A plan called “British Rover” features nearly...

A plan called “British Rover” features nearly 1,000 lodgings in Britain for $29 a day (England, Scotland, Wales). This is a go-as-you-please tour. Vacationers prepare their own itinerary, using B&Bs;, country inns, small hotels. Other accommodations at family farms. You pre-book your first night before leaving the United States. After that you call ahead to the next British Rover lodging on your itinerary. The package comes with vouchers plus a road map. A minimum purchase of eight vouchers is required. Orders must be placed no less than 12 days before your departure.

Call British Travel Associates toll-free at (800) 327-6097.

Car Rentals/Britain: Connex has a reduced car rental program for the summer season. Prices as low as $105 (unlimited mileage) for a Fiat Panda. Ford Fiestas with unlimited mileage for a minimum of two weeks will cost you $259. Cars are picked up and returned at airports/agencies throughout Britain. Station wagons/minibuses also available. Connex provides details on fuel costs, hotels, sightseeing, itineraries.

Connex, 983 Main St., Peekskill, N.Y. 10566, toll-free (800) 333-3949.

Vermont: A company in Vermont maps out tours for hikers/bikers and motorists. Arranges both self-guided/guided tours. A customized self-guided hiking/biking trip can begin any day you choose. There is no time limit (a few days to a month or longer). Special tours also arranged. Llama trekking, bird watching, fly fishing, wildflower walks. Guests stop at a variety of inns. On guided tours, groups are limited to 10 persons. Quaint towns, swimming holes, antique shops. Bicyclists zero in on Vermont’s Champlin Valley/Green Mountains. One tour begins at a restored 100-year-old farmhouse in the Champlin Valley. Cyclists pedal through Weston (one of our favorite villages in all Vermont). Weston features several excellent inns, a variety of shops and a 19th-Century, cracker-barrel-style country store.

For details, write Country Inns Along the Trail c/o Churchill House Inn, RR3, Box 3265, Brandon, Vt. 05733. Telephone (802) 247-3300 or toll-free (800) 999-6865.

Travel Accessories: A 16-page newsletter lists more than 60 travel accessories: multi-language translators, cases to protect film from X-rays, travel guides, pocket computers, shoulder/waist money/passport holders, a “talking alarm clock” that tells the time by punching a button in the darkness. Other items: currency converters, state and city atlases, mini-flashlights, pocket-sized sewing kits, Swiss army knives, the “world’s smallest” microcassette recorders, garment bags.

For a free copy of the newsletter, write to Travel Right c/o Executive Travelware, P.O. Box 59387, Chicago, Ill. 60659-0387.

Other travel items are listed in an eight-page directory available from Wahlstrom Travel Aids, 21225 Nashville St., Chatsworth 91311. (Wahlstrom requests a stamped, self-addressed envelope.)

First-Class Flights at Coach Fares: Beginning Aug. 16, MGM Grand Air will begin a new first-class-style service at standard coach fares between LAX and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. MGM will be flying reconfigured DC-8s. Extra leg room, video monitors at each row, free movies, free cocktails, stereo headsets, oversize leather seats, meals served with china/linen/silverware and--happy day!--MGM is bringing back those popular lounges the airlines featured in the ‘60s. Currently, MGM Grand flies 727s twice daily between LAX/JFK.

Ask your travel agent for details on “Grand Coach Class” fares ($623) or call MGM Grand Air: (213) 568-4100.

Reader Tip of the Week From Philip Drucker, Los Angeles: “In Europe, I saw an ad in a Munich newspaper that promised inexpensive lodging in and around Prague. The company, PASAT, delivered a room for three persons 10 minutes from the center of Prague for the equivalent of $7 a night. PASAT also pointed out the city’s many attractions. The owner speaks English. His list of offerings: rooms in private homes or hotels, tickets for cultural and sports events, language programs, exchanges between sports teams and cultural groups, etc. In addition, PASAT helps with plans for vacationers wishing to go horseback riding or needing car rentals. Contact PASAT, Vaclav Blaha, Na Vyspe 8, 14700 Prague 4, Czechoslovakia.”

San Francisco’s Chinatown: Shirley Fong-Torres, who teaches Chinese cooking, is leading walking tours of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Groups explore back alleys, peek in on a fortune cookie factory, Chinese produce markets, herbal and noodle shops, delis. Free snacks in a number of restaurants. Fong-Torres’ flock joins a Chinese tea ceremony, visits with an artist (brush paintings). The tour winds up with a dim sum lunch at one of Fong-Torres’ favorite restaurants. During the walk (no hills to climb), Fong-Torres spins anecdotes about early Chinese settlers. Groups are kept to a maximum of a dozen persons. Price: $30 with lunch, $22 for the tour only.

Shirley Fong-Torres, Wok Wiz Tours, P.O. Box 1583, Pacifica, Calif. 94044. Telephone (415) 355-9657. Note: afternoon/evening tours also offered.

New York on a Budget: Hotel prices have soared in New York, but there’s still a way to do the Big Apple without taking out a loan. It’s the bed-and-breakfast routine. Rates from $50 single, $70 double. B&B; Network of New York is in its fifth year. Represents more than 250 properties. Everything from modest apartments and artists’ lofts to town houses and high-rise condos. Both hosted and non-hosted accommodations. Weekly/monthly rates available. Travelers are urged to make reservations a minimum of two weeks in advance. (Most accommodations require a two-night minimum stay.)

Contact Leslie Goldberg, B&B; Network of New York, 134 West 32nd St., Suite 602, New York 10001, (212) 645-8134.

Mexico Without Stress: C.E. of Del Mar asks for the name of a “quiet village in Mexico that’s low-key but with atmosphere.” Our vote goes to Copala. In the Sierra Madre range about 40 miles east of Mazatlan. Takes about an hour by car or bus. Donkeys share the cobbled streets. Visitors check in at the little five-room Hotel Posada San Jose. Excellent Mexican meals. You dine in the patio. The menu lists eggs ranchero, enchiladas and a plate that’s loaded with tortillas, tacos, tamales. The beer is cold and the service is top-notch. Others choose Daniel’s, a restaurant on the approach to town.

Hotel Posada San Jose faces a plaza and the church of Copala. After 400 years, little has changed in this village, which was founded by the Spaniards. Wrought-iron lamps line the square. The tolling of bells can be as startling as thunder. A fine retreat for travelers looking to escape crowded coastal resorts. No night life. Only one cantina. Copala is the colonial town that Puerto Vallarta once was--only without an ocean.

For the latest on Copala, contact the Mexican Government Tourism Office, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 224, Los Angeles 90067. Telephone (800) 262-8900 or (213) 203-8191.

Reader Recommendations

Washington--Natalie and Chet Miller, Flintridge: “On Whidbey Island, a truly superb B&B; called The Victorian, 602 N. Main, Coupeville, Wash. 98239. Delicious breakfast. Rates: $75/$95 double. Worth much more.”

Switzerland--Mr. and Mrs. S. Penn, Beverly Hills: “A charming hotel, the Swiss Inn, General Quissan Str. 23, CH-Interlaken 3800. Fantastic view of the snow-covered mountains. Twin-bedded rooms priced at $75/$90 U.S. The hotel charges an additional $5 for a sumptuous buffet breakfast.”

Hungary--Nell Thomas, Long Beach: “Pension Herold in a village about 20 miles outside Budapest. Operated by Max and Maria Herold, H2023 Dunabogdany, Hungary. Marie bakes bread for breakfast in an outdoor stone oven. Our room with twin beds and a shower was $20 U.S., including breakfast.”

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.