Two persons sharing hotel accommodations can fly...

Two persons sharing hotel accommodations can fly round trip to Australia/New Guinea for the price of one ($1,245) under an arrangement with World Travel Consultants of Glendale. Departures each Friday from LAX. Offer is good through March (passengers must be ticketed by Feb. 15). The two-for-one air fare is part of a nine-day trip to Cairns near the Great Barrier Reef followed by a visit to Papua New Guinea. The land portion ($1,699 per person) is extra. In New Guinea two nights will be spent in the Owen-Stanley Mountains at the upscale Ambua Lodge. Other stops in Karawari and Port Moresby.

World Travel Consultants, 1000 E. Broadway, Glendale 91205. Telephone (818) 507-7813 or toll-free (800) 432-7436 (in California) or (800) 854-6733 (outside California).

San Francisco

A note for romantics: Aston Hotels & Resorts is promoting a “San Francisco Romance” package at the Regis Hotel (in the theater district) and the Majestic (described as the “most beautiful small hotel in San Francisco” by San Francisco magazine). The Majestic is a restored Victorian (perched on Cathedral Hill). Features French/English antiques, hand-painted four-poster canopied beds. Good reports on the restaurant.

The Regis favors French antiques, canopies and pedestal beds, refrigerators, honor bars. Rates at both hotels: $79 (single or double) through March 31. Roses for the ladies. (Complimentary limousine service to Union Square for guests at the Majestic.)

See your travel agent or call Aston Hotels & Resorts toll-free at (800) 922-7866.

Giveaway

In 1954 a handful of Frenchmen set out to create a chain of small privately owned inns and hotels between Paris and Nice. Now, 35 years later, the group has a membership of 375 in 35 countries. In the Dordogne region there’s a restored farm that offers cozy rooms with fabrics from Provence, magnificent gardens and a barn that serves as a restaurant. This charming hotel with its ivy-covered walls rises beside a 12th-Century church in a medieval village. (Address: Le Vieux Logis et ses Logis des Champs, 24150 Tremolatt, France.) Other countries belonging to this same organization include Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, South America, the Caribbean, the Seychelles, Australia, New Zealand, Japan.

For a free copy of the 272-page booklet titled “Relais & Chateaux,” write to the French Government Tourist Office, 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 303, Beverly Hills 90212-2967. The office asks readers not to telephone.

Biking Vermont

Biking in Vermont is a joy. Gorgeous scenery (verdant meadows, maple-covered hills, covered bridges, roadside streams). Bike Vermont offers both weekend and weekday tours. On the weekday tour, groups pedal to a different inn daily. A support van carries all the gear. Pedal at your own pace. A Florida biker raved about the experience. “The inns, the innkeepers, the quaint rooms, the villages, the scenery, the meals--it was all perfect.” Prices start at $180 for a weekend, $500 for five days. This is Bike Vermont’s 13th year. Tours are planned for all ages. No more than 20 bikers to a group.

Bike Vermont, P.O. Box 207 SD, Woodstock, Vt. 05091.

Rail Trip

Sentimental Rail Journeys is gathering a group for a trip to Oakland and San Francisco (March 10-13). Travel will be aboard a 1950 vintage dome car. In Oakland the passengers will be guests at Paramount’s 57-year-old theater for a screening of the silent flick, “Phantom of the Opera.” Headquarters for three nights will be San Francisco’s Monticello Inn. “This will be train travel the way it used to be,” says Rod Pick of Sentimental. Meals will be served on the train, continental breakfasts/afternoon teas at the hotel and dinner before the Saturday night film showing. Price: $645.

Sentimental Rail Journeys, P.O. Box 4574, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91360. Call (805) 499-9306.

The Wine Circuit

Wine Country Inns is tossing a party for grape lovers (May 7-8) in Sonoma County. Two nights, $375 per couple. Includes accommodations both nights at one of the participating inns, a wine and food reception, daily breakfast, a couple of cases of Sauvignon Blanc, a picnic at one of the wineries and a barbecue.

Wine Country Inns of Sonoma County, P.O. Box 51, Geyserville, Calif. 95441. Telephone (707) 433-4667.

New Mexico

New Mexico has outdone itself again with its latest vacation guide. Contains 148 pages. A slick publication crowded with details on the state’s hotels/motels, B&Bs;, skiing, golfing, parks/recreation. Lists addresses, telephone numbers of chambers of commerce throughout the state. Listings of events, attractions, museums, galleries, bicycling clubs, Indian art and culture. The guide is divided into six geographic regions. Contains a state map.

Free copies from the New Mexico Tourism & Travel Division, ED & TD, Room 751, Joseph M. Montoya Building, 1100 St. Francis Drive, Sante Fe, N.M. 87503.

Reader Recommendations

Arizona--Dr. Rex Ross, Brentwood: “We had an outstanding multicourse dinner in the European-style restaurant, Le Relais, 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale. Call (602) 998-0921. Impeccable service, with walls covered with important artwork. Gorgeous crystal chandliers in every room. Quite a surprise in a location usually featuring Western or Arizona resort area atmosphere. Add to your list of ‘unexpected’ or ‘surprise’ places.”

California--Richard Hervey, West Hollywood: “A marvelous week in Palm Springs at the Villa Royal Inn, 1620 Indian Trail, Palm Springs 92264. Each room is decorated differently. Handicrafts from Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Greece. Rates start at $65.”

West Germany--Clifford and Enid Frohmberg, Orange: “Our favorite lodgings are family-run medium-size hotels (not B&Bs;). Best we’ve ever found is Hotel-Restaurant Gotz, Pollinstrasse 6, 8060 Dachau, West Germany. Double room with private bath and breakfast: 140 marks.”

Tasmania--Robert Nelson, Monarch Beach: “We stayed at Cascades, a former prison outstation on the Tasman Peninsula near Port Arthur. Our suite included a beautiful bedroom, bath, a separate parlor with fireplace and a complete kitchen stocked with farm-fresh eggs, milk, etc. The price was $60 a night inclusive (about $50 U.S.). We’re picky, first-class travelers. Cascades exceeded all our expectations.”

New Zealand--Pat and Alex Smith, Fullerton: “Recommend Shakespeare House B&B; with a jovial host, Mike Shakespeare, at 10 Dusky St., Te Anau, New Zealand. Cost: $62.50 New Zealand.”

Wales--Morrie and Barbara Mazur, Sherman Oaks: “A gem of a B&B; outside the pleasant town of Llandeilo. An old Welsh farmhouse (completely modernized) called Tygwyn Bach. Riding, golf, fishing, walking in the peaceful surroundings. Rate: 10 per person a night. Write to Kate and Fred Last, Tygwyn Bach, Ffairfach, Llandeilo, Dyfed SA19 6UY, Wales, United Kingdom.”

England--S. Edge, West Hollywood “A delightful 350-year-old restored schoolhouse, a half hour from Birmingham International Airport (pickup available) and one hour from Stratford-on-Avon. English breakfast, afternoon tea and home-cooked evening meals upon request. B&B;: 20 per person. Write to Judy and David Dobson, the Old School House, Mill Street, Coton-in-the-Elms, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs. DE12 8ES.”