If you’re looking to save money (and...

If you’re looking to save money (and who isn’t?), several foreign airlines are selling passes good for inexpensive flights within the individual countries. Finnair offers a $300 Holiday Ticket that provides unlimited air travel in Finland for 15 days: (800) 950-5000.

Others:

Spain--A Visit Spain Pass that’s valid through June 14 sells for $249 ($299 during summer), good during a 60-day period. (For an extra $50 you can fly to the Canary Islands.) Iberia Airlines: (800) 772-4642.

United Kingdom--You’ll pay 39/49 (about $70/$90) for a UK Airpass good for three to a dozen flights in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. Among the restrictions: Flights must begin in London, Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow and end in one of these cities. British Airways: (800) 247-9297.

Italy--For travelers who fly from the United States with Alitalia, Visit Italy coupons cost $50 apiece for flights to 28 destinations. In addition, discounted tickets sell for about $130 per flight from Italy to other destinations in Europe/the Middle East. Alitalia: (800) 223-5730.

Scandinavia--Travelers flying with SAS to Scandinavia are eligible for a Visit Scandinavia fare that’s good for flights in Denmark, Sweden, Norway. One to six coupons ($80/$420). SAS: (800) 221-2350.

France--Unlimited travel via Air France/Air Inter in France is offered with Le France Pass ($279) for seven out of 30 days. (The pass is valid for travel to Corsica as well.) Air France: (800) 237-2747.

Your travel agent can furnish details on passes offered by other airlines.

Beyond the Golden Gate: Half a dozen innkeepers have put together booklets describing hideaways/travel at Pt. Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco. Details on hiking, biking, dining, sightseeing. A peek inside bookstores, galleries, country stores in the village of Pt. Reyes Station. Background on the ever-popular Manka’s Restaurant (originally built as a hunting/fishing lodge in hills overlooking Tomales Bay). At Manka’s, the menu features grilled elk with chestnut wild rice, wild pheasant with foie gras /red currant sauce, cracked Dungeness crab with dill lemon butter, stuffed salmon trout with white truffles, fennel/ buerre blanc , a crab and shellfish stew with leeks/Finnish potatoes, wild boar pie, etc. Manka’s Restaurant, P.O. Box 1110, Inverness, Calif. 94937, (415) 669-1034.

Here are the inns participating in the program:

--Bear Valley Inn, Box 33, Olema, Calif. 94950, (415) 663-1777. A two-story Victorian (circa 1899) with a wood stove, three guest rooms (antique beds, down comforters, fresh flowers). Rates: $79/$105.

--Blackthorne Inn, Box 712, Inverness, Calif. 94937, (415) 663-8621. Rises in a wooded canyon with sun decks, a hot tub, a spiral staircase. Said to resemble “a giant treehouse” crafted from redwood, cedar, Douglas fir. Rates: $105/$175.

--Holly Tree Inn, Box 642, Pt. Reyes Station, Calif. 94956, (415) 663-1554. Four guest rooms (plus a couple of cottages) with king/queen-size beds, private baths. Set in a 19-acre valley with wooded hillsides, lawns, gardens. Rates: $100/$125 (cottages, $140/$175).

--Roundstone Farm, P.O. Box 217, Olema, Calif. 94950, (415) 663-1020. Guest rooms with private baths/fireplaces, down comforters, armoires. Views of a pond, pasture, Tomales Bay. Rates: $115/$125.

--Ten Inverness Way, Box 63, Inverness, Calif. 94937, (415) 669-1648. Dates from 1904. Oriental rugs, a stone fireplace. Four guest rooms with antique beds, patchwork quilts, private baths. A hot tub in the garden. Innkeeper Mary Davies says her inn is for book/music/garden lovers. Rates: $100/$130.

--Thirty-Nine Cypress, Box 176, Pt. Reyes Station, Calif. 94956, (415) 663-1709. On a bluff overlooking Tomales Bay with views of the Pt. Reyes Peninsula. Three rooms, a library, antiques. Guests soak in a hot tub downhill from the inn. Rates: $90/$110. Note: Travelers paying for three nights at any of the inns get a fourth night free.

