Some attractive air bargains this week. Air...

Some attractive air bargains this week. Air New Zealand has announced a five-night package ($848) to London, Nov. 1-30, that includes round-trip flight from LAX with accommodations/continental breakfast at the White House Hotel. Based on double occupancy. Additional nights: $63 per person. Upgrades are available at the Gloucester Hotel ($52 for all five nights, with extra nights priced at $73). If you want to travel earlier, the same package will cost you $948 from Sept. 16-30, or $928 from Oct. 1-30. You fly midweek (Wednesday/Thursday) out of LAX, returning on Thursday/Friday from London. Weekend travelers pay a surcharge ranging from $24-$75, depending on the dates.

Your travel agent or Brendan Tours at (800) 421-8446.

Europe on the Cheap: If you’re looking for a cheap flight to Europe, try Airhitch, an organization in New York City that will get you to Europe for peanuts. Fares: $160 from the East Coast, $269 from LAX, San Francisco, Seattle. Airhitch was founded a decade ago by students searching for inexpensive flights to the Continent. Described as “an airline hitchhiking assistance program,” it monitors airlines, tour operators and charter companies for unsold seats on various European flights. Here’s how it works: When you sign up, you give Airhitch a five-day period in which you can fly. Airhitch guarantees to get you to Europe within this five-day range (it could be a Monday, a Tuesday, a Wednesday, etc.). The key word is flexibility. On the other hand, Airhitch won’t guarantee you’ll arrive at the city of your choice. Instead of Paris you might wind up in Stuttgart. Or Amsterdam or London/Ireland. Or Madrid, Rome, Milan, Zurich. Says Airhitch: “You must be flexible enough to accept any destination in Western Europe.”

Travelers learn the names of the carriers by calling Airhitch on Wednesday the week preceding their departure. In the event a flight is sold out, Airhitch will put you aboard the next available plane, although Airhitch says 95% of its travelers leave on the first flight. Fares are the same returning. Home-bound tickets can be purchased in the United States or at any of seven Airhitch offices in Europe.

Airhitch, 2790 Broadway, Suite 100, New York 10025, (212) 864-2000. Note: There is no age restriction and Airhitch serves both students and nonstudents.

Week’s Best Buy: It’s called “Monday Madness,” a plan whereby you book a trip on Monday to San Francisco for the following weekend and pay only $58/$88 for the air fare. Hotels start at $65, suites at $100. Leave on Friday, return on Sunday. Extensions available. Hotels include The Prescott on Union Square, The Villa Florence, The Tuscan at Fisherman’s Wharf and the new Harbor Court at the Embarcadero. An opportunity to take in Chinatown, the Japan Center, Nob Hill, Jackson Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Presidio, North Beach (Italian-style delis/bakeries/coffeehouses), Alcatraz Island, San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, the Embarcadero, Treasure Island. Or motor across Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and size up San Francisco from a waterfront cafe facing Alcatraz/Angel Island.

Reservations through Contract Travel at (800) 927-4701.

Skiing Switzerland: A series of low-price ski packages are being booked early this year in Switzerland at Riederalp, Oberiberg, Grindelwald, Brig. Hotel packages start at $590 per person for six nights (accommodations, breakfast/dinner daily, ski passes). The ski pass at the Posthotel in Oberiberg can be used on 16 lifts. Rates at Hotel Silberhorn in Grindelwald run $730 per person for seven nights (Jan. 5 to April 5). At Hotel Goldener Schuessel in Altdorf, skiers will pay $755 for accommodations, a buffet breakfast/dinner daily, guide service and a ski pass good for six days at six locations. Besides passes, Hotel Adler in Riederalp will be offering five days of lessons.

Contact Windrose Switzerland at (800) 223-9832 or (305) 923-5366 for these and other hotels listed in the program.

