Travel > Places > Getaways > Bargain travel

When March ends, so do these low-priced offers

By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff, 01/12/03

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Remember this date: March 31. That's when a lot of very good deals to some very nice places expire. Here's a sampling of savings this winter:

The Malta Tourist office is offering a $699 value-added package to Malta. It includes air with departures from Boston and several other airports, and a seven-night stay at a four-star hotel with breakfast each morning.

(The fine print: As with most of these offers, price doesn't include airport fees or taxes, and may be higher or lower if you opt for another class of hotel. Malta's Carnival Week is Feb. 28-March 4.)

Go to www.visitmalta.com/us, fax 425-795-3425, or e-mail office.us@visitmalta.com.

Pacific Delight Tours has a 10-day/seven-night Hong Kong and Bangkok promotion - air-inclusive prices of $990 per person, double, from Los Angeles and San Francisco, and $1,060 from New York. Daily departures are scheduled.

The package includes the flight aboard Cathay Pacific Airways; accommodations at the superior first-class Regal Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong and the Century Park Hotel in Bangkok; breakfast daily; sightseeing; all air and land transportation in and between Hong Kong and Thailand; the services of local guides; transfers, baggage handling, hotel taxes, and service charges; and $100,000 flight insurance when air reservations are ticketed by Pacific Delight Tours.

(The fine print: Add-on fares range from $60 to $290 and the single supplement is $180.)

See a travel agent, call 800-221-7179, or visit www.pacificdelighttours.com.

When you book a four-day, three-night Compliments of Bermuda package, you get a $100 spending credit good at a variety of retailers, vendors, and activity providers. The price begins at $465, including air fare from Boston and accommodations. Participants also receive a booklet that offers discounts at participating vendors islandwide.

Call 800-BERMUDA or a travel agent, or visit www.bermudatourism.com.

TourCrafters has a Madrid getaway starting at $599 from Boston. The package includes air fare, six nights' accommodation, daily breakfast, and hotel service charges and taxes.

Visit www.tourcrafters.com and click on "Europe a la carte," call 800-482-5995, or e-mail info@tourcrafters.com.

1800FLYEUROPE is offering savings on airfare and packages to London. Flights begin at $229, and packages including air fare and three nights' hotel start at $319. A three-day car rental costs an additional $52 a person.

Call 800-FLY-EUROPE or visit www.1800flyeurope.com.

Cheaper tickets

Tickets don't always cost list price. Outlets have discounted prices for plays, films, dinner theater, dance productions, sporting events, and sometimes special museum exhibits. Discounts can be 50 percent or more.

The problem, of course, is finding the outlets. Enter "The Cheap Tix Chart," a paperback by Nicki Chodnof that lists locations in 20 US cities, including Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., plus nine foreign destinations. Ticket outlet information includes addresses, phone numbers, or Web sites. The chart is $14 and is available through the On The Go Publishing Web site, www.onthegopublishing.com/products.shtml#tix.

. . . Broadwaybox.com lists promotion codes for buying discounted tickets, sometimes as much as half off, for Broadway shows. I gave it a try recently, and found four discount codes for "Cabaret," two for "Beauty and the Beast," and one for "The Phantom of the Opera." Interestingly, the site also lists expired codes, saying they are often extended beyond the original date and suggesting that you try them.

Adieu

The Consumer Reports Travel Letter, a friend to budget-conscious and savvy travelers for years, will cease publication with its January issue. Consumer Reports, famous for its unbiased research, will continue to provide travel information through www.consumerwebwatch.org, Consumer Reports magazine, and www.consumerreports.org.

N.E. Web site

PlacesToStay.com has launched Quick Getaways, designed to be an easy way for travelers to find and book vacations close to home. The guide features bed-and-breakfasts, inns, resorts, and hotels in vacation destinations within driving distance. New England destinations from Cape Cod to Killington, Vt., are included, as are interactive maps and Web specials.

Visit www.PlacesToStay.com/quickgetaways.

Lodging prizes

The Massachusetts Lodging Association will present a silent auction on Jan. 22, featuring more than 100 prizes, including over 50 lodging prizes. Among them: A two-night stay at the Jared Coffin House on Nantucket and one- or two-night stays at several Boston hotels, as well as the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, the Porches at MASS MoCA in North Adams, and hotels across the nation. Last year, some of those prizes went for as little as $60. In addition, ski packages and restaurant meals will be auctioned.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Boston Park Plaza, with proceeds benefiting the association's educational foundation, the Roger Saunders Lodging Institute. New this year is the Hotel Cocktail Competition. Arrive early and you could be one of the judges who will crown the top concoction.

The admission price of $80 (or $60 for association members) includes a gourmet buffet and open bar. Tickets are available at the door, call 800-662-0272, or visit www.masslodging.com and click on the "For MLA Members"section.

$39 worth of wicked

Wicked Wild Wednesdays, featuring $39 full-day lift tickets, are back at Mount Snow in Vermont. The first 50 ticket buyers each Wednesday also receive a free gift, which differs each month.

(The fine print: Wednesday, Feb. 19, is excluded.)

Call 800-245-SNOW, or visit www.mountsnow.com.

A matter of size

A few eyebrows may have shot up when last week's column referred to Providence as New England's second-largest city, behind Boston. "What happened to Worcester?" said some. Well, according to the 2000 US Census, Providence, with a population of 173,618, has surpassed Worcester, with 172,648.