May 6, 2004 -- Travel to Europe remains high on our readers' lists of top places to go, despite poor conversion rates for the American dollar against the pound and the euro (for an excellent online converter, we recommend both www.xe.com/ucc and www.oanda.com). Just in the last week, we've received news of several packages to points across the pond, that, while not really budget vacations, still represent pretty good values.
TourCrafters, the family-owned firm specializing in Italy and the Mediterranean, has a one-week getaway to Spain's Costa del Sol starting at just $699. The package includes direct flights from New York to Malaga on Fridays, from now through June 11. The $699 price covers your airfare, daily continental breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges, and six nights of lodging in the three-star Hotel El Puerto, an establishment right on the beachfront promenade of Fuengirola. This hotel has a rooftop swimming pool, bars, shops and a restaurant. You can upgrade to the four-star La Palmeras, also on the beachfront, with pool, garden, tennis and disco, starting from $771. Prices are per person, double occupancy, and subject to availability; air taxes and security fees come to $120 per person regardless of departure point. Phone TourCrafters at 800/482-5995 or e-mail them at info@tourcrafters.com. Their website is www.tourcrafters.com.
You can bike the Wiltshires with Gotoday.com, and for a change, their booking deadline is not just a few days away. You have until October 21 to book this holiday, with departure dates from May 8 through October 31. The land-only price is $1,099 in a double room, plus you get seven nights of lodging, daily full breakfast, bicycle and equipment, luggage transfers, local contact, detailed route notes and maps. The tour includes Bath, Avon Valley, Devises, Salisbury Plain and more. Bikes are 18-21 speed hybrid bicycles, with Shimano components. Helmets available on request. You stay in traditional three-star country inns, and departures are daily excluding Tuesdays, year round. In addition to this tour, Go Today has many others for hiking and biking in several parts of Europe. Contact them at www.gotoday.com or by phone (for an extra $20 reservation fee) at 425/487-9632.
Another way of attracting visitors is for tour operators to offer freebies. United Vacations, an affiliate of United Airlines, is offering a "Fourth Night Free" and 4,000 Bonus Miles when you travel this summer to London or Paris on an all-inclusive vacation at selected properties. You need to use the promotional code SUMMERMILE when you book by July 31 for travel July 1-August 31.
At the height of the summer season you could have prices such as these samples (all of which include roundtrip airfare, four-night hotel lodging (the fourth night free), daily breakfast, the Bonus Miles mentioned per adult, guidebook and city map, hotel taxes and fees, and more): London at the Comfort Inn Kensington begins at $849 from New York, $944 from Boston, $1,024 from Washington, D.C., $1,114 out of Los Angeles, $1,119 from Chicago, $1,124 from San Francisco, $1139 from Seattle and $1,159 out of Denver.
Paris deals with lodging at the Royal Medoc begin at $1,029 from New York, $1,079 from Boston, $1,134 from Washington, D.C., $1,169 out of Chicago, $1,269 from Denver, $1,319 from Los Angeles, $1,329 out of San Francisco and $1,344 from Seattle. Upgrades to other hotels are possible, of course. Purchase by going to www.unitedvacations.com or by phoning 888/328-6877.