Getting to LAX for an early morning...

Getting to LAX for an early morning flight can be a traveler’s nightmare. One fender-bender and freeway traffic frequently comes to a screeching standstill--in some cases for miles. There you are, stuck tight in the snarl, fretting as each precious minute ticks away. Missing a flight is every traveler’s fear--but there are options. More and more passengers (business travelers in particular) are spending the night at an airport hotel, awakening without the dread of a morning spin on the freeway. Hotels at LAX offer a variety of packages. The latest is provided by the Stouffer Concourse Hotel-a package deal that involves accommodations for one night, seven free days of parking and a free shuttle to the airport, all for $95. Stouffer’s Greg Lehman describes it as a plan “to help travelers beat the airport parking game and eliminate traffic stress.” Considering parking at LAX costs from $7 to $16 per day, the Stouffer deal is a bargain.

Stouffer Concourse Hotel, 5400 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 216-5858.

Surviving Coach: There was a time when flying was pure joy. Even in coach. This was back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when meals were digestible and today’s overworked in-flight crews took time to exchange pleasantries with passengers (some still do). One airline even carried a piano on board. There were sing-alongs, New York City to Los Angeles. I’ve had memorable experiences, especially with American and Delta--and overseas with Swissair, to name only a trio. Considering the hundreds of flights dispatched daily to every corner on Earth, most airlines offer good service. There are exceptions, alas, which is the point of today’s essay.

With certain carriers, coach class ranks alongside a cross-country trip by bus. Only without the rest stops. Leg room has shrunk. Seats fit like a straitjacket. And we won’t even discuss what frequently passes for a meal. On a trip East recently, I was served a bowl of cereal with strawberries, a muffin and coffee. That was it. Period. Nothing else for nearly 2,000 miles. As a result, I’ve prepared a survival guide that, hopefully, will make your flight enjoyable.

--First, consider brown-bagging it. That is to say, bring along your own lunch (a sandwich, chips, dessert . . . even a thermos of soup or coffee). I have one acquaintance who totes along a picnic basket wherever he flies. Then while other passengers tear away at an overcooked omelet, he’s as satisfied as a snail in Strasbourg.

--Carry a cushion. Orthopedists tell me coach seats are tough on the vertebrae. For additional support, place a pillow at your lower back.

--Earplugs help. Especially when one occupies a seat beside an infant who’s shrieking while the guy next to you snores. (It happened to me--just the other day.)

--Bring drops for dry eyes, ointment for dry lips. Both occur due to the air conditioning/pressurization aboard the jet.

--And as usual, a sweater is essential for those moments when the flight engineer plays “freeze out” with the passengers.

Money Guide: The latest (spring) currency guide by Ruesch International is being mailed free to travelers. (The summer edition will be published in mid-July.) It’s pocket-sized. Contains conversion charts for 24 countries, Australia to Yugoslavia. To keep current with changing monetary values, the guide is updated three times a year. Besides a currency chart, there are suggestions for tipping, information on import/export restrictions. Ruesch is the nationally known foreign-exchange specialist that sells currency/traveler’s checks in foreign currency.

For copies of the guide, send a No. 10 self-addressed stamped envelope to Ruesch International, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 240, Los Angeles 90067. For additional details on other foreign-exchange services, call Ruesch at (800) 696-7990 (California) or (800) 424-2923 (outside the state).

Bonus: With the cooperation of Atlantic City hotels, you can ride with Gray Line round trip from Manhattan to the Boardwalk resort for next to nothing. The hotels are offering rebates ($15/$20) off the fare charged by Gray Line. The mid-morning bus ride is $21, or $24.50 for morning and evening departures. Hotels taking part in the Gray Line promotion are the Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, Trop World, Caesars, Bally’s and the Sands. In addition, these same hotels are offering low-cost rooms in conjunction with the bus trips. Buses leave Manhattan from 50 different pickup points, including Gray Line terminals at 54th Street and Eighth Avenue, 46th Street and Seventh Avenue. For members of Gray Line’s Golden Apple Club for seniors the company provides other discounts/coupons. (Membership is free.)

Gray Line, 254 West 54th St., New York 10019, (800) 669-0051.

Youth Fare: Travelers 18-35 years old are getting a break on air fares to London this summer. The round-trip price with Contiki Tours ($499) is good through September when passengers buy one of the ground tours offered in conjunction with the special fare:

--England, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France (15 days, $1,110).

--England, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Monaco (19 days, $1,380).

--England, France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the Netherlands (24 days, $1,699).

Included are accommodations, breakfasts, some dinners, sightseeing. Other tours (14-55 days) average $38-$72 a day. Your travel agent or Contiki Holidays, (800) 624-0611 (California)/(714) 937-0611.

Miscellaneous:

--A budget deal for schoolteachers this summer will be available at the Fiesta Americana in Puerto Vallarta. Accommodations: $60 a night (single/double occupancy) as opposed to the regular rate of $130. Call (800) FIESTA-1.

--Trafalgar Tours of Britain/Europe is operating a new 12-day money-saving tour of Ireland ($980 per person, double occupancy), with visits to Limerick, County Kerry, Killarney, Cork, Dugarvan, Waterford, Dublin, Sligo, Galway. First-class accommodations, meals, motor coach. Ring up your travel agent.

--A four-night rail tour to New Mexico will roll out of Union Station Aug. 29, with return Sept. 2. Cost: $319. This includes the Amtrak trip, accommodations at the Albuquerque Hilton, a welcome dinner, a motor-coach tour to Santa Fe. Los Coyotes Travel, 8350 Los Coyotes Drive, Buena Park 90621, (800) 448-9566.

Kauai Escape: My favorite island in all the world is Kauai, although I can do without all the glitz. (Remember when hotel doormen wore shorts and an aloha shirt instead of being decked out like the admiral on the USS Nimitz?) To escape all the hoopla, try Kokee Lodge on Kauai. Rates: $35/$45 a day for cabins that sleep up to six guests each. Kokee is in the high country. Up near Waimea Canyon. No discos, no shopping malls. Just the lodge that faces a country road, groves of trees, starry nights, pure air. And peace. My kind of Hawaii.

Kokee Lodge, P.O. Box 819, Waimea, Hawaii 96796, (808) 335-6061. Permits for trailers/tent camping can be obtained from the State Department of Land & National Resources, 3060 Eiwa St., Lihue, Kauai.

Reader Recommendations

Colorado--L. Moses, San Jose: “Shining Mountains Inn, Box 3100, Estes Park. An old log home high in the Rockies. Two bedrooms, private baths. Rates: $65/$75.”

Ireland--Carolyn Raps, San Diego: “Carlingford House, Carlingford, County Louth. A quiet B&B; operated by Peter and Irene Finegan. Complete Irish breakfast. Rates: $21 per person double, $27 single. Very lovely, small, seaside town with interesting hiking trails and old ruins near the Newgrange megolithic restoration area.”

Wales--Frances Limbird, Torrance: “Neuaddlas Guest House, Tregaron, Dyfed SY25 6LG. We found it by accident and it was outstanding--room, food, hostess. Bed and breakfast rates: about $53.”

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.