East Europe Offered by Interhostel

Trips to Czechoslovakia and Hungary plus another that takes in East and West Germany and both Berlins are three of six new destinations offered by Interhostel this fall.

Other new fall international study/travel trips for mature travelers, age 50 and over, include Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia (Sept. 30-Oct. 14), Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand (Oct. 22-Nov. 6), and Mexico City and Cuernavaca, Mexico (Oct. 27-Nov. 9).

All of these popular trips, plus eight others, should be booked as early as possible.

All Interhostel trips combine lectures and seminars with social programs and excursions to historic and modern points of interest. Local entertainment performances and opportunities to meet with residents are also part of each program.

Trips average between two and three weeks and $1,195 and $1,595. That includes accommodations, frequently in host-country universities or local hotels, meals, the study programs, plus all field trips, activities as well as ground travel within the country.

Air fare is not included, but can be arranged through Interhostel on group-rate flights.

The Czechoslovakia trip (Sept. 30-Oct. 14) is set mostly in Prague with side trips to Pilsen, the spas of Karlsbad and Marienbad as well as other countryside attractions. It runs $1,545.

Budapest is the center of the Hungary trip, (Oct. 1-15) with side tours to Puszta, Eger and a four-day stay in Rackeve Castle, once the property of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Cost is $1,475.

The Germany trip includes a three-day stay in Hamburg, both East and West Berlin, with a side tour to Potsdam, then down to Leipzig where lecturers from Karl Marx University will discuss contemporary European topics. Set for Nov. 5-19, it runs $1,595.

Interhostel, now in its 10th year, and sponsored by the Continuing Education Department of the University of New Hampshire, also has its popular previously offered programs. These are:

Salzburg, Austria (Sept. 11-25), $1,595; London, England (Sept. 16-30, $1,395; Leningrad/Kiev/Moscow (Sept. 16-30), $1,394; Beijing/Shanghai/Xian/Hangzhou, China (Sept. 16-30), $1,395; Nairobi, Kenya (Oct. 8-24), $1,495; San Jose, Costa Rica (Nov. 1-14, $1,145; Christchurch, New Zealand (Jan. 22-Feb. 6), $1,895; and Christmas in Vavaria (Dec. 3-17), $1,295.

For more information and a free catalogue of all trips, write Interhostel, University of New Hampshire, 6 Garrison Ave., Durham, N. H. 03824-3529. Or phone (800) 733-9753 Monday through Friday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Grand Circle Travel, a major national tour company for senior travel and a leader in European long-stay apartment or hotel vacations, is offering free single supplements for its extended-stay vacations in Spain and Portugal during November and December.

This means a savings of $45 to $80 per week, depending on the choice of accommodations offered. And the company’s records show the average stay is about three weeks.

Single seniors can spend a full week on Spain’s Costa del Sol for as little as $975 including hotel or apartment accommodations, transfers and round-trip air fare from Los Angeles on regularly scheduled carriers. Additional weeks may be added for only $97 each.

The Extended Vacation choices in Spain include: Torremolinos, Benalmedena and Nerja. In Portugal, Grand Circle has accommodation in Cascais, the Algarve and Madeira.

For a Portugal November or December, no single supplement visit, prices begin at $1,275 from Los Angeles, including air fare, apartment or hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and transfers.

For more information, write Grand Circle Travel, 347 Congress St., Boston, Mass. 02210. Or call (800) 248-3737. (Call between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Eastern time.

Mature travelers in the Lakewood area might want to check out Blake Travel and its Good Times Travel Club for seniors.

The full-service travel agency operates a wide range of day trips by motor coach, extended two- to seven-day tours of California and nearby states as well as longer domestic and international tours and cruises.

One of the trips coming up to northern California includes two train rides: the Napa Valley Wine Train and the Skunk train out of Fort Bragg. The Aug. 13 to 20 trip also includes visits to Eureka, Mendocino, Sacramento and Salinas, with dinner at the Steinbeck House. Price is $719 per person, double.

Blake’s Good Times Travel Club is free. A 24-page newsletter is $1 ($5 for about eight issues a year). For more information: Good Times Travel Club, Blake Travel, 5683 Woodruff Ave., Lakewood, Calif. 90713. Phone (213) 920-2653.

The venerable older Atherton Hotel in San Francisco is offering a “Time of Your Life” special rate for mature travelers for $39 a night, single or double, from Sunday through Thursday night stays, through December.

Long popular with seniors and European visitors, the Atherton is located at 685 Ellis St. on the fringe of the Bay City’s Tenderloin district.

It provides a friendly, European-style welcome, has a restaurant for breakfast and lunch. Phone (800) 227-3608 and ask for the “Time of Your Life” $39 rate.

Also in San Francisco, the more upscale Hotel Bedford has a $50 rate, single or double, for mature travelers on Sunday through Tuesday nights now through July. Regular rates start at $94 single. The Bedford is at 761 Post St. near Union Square. Phone (800) 652-1889.