the longest names we've encountered lately), they have a four-day/three-night "Sense of Golf" deal lasting from now through December 18, 2004, starting from $1195 per person based on double occupancy. This admittedly pricey package includes two rounds of 18 holes at your choice of two courses, one designed by Jack Nicklaus, the other by Robert Trent Jones II; deluxe accommodations in a junior suite or a casita with private pool; in-room breakfast (continental with fruit); "VIP airport transfers" and rental car; and a special golf gift, not to mention a massage for two with choice of manicure or pedicure. For more outlay, you can take a lesson (30 minutes practice instructions) and a round of golf with the resident Pro, Leo Bonilla. One of the two courses, the Cabo Real, was the site of the 1999 PGA Senior Slam tournament. The Marquis is a member of both the Leading Hotels of the World and Small Luxury Hotels of the World. There's a 15,000-square-foot holistic spa, among other amenities. Book online at www.marquisloscabos.com or phone 877/238-9399.