May 18, 2004 -- The discounts to Europe continue apace, as nervous hoteliers, tour operators and airlines strive to fill up those empty beds and seats; they struggle, you benefit. We reported earlier on bargains to Ireland, Switzerland and Italy. Today we're scanning practically the rest of the continent as the sales keep popping up like so many spring flowers.
Go-Today, as usual leading the budget vanguard, has announced its "Summer Supersale" on European vacations, all including roundtrip airfare and lodging, and starting from as little as $699 out of New York's JFK or Newark for six nights in Paris. Departures run from July 1 through August 31 at the height of the summer season (although in August you'll take your chances on some things being open). A daily continental breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges are included. Check www.gotoday.com/FR_FGPW.asp for specifics on this offer.
Other six-night summery packages from Go-Today include:
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Brussels: $699 out of NYC, details at www.gotoday.com/BE_FGDC.asp
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Rome: $849 out of NYC, details at www.gotoday.com/IT_FGRR.asp
- Madrid: $899 out of NYC details at www.gotoday.com/ES_FGMC.asp
As usual, departures are available from a multitude of other gateways at incremental costs. The deadline for booking any of the above is June 28. You can book online with no additional cost; phone reservations run an extra $20 per person at 425/487-9632.
As if that's not cheap enough for you, the company just announced its first round of "Winter Supersavers" for the same destinations including six nights in London starting from $389. You can see a full menu at www.gotoday.com/gt_as.asp.
France Vacations has some frightfully good deals to its country of choice, giving you a sixth night free when you buy a five-night package for certain places. New low airfares from Boston, Philadelphia and Houston, combined with the tendency of French citizens to desert their cities for the countryside in July and August, are making some six-night packages cheaper than expected this year. These combos include roundtrip air, six nights in an air-conditioned hotel room, daily breakfast and city tax, plus a 10% discount shopping coupon for the famous Galeries Lafayette. Prices from Boston start at $879, from Philadelphia at $899, from Houston or New York from $999.
If you use your frequent flyer miles to get there, France Vacations has a six-night land-only deal from just $259. You can add tax-free car rental or leasing options, 12 river barge itineraries, and more. Contact them at www.francevacations.net or phone 800/332-5332.
Shorter, four-night packages to Germany start from $549 when you travel with Nordique Tours. For a brief period, the company is offering trips to Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart that include roundtrip airfare, four-night hotel stays and daily breakfast for travel through June 15 if you book by May 31.
Prices, before taxes and security fees, include:
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$549 out of Boston, NYC and Philadelphia
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$649 out of Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Washington, D.C.
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$699 out of Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston and Phoenix
- $749 out of Los Angeles, Portland OR, San Francisco and Seattle
For more information, contact them at www.nordiquetours.com or get them on the horn at 800/995-7997.
And now, for something completely different! The Great Canadian Travel Company, which specializes in out of the way spots, invites you to visit Muckle Flugga and other destinations the Orkney and Shetland islands off of Scotland. The Shetlands, besides being famous for those ponies, is a great place to learn how the Vikings (and other invaders) influenced these "crossroads of the North Sea." The "Scotland's Northern Isles" tour is for 15 days/14 nights with an itinerary that includes Glasgow to Perth by rental car, then on to Aberdeen, where you board a car ferry for an overnight sail to Lerwick, capital of Shetland. You spend three nights here (have some oatcakes, lamb and salmon, please), before heading to Mousa and Orkney (another three nights), warmed by the Gulf Stream this far north, with more than 18 hours of midsummer sunshine. A ferry takes you for two more nights to the outer isles, then back to Orkney, the mainland and visits to Inverness Castle and Loch Ness. Departures are year round on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, starting from $3,165 per person out of Boston or New York, $3,256 from Minneapolis or Orlando. (The Boston/New York price works out to about $226 per night.) You get the roundtrip airfare, a two-week car rental, 12 nights of lodging, ferryboat rides, and more. Contact them at www.greatcanadiantravel.com or phone 800/661-3830.
All prices listed are per person, based on two people traveling together.
Have you booked travel with any of these outfits? How was your trip? How was the customer service? Give them your own review on our Message Boards.
