January is a typically slow month for travel. Holiday splurges have emptied wallets and people are a tad road weary. This is all good news for budget travelers though, as tour operators are lowering package deals as incentive to lure globe hoppers to warm locations and large resorts.
Liberty Travel (tel. 800/447-1353; www.libertytravel.com) makes it easier to take a January jaunt to the greater Bahamas vicinity with an all-inclusive package deal to the Westin at Our Lacaya Beach and Golf Resort. The four-night trip includes accommodations and airfare and offers an extra night for free costs $469 from Miami, $719 from the New York area and $699 from Philadelphia. Airport transportation and hotel taxes are included. Air departure fees and security taxes are not. The hotel is on the beach, has two 18-hole golf courses on the property and 14 restaurants and several bars. You need to book travel by January 31, 2005 with travel good through February 8, 2005.
Vacation Outlet (tel. 888/400-9827; www.vacationoutlet.com) has an air/land deal out of New York City that includes four nights at the adult-oriented Breezes Bahamas beachfront hotel on the island Nassau. By adult-only, we mean the luxury property does not allow guests under 14 to stay at the hotel and from March 1 to May 30 the hotel only allows guests 18 and over. The cost of the package out of New York's JFK Airport is $865 with airport transfers and hotel taxes included. Again, air and security fees are on you. You need to book travel by January 31, 2005 to ensure availability.
Another popular tour packager with a very reliable service record, Gate 1 Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com/bahamas), has numerous deals to the greater Bahamas islands from big resorts on well-known islands to smaller hotels on quiet out of the way locales. On the big resort side, Gate 1 has a four-day three-night special to the Atlantis Beach Tower Hotel, the Bahamas behemoth vacation resort, starting at $599 per person with double occupancy from several United States' gateways. Travel is good from January 9 to May 31 with booking by January 30. The hotel's full-scale casino is always hopping, celebrities are scattered around the pool, and the hotel has more water sports than the Summer Olympics. The deep-sea fishing off the hotel's pretty waters is fantastic, as is the championship caliber Ocean Club Golf Course located on hotel grounds designed by professional golfer turned course architect Tom Weiskopf.
If you seek the peace and quiet of a smaller island and more quaint resort, Gate 1 has an air/land package to the Green Turtle Club and Marina on the charming Green Turtle Cay. You have some time to book this one, by December 11, 2005, with travel time being offered until December 18, 2005. The island is easily maneuverable at only 5.5 kilometers long and has many secluded sandy inlets, beautiful small bays and an old-English sailing port. The hotel was voted one of the "100 best resorts" in the Bahamas for its friendly staff, gorgeous location and peaceful retreat. The three-night package starts at $469 per person with double occupancy. Air and security taxes are not included.
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