The latest edition of Sanford Cohen’s “World-Wide...

The latest edition of Sanford Cohen’s “World-Wide Home Rental Guide” lists hundreds of villas, condos, houses, castles in Europe (Austria, Belgium, England, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain) as well as Mexico (Acapulco, Cozumel, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) and the Caribbean/Bahamas (Abaco, Anguilla, Cayman Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grenada, Jamaica, Paradise Island, Puerto Rico, St. Bart’s, St. Croix, St. John, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Turks/Caicos, Tortola, Treasure Cay). Others in the United States (California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North/South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C.).

Cohen’s guide contains thumbnail sketches of properties with addresses, rates. Here’s an example: In Costa Rica, a three-bedroom/three-bath home with a swimming pool on Carillo Bay rents for $1,300 per week, including car and staff. (Contact Don Burlingame, 352 Somerville Road, Basking Ridge, N.J. 07920.) Just outside Rome, Robert Pace is renting his two-bedroom apartment with a garden and swimming pool for $350 a week. (Write to Pace at Via S. Maria Della Speranza 11, 00139 Rome, Italy.)

Subscription rates for Cohen’s guide (updated twice annually) are $18 per year, $30 for two years, $42 for three years. Write to World-Wide Home Rental Guide, P.O. Box 2842, Santa Fe, N.M. 87504.

Maine: It’s called the Blue Hill Inn. Loads of atmosphere. The sort of place you’d expect to find grandma turning out cookies and pies during the holidays. Travelers have been overnighting at the Blue Hill since 1840. Makes it the oldest continuously operating inn in Maine. Federal-style architecture. A garden with elm trees. Eleven rooms (some with fireplaces), private baths, 19th-Century antiques. Recently refurbished. The Blue Hill is about an hour by car south of Bangor, Me., 45 miles west of Bar Harbor at the foot of Blue Hill Mountain. The inn occupies a spot in the village’s historic district. Rates: $130 B&B; per room or $160 with breakfast and six-course dinners.

The Blue Hill Inn, P.O. Box 403, Blue Hill, Me. 04614. Open year-round.

Singles: M.D. of San Bernardino asks where she can book a cruise for singles. “I’m recently divorced and am anxious to take a voyage with other singles.” One of the old standbys is Singleworld. The company has been conducting tours/cruises for more than 30 years. Currently, Singleworld is booking cruises on the Norway, the Celebration and the Nordic Empress. Sailings for various age groups. Besides cruises, Singleworld handles a flock of tours to Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, etc.). For a 32-page catalogue, contact your travel agent or write to Singleworld, P.O. Box 1999, Rye, N.Y. 10580. Call (800) 223-6490.

Week’s Best Bet: I like Mazatlan. Great beaches. Some good restaurants. The Shrimp Bucket still packs ‘em in. One of the season’s best buys is a four-day, three-night package for $356 (round-trip air from LAX and accommodations at the Granada Country Club). Other arrangements at the Castillo Beach Hotel ($404) and El Moro Tower ($464). These packages are offered in conjunction with El Cid Mega Resort and Delta Airlines. Besides the flight/accommodations, prices include airport transfers, a 15% hotel tax, a welcome cocktail and the $6 Mexican departure tax. Prices are per person, double occupancy. (El Cid provides other less expensive economy packages.)

See your travel agent or call El Cid at (213) 827-1148.

Ski Lodge: If you can’t afford to go skiing in Europe this winter, consider Canada’s Whistler Mountain and the Austrian-style Durlacher Hof. Looks for all the world like the snapshot of an Old World inn. Difficult to tell whether you’re in Innsbruck, St. Anton or Lech. The Durlacher is outside Vancouver. A chalet-like lodge. Features down Duvets, European furnishings, a huge fireplace, authentic Austrian cuisine. As the mountain’s newest pension, it’s described as “a little patch of Austria” by proprietors Erika and Peter Durlacher. Only a few miles from Vancouver in an alpine setting that brings to mind a village lost in the Austrian Alps. Rates: $89/$109, or there’s a three-night ski package ($249) with passes, five nights ($395), seven nights ($515).

The Durlacher Hof Inn, 7055 Nesters Road, Box 1125, Whistler, B.C. VON 1BO, Canada. Call (604) 932-1924.

Arizona: A group of Arizona innkeepers has banded together to produce a booklet listing B&Bs; in Ajo, Flagstaff, Hereford, Lakeside, Oracle, Phoenix, Prescott, Sedona and Tucson. A choice of 17 properties. Westways of Phoenix is getting a lot of attention. Six guest rooms, private baths, a swimming pool, complimentary 10-speed and mountain bikes. The inn is surrounded by a mountain preserve. Guest privileges at Arrowhead Country Club (32 tennis courts, two golf courses). Westways (P.O. Box 41624, Phoenix, Ariz. 85080) is 25 miles north of Sky Harbor Airport via I-17 (exit at Bell Road or Pinnacle Peak Road). Rates: $39/$49 per person with a full breakfast.

For a listing of all 17 properties, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Marjorie G. Martin c/o Arizona Assn. of Bed & Breakfast Inns, Box 237, Tucson, Ariz. 85719. Telephone (602) 231-6777.

Trip List: When going overseas, make a list of those small, important items that are frequently forgotten in the rush to pack: medications, a transistor radio, pens/stationery, toothbrush/toothpaste, razors, makeup kit, a copy of your birth certificate (necessary if reapplying for a lost/stolen passport). Other suggested items: a sweater (jet cabins are often chilly), a calculator, a pair of comfortable walking shoes, film, an extra pair of glasses, a traveler’s alarm clock, credit cards. Each individual has his/her own personal requirements. A checklist guarantees you won’t forget. I always carry ear plugs to muffle street noises. Particularly when visiting New York City, where the trash collectors rattle cans in the wee hours like drummers competing in a bongo contest. It’s risky, of course, using ear plugs. Some night someone may shout “Fire!” and I’ll snooze right through. Still, beats those long, sleepless nights.

For Bikers: Warren Lang, an inveterate Australian biker, is in the process of preparing tours for American motorcyclists (Sydney to Cairns) that will take in rain forests, crocodile country, the Gold Coast, the Great Barrier Reef, etc. A chase vehicle will carry luggage. Trips are planned for next spring. Fourteen days will figure out to $2,490, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle, accommodations, a tour guide. (Passengers riding the buddy seat will pay $1,490.) Bikers will snorkel, visit Aussie pubs, aboriginal caves. Anyone tiring of riding can switch to the chase van. Lang also tailors tours for individuals.

Warren Lang, Australian Motorcycle Adventures, P.O. Box 91, Illawong, N.S.W. Australia 2234, or contact General Travel Group, 700 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 126, Larkspur, Calif. 94939-1744. Telephone (415) 925-1199.

Reader Recommendations

California--Mr. and Mrs. Barton Harlan, Garden Grove: “A terrific B&B; on Coronado Island called Coronado Victorian House, 1000 8th St., Coronado, Calif. 92118. Armenian/Lebanese cooking. Costs vary, but a complete package per couple (with private dance lessons) is $270.”

England--”Rusper House, Newdigate Road, Rusper, West Sussex RH12 4RR. About five miles from Gatwick Airport. They sent their car for us at 11 p.m. Atmosphere was peaceful. Food/drinks excellent. Double room: approximately $135.”

Singapore--William E. Webster, Bakersfield: Praise for the Four Seasons restaurant in Hong Kong. “Building is known as Empress Place, which is a cultural exhibition center at 1 Empress Place.”