This could be the year’s best travel...

This could be the year’s best travel buy. A round-trip flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand with a motor home (or car) for one week: $762. The offer comes from South Pacific Express Travel and Mt. Cook Line in connection with New Zealand’s 150th birthday. More than a dozen other travel companies are observing New Zealand’s anniversary with money-saving packages. Among them:

--ATS/Tour Pacific ($999): air fare, accommodations, bus tours.

--Australian Pacific Tours ($899): air fare, accommodations.

--Brendan Tours ($1,000): air fare, motor home.

--Islands in the Sun ($959): air fare, hotel for one night, B&Bs; for six nights.

--Newmans South Pacific Vacations ($1,190): air fare, accommodations, bus tour.

Details by calling toll-free (800) 456-4494.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is mailing copies of an 80-page book commemorating its birthday anniversary (more than 6,000 events planned for the year). Suggestions for itineraries ranging from four-day whistle stops to 30-day tours, taking in both the North and South Islands. Details on tipping, descriptions of villages, activities. Write to the New Zealand Tourist & Publicity Office, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1530, Los Angeles 90024. Or call (213) 477-8241.

Mexico’s Riviera: A.J. of San Clemente asks for the name of a hotel “with atmosphere” in Zihuatanejo. This is the popular little Mexican village on the Pacific (near upscale Ixtapa). My bid goes to Hotel Sotovento. Overlooks Playa de la Ropa (an excellent beach). Hotel Catalina provides the same low-key atmosphere next door (same owners). Rates: $65/$70. On the beach, the Villa del Sol gets high marks (with considerably higher rates). You can fly direct from Los Angeles to Zihuatanejo. For hotel/airline reservations, contact your travel agent. Other details from the Mexican Government Tourist Office, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 224, Los Angeles 90067. Telephone (213) 203-9335.

A few notes on Zihuatanejo: The village is framed by the Sierra Madres, 150 miles north of Acapulco. This is one of those jeans-and-T-shirt towns. Take a boat across the bay to Las Gatas Beach. Good sunbathing. Outdoor restaurants serve fresh fish.

(I’m going back to Z soon for an update on this popular Mexico resort.)

Arizona: We’ve had good reports on a new B&B; at Sedona called A Touch of Sedona. Four rooms with antiques and contemporary furnishings: the Eagle, the Kachina, the Hummingbird, the Roadrunner. Rates: $65/$75 with a full breakfast. Hosts are Dick and Doris Stevenson. Their inn is six blocks from the Old Town, only minutes from Oak Creek Canyon. Vacationers take in Tlaquepaque (40 shops featuring paintings, jewelry, etc.). Other visitors book Jeep tours into Sedona’s back country (some of Arizona’s finest scenery).

A Touch of Sedona, 595 Jordan Road, Sedona, Ariz. 86336. Call (602) 282-6462.

Note: Motorists driving from Phoenix can detour to Jerome, a lively old ghost town with loads of atmosphere. A couple of excellent restaurants (particularly the House of Joy) and a saloon that’s been pouring spirits since 1885.

Catalina: Speaking of B&Bs;, the Inn on Mt. Ada on Catalina Island grabbed off a four-star award from Mobil Travel Guide’s inspectors. This is the original Wrigley mansion. Built in 1921, it’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Magnificent views of the ocean/Avalon Bay. Not one of your ordinary run-of-the-mill B&Bs.; Dinner is served most evenings (snacks served throughout the day). Innkeepers Susie Griffin and Marlene McAdam provide complimentary golf carts for transportation to the village. Six guest rooms. Rates from $140. (If you want to party, you can rent the entire mansion for $1,800.)

The Inn at Mt. Ada, P.O. Box 2560, Avalon 90704. Telephone (213) 510-2030.

Country Vacations: The 40th-anniversary edition of Pat Dickerman’s 224-page book, “Farm, Ranch & Country Vacations,” is available from the author. Filled with descriptions of destinations across the United States that provide riding, fishing, Jeep excursions, hay rides, square dancing. A chance for city kids to gather eggs, bottle-feed lambs, milk cows. Vacations that appeal to all ages. Besides farms, Dickerman lists dozens of dude ranches. Properties are scattered from New England to the Far West.

Dickerman also publishes a newsletter. Send her a stamped, self-addressed envelope and she’ll mail you a copy. The book sells for $12. Write to Pat Dickerman’s Farm, Ranch & Country Vacations, 36 East 57th St., New York 10022, or call toll-free (800) 252-7899.

New Mexico: Here’s a giveaway worth writing for: the 1990 New Mexico Vacation Guide. Contains 152 pages with dozens of color photographs. Sections on skiing, art, shopping, restaurants, Indian ruins/pueblos, national parks/monuments, accommodations, recreation, ghost towns. Contains a double-page map with a mileage chart. For a free copy, write to the New Mexico Tourism & Travel Division, ED & TD, Room 751, Joseph M. Montoya Building, 1100 St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, N.M. 87503. Call toll-free (800) 545-2040.

Bus Bargain: Greyhound’s advance-purchase requirement for its popular $68 money-saver fare has been reduced to 14 days. Previously, passengers were asked to buy tickets 30 days before departure. Money-saver fares apply to more than 10,000 destinations throughout the United States. One-way $68 fares are good for travel Monday through Thursday. Round-trip tickets: $118. What this means is that the passenger can travel with Greyhound from the West Coast to the East Coast for $68/$118 round trip. With airline fares on the rise, Greyhound reports a big increase in its passenger mileage.

Rail Tour: A bargain for railroad buffs: A four-night tour to New Mexico for the Memorial Day weekend ($299). Passengers will leave Los Angeles’ Union Station on a Thursday, returning the following Monday. The price includes the trip on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, accommodations at the Albuquerque Hilton, a welcome dinner, an all-day motor-coach excursion to Santa Fe (with a visit to an Indian pueblo) and a trip over New Mexico’s famous Turquoise Trail.

Details/brochures from Los Coyotes Travel, 8350 Los Coyotes Drive, Buena Park, Calif. 90621. Call toll-free (800) 346-4317.

Reader Recommendations

California--Glenn E. Smiley, Glendale: Enjoyed The Darling House, 314 W. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060. Ocean, a citrus orchard, palm trees. Rates: $75/$175.

California--Stan and Marge Hutchinson, Fountain Valley: “We recently spent our third anniversary at our favorite B&B--the; Pelican Cove Inn, 320 Walnut Ave., Carlsbad. Prices ranged from $85 to $125. Each bedroom has a special theme, turning back the pages of time, and we keep coming back to enjoy each and every one of them.”

Washington--Dr. Robert J. Rogers, Los Angeles: “During a recent trip to Washington, I stopped at the Sunset Cafe, 1306 Union Ave. N.E., Renton, Wash. This place was excellent, reasonable.”

France--Anne F. Repucci, Long Beach: “I spent several weeks in Normandy and Brittany, visiting all of the old World War II sites. Stayed at an old Normandy-style family home right on the beach in the bay of Mont St. Michel. Delightfully rustic, comfortable. Rates: two persons with breakfast, $25. For details, write to Roberte Nourrigat, 2 Allee des Mimosas, 50530 St. Jean le Thomas, France.”

New Zealand--J. Ferrell, Auckland: Enjoyed Aachen House B&B.; “This is the best deal in Auckland this year. It had the best American-style breakfast we enjoyed on our trip. There are only 12 rooms, so it’s like being with a family instead of in a hotel.”

We regret that only a select few recommendations can be used. They must be brief (typewritten or printed). Only one recommendation per reader, please. Note: Recommendations will not be used unless prices and addresses are included.