For brochures/general information on Pt. Reyes, contact Bobbi Stumf, c/o West Marin Network, Box 31, Inverness, Calif. 94937, (415) 663-9543.

The Good Life, Greek Style: Harry Xanthakos, born and reared in Greece, specializes in apartment/home rentals in his native land. Dozens of choices on the mainland/Greek Islands. Some real bargains. On Mykonos, an apartment for two persons rents for under $300 a week. (“We take the greatest care to avoid any disappointment,” says Xanthakos.) On Santorini, a home for two couples figures out to $980 a week. And on the island of Patmos, six persons can be accommodated in a home that rents for $1,630 a week. A $4-million villa on the mainland (five bedrooms, a swimming pool, maid service) is bid at $5,180 a week, breakfast/dinner included. Other rentals on a private island in the Aegean feature use of a speedboat for water skiing. White-washed homes with red tile roofs rise on beaches/hillsides. A chance to get acquainted with the locals in fishing villages/towns on the islands and the mainland.

For vacationers wishing to escape the real world, Xanthakos lists hideaways totally divorced from the everyday grind. Sunny days, star-filled nights. No traffic, no polluted skies. Just sweet peace. You get to the islands by ferry/plane.

Several years ago I got hooked on the island of Hydra. Not a single car--anywhere. Either walk or ride a donkey. Cafes, restaurants, art galleries on the quay side of the port. Hydra appeals to artists/writers. And Xanthakos has rentals.

For details, contact Harry Xanthakos c/o Spartan Luxus Habitats, 7602 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209, (718) 833-4483.

Yankee Canal Cruise: A vintage Dutch barge outfitted with antiques, fine art, king/queen-size beds, a modern bath and a wheelhouse lounge is being operated as a canal cruiser in France’s Bordeaux wine country by a couple of ex-Californians, Kate and Patrick Ratliffe. Patrick, a former history professor, traded the classroom for life on the Canal Lateral a la Garonne with his artist-wife who serves as chef (meals prepared with market-fresh produce, poultry, seafoods). Their barge, the Julia Hoyt, is a floating “two-room hotel, one-table restaurant” that caters to parties of 2 to 4 passengers on seven-day cruises in southwestern France. The Julia Hoyt features two double guest rooms, a salon, sun deck. Nightly candlelight dinners, regional wines. An open bar in the wheelhouse. Says Kate: “We like to think of ourselves as American cousins abroad, doing whatever it takes to help our guests experience the region from a local’s standpoint as opposed to a tourist’s.”

Tours are tailored to the wishes of passengers. Trips into Bordeaux’s Garonne River Valley. Visits to prehistoric cave paintings in the Lot Valley, the foie gras farms of Gascony (where duck and geese graze like cattle), the medieval village of Serignac-sur-Garonne, the wine hamlet of Buzet-sur-Baise, the walled city of Vianne, the open markets of Marmande. The reconditioned barge does a 60-mile stretch of Canal Later de la Garonne between Agen and Castet-en-Dorthe. Side trips by bicycle/van. Charter rates for one week: $2,650 per guest, including accommodations, all meals, unlimited wines, the open bar, sightseeing. Shorter/longer cruises available. For details: (800) 852-2625.

Reader Recommendations

Hawaii--Jack and Marjorie Tuell, Glendale: “Mountain Meadow Ranch, P.O. Box 1361, Kamuela 96743 (on the Big Island of Hawaii). Rates: $55 double.”

Mexico--Angela Waterman: “Casa Mirlo, APTDO. Postal No. 8/Etla, Oaxaca 68200. This is a bed and breakfast Spanish school hosted by American artist Jonathan Barbieri and his wife, Guadalupe. Two weeks: $350 per person.”

Luxembourg--Sidney Schulman, Long Beach: Hotel Le Belvedere, 2 Route de Diekirch L-9409, Vianden, Luxembourg (30 miles from Luxembourg City). A five-star hotel. Rates: $102 double (half-pension). The food is gourmet. Best value in Europe!”

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