Travel News

Consumer Reports Travel Letter notes that when accompanied by an adult on a coach excursion ticket, children ages 2 to 17 can fly to Florida on Eastern Airlines for $58 round-trip in the off-peak season; $78 peak, to Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Daytona Berach, Melbourne, Fort Myers, Sarasota or West Palm Beach. Travel must be completed by Sept. 9. However, you should keep in mind that these prices have been matched by other airlines such as Continental, so contact a travel agent or an airline’s reservation desk. If you head for a city that suffers a summer occupancy slump, naturally you’ll get a better deal on your hotel rate. Although considered among the top 10 domestic destinations by the American Express Travel Forecast, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., are two examples given in Consumer Reports Travel Letter. To lure travelers, it states, hotels, restaurants and attractions often band together to offer 20- to 50-percent discounts.

For details on these two cities, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Phoenix & Valley of the Sun Convention & Visitors Bureau, 505 N. 2nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004; or contact the DC Committee to Promote Washington (P.O.Box 27489, Washington, DC 20038; Tel.: 1-800-422-8644) for a brochure on “weekend rates every day” at 91 downtown hotels.

RENTING DOWN EAST

Want to relax in Maine’s vacation land? Finding a house to rent (or maybe real estate to buy) can be a little bit easier now, thanks to a brand new telephone service sponsored by Maine Times, a statewide weekly journal of news and opinion.

Callers to “The Real Estate and Rental Connection” can listen to descriptions of houses for rent or sale. Inns and bed and breakfasts will also be listed. Tel.: 1-900-896-2022 on your Touch-Tone phone, enter access code 28 when directed, and then press 2 to scroll through the detailed individual listings. Cost to you will appear on your telephone bill at 95 cents per minute.

EXOTIC TRAIN TOURS

Trains Unlimited, Tours (235 W. Pueblo, Reno, NV 89509; Tel.: 1- 800-359-4870) offers a different way to explore South America: via private charter trains through some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay; past waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes and vineyards, through national parks, and more.

Among the trains used is the famous Old Patagonian Express. Train lovers will appreciate century-old steam locomotives and the oldest dining car still being used in Latin America. Many of the passenger cars used to be part of the first-class passenger fleet in the U.S. three decades ago.

A TAXING HOTEL TAX BITE

Do you love New York enough to contend with this?

The city has 47,000 hotel rooms, according to the Hotel Association of New York City and the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association. About 90 percent of these rooms will be hit with yet another tax – a 5-percent tax – on top of an existing 8.25 percent sales tax, a 5 percent city tax and for rooms costing more than $40 a night, a $2-a-night bed tax! That takes a hefty bite out of tourists’ Big Apple budget.

On June 1 this new tax, an extra charge especially for hotel rooms costing $100 a night or more, went into effect. The New York Times notes that it brings the total cost of a $100 room in the city to a big $120.25 a night.

The tax will raise about $35 million for the state, according to the governor’s office. But tourism executives are concerned that small establishments such as bed and breakfasts will be the most adversely affected and visitors will leave the state with a sour taste in their mouths.