A Bargain Down Under: One free round-trip air ticket (LAX-Sydney) on Northwest Airlines is being given by Australian Pacific/ATT King’s Tours when two persons travel together by motor coach (12 days or longer) in Australia/New Zealand. The offer is good now through Nov. 30, again March 1 to June 30. Applies to camping/four-wheel safaris into Australia’s Outback as well as the bus excursions. A choice of 33 tours. Airline ticket purchase required 21 days in advance. Seats limited.

Your travel agent or Australian Pacific/ATT King’s Tours, 512 Verdugo Drive, Suite 200, Burbank 91502, (800) 821-9513.

Meanwhile, J&O; Pacific, together with Northwest Airlines, has put together a package that sells for $999 per person (double occupancy) that includes round-trip air to Australia, three nights in Sydney, airport transfers and a Sydney harbor cruise. J&O; has a lineup of other programs, including a camel trek in Alice Springs. Your travel agent or J&O; Pacific at (800) 877-8777.

Adventure in Spain: Casa de Carmona, a former 16th-Century Andalusian palace, is welcoming guests to Spain’s 5,000-year-old village of Carmona. Only 20 minutes by car from Seville, 10 minutes from the airport or 15 minutes by high-speed train to Madrid. Casa de Carmona has been restored as a 30-room luxury hotel featuring antique furnishings, lofty ceilings, fine linens, Spanish/international cuisine. Golf, tennis, riding nearby. Tours to the sherry wineries of Jerez de la Frontera, Cordoba and Granada with its famed Alhambra. Rates (including tax/service charge/breakfast): $169 single, $217 double. The village of Carmona (a Spanish national monument) features medieval streets that wind past Moorish/Gothic/Renaissance/Baroque buildings. The old city wall still stands.

Details from your travel agent or Marketing Ahead Hotel Representatives, 433 Fifth Ave., New York 10016, (212) 689-9213.

Versailles’ Trianon Palace: After a lengthy renovation, the Trianon Palace at Versailles is welcoming guests again. Travelers occupy rooms where Marie Antoinette slept. Other famous guests who found shelter at the Trianon: Queen Elizabeth II, King Umberto of Italy, Marcel Proust, Sarah Bernhardt, Marlene Dietrich, the Duchess of Windsor, J. Paul Getty, David Rockefeller and generals Eisenhower, Patton and Montgomery.

The Trianon Palace was where Marie Antoinette fled the pressures of Paris. A tranquil setting. Seven acres of park land. Several years ago I spent a night at the Trianon. A heady experience. Guests are pampered like the royal figures who once roamed its halls. Only 10 miles from Paris, but it’s another world. Gardens and trees with sheep grazing just beyond the door. Windows frame lovely landscapes. The restaurant is the joy of famous chef Gerard Vie.

The Trianon’s 165 rooms, 36 suites feature 48 TV channels, phones, faxes, portable computers. Opening soon: a 6,000-square-foot spa operated by Givenchy.

The Trianon Palace, 1 Blvd. de la Reine, 78000 Versailles, France. Rates from 1,980 francs daily (about $355).

Big Island Revisited: An item in last week’s Travel Tips on a new 800 hot line to aid tourists headed to the Big Island of Hawaii failed to include the phone number: (800) 648-2441.

Reader Recommendations

California--Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Lake Elsinore: Enjoyed the Kaleidoscope Inn B&B;, 130 E. Dana St., Nipomo 93444. Proprietors are Bill and Patty Linane. Rates: $65/$70.

Massachusetts--Christine Evans, San Diego: “Stayed at Forest Way Farm, Charlemont, Mass. 01339. A double, including full breakfast, was $47. We were treated like family.”

Australia--Mike and Lisa Guest, Irvine: “A couple in a suburb north of Sydney rent their cottage to travelers for $35 U.S. for three nights, with special weekly discounts. Couples only. Write to Herbert and Renate Filla, 213 Ryde Road, West Pymble 2073.”

England--Arlene P. LaPlante, San Diego: “A truly charming bed and breakfast, the Fir Trees, Lake Road, Windermere, Cumbria LA23ESQ. Rates: $37 per person, high season.”

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.