December 15, 2003 -- What could be more romantic than a surprise vacation to southern Europe over Valentine's Day? Not much we can think of.
Gate 1 is making it easier for you to treat your valentine to something really special -- a four night getaway to any of three Italian cities starting from $499 to Rome; $539 to Florence; or $599 to Venice. The lowest-priced packages are for departures out of New York City area airports and include your hotel, morning meals and Gate 1's travel insurance coverage (we strongly suggest buying trip insurance from an outside source, however).
- In Rome, you stay in the tourist class Hotel Center, but you can upgrade to the Grand Hotel Palatino starting from $659 or the Grand Minerve from $1,199.
- In Florence, you stay at the tourist class Ambasciatori; upgrade to the Rivoli Hotel from $579 or the Grand Hotel Villa Medici from $899.
- In Venice, you'll stay in the Olimpia Hotel; upgrade to the Grand Hotel Principe or Hotel Amadeus from $969; from $1,119 for the Hotel Bauer.
Moving west, Gate 1 has a couple of spectacularly priced trips to either Spain's Costa del Sol from $499 or Lisbon from $479 with departures on February 12 to get you there in time for Valentine's Day. For the first trip, you'll spend 8 days and six nights in the tourist class Sol Aloha Playa in Benalmadena just steps from the beach. In Lisbon, you'll be put up in the tourist class Executive Hotel for six days and four nights. Both packages include your lodgings, roundtrip airfare out of NYC, breakfasts and the trip protection plan.
Optional tours are available on each of these packages. For a full listing of all Gate 1's Valentine's Day specials, including packages to various destinations across Europe and Central and South America, go to www.gate1travel.com/Destinations/valentines/default.htm. They can be reached by phone at 800/682-3333.
A Quick Scan of the Competition
Go-Today has some equally interesting packages that coincide with this romantic holiday, though the deadline for their winter deals is December 16, so you may need to book quickly (although the company may change the booking deadlines as they have so often in the past, there's no guarantee). To view all of Go-Today's listings visit, www.gotoday.com/gt_as.asp.
Donna Franca Tours keeps the pricing pretty much matched as well, offering five nights in either Rome, Florence, Sorrento or Venice from a low $599 including your lodgings, roundtrip airfare and morning meals. For full listings, go online to www.donnafranca.com and click "Italy on Sale."
Have you traveled with any of these companies? We'd love to read your opinions on how they're doing. Post your comments by clicking here to visit our Message Boards.