Ring in a New Year’s Deal in London

What are you doing for New Year’s Eve? Though the question may seem premature, you might think otherwise upon learning of this cut-rate (it will sell out fast) one-week air-and-land package to London from the tour operator Go-today.com. It flies you round trip to London on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), then returns you on Jan. 2 and supplies six nights of hotel accommodations with daily continental breakfast. And you’ll have a chance to be in Trafalgar Square for the New Year’s blast. All this for $709 from Los Angeles, per person, double occupancy. You’d better book right away--no later than the end of May--by going to https://www.go-today.com.

* Although a trip to two Scandinavian cities--including a two-night cruise between them--will never be a budget-level activity, the cost is reasonable enough to warrant consideration. From Eurobreaks.net you receive a round-trip flight from the U.S. (East Coast) to Copenhagen on Iceland-air, three nights at a pleasant hotel in the Danish capital and a two-night cruise back and forth between Copenhagen and Oslo, spending a full day in the Norwegian capital. The total price, until June 14, is $1,099 per person, double, from the East Coast. See https://www.eurobreaks.net.

* The QE2, the legendary vessel that crosses the Atlantic, has just authorized a cruise consolidator to offer a sharp price reduction for a transatlantic sailing from England starting June 6. For $899 per person, double occupancy, the broker will sell you a minimum-rate inside cabin for the crossing, including one-way air fare from the United States (East Coast) to Britain so you can board the ship. That’s $899 for a six-night crossing on the so-called City at Sea, with its famous traditions and amenities. Obviously the cabin is modest, but you have full run of the ship. To book at that price, call White Travel Service at (860) 233-2648.

* How often in Paris have you seen residents strolling with their string bags full of plump white asparagus, creamy cheeses and crusty baguettes and thought, “If only I had a kitchen’? You can rent a kitchen-equipped apartment in Paris for one week using your choice of three international real estate brokers: Paris Sejours, Citadines Apartments or Parisvacations.com. All rent Parisian flats for as little as $600 a week throughout May. Log on to https://www.parisvacationapartments.com; access Paris Sejours at https://www.psryourhomeinparis.com; or phone a U.S. representative of Citadines at (800) 755-8266.

* Here in the U.S. we have summer vacations at arts-and-crafts centers and summer vacations at schools for folk dancing. We also have summer schools for aspiring writers. Probably the best-organized program for writers 18 and older is at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, from June 10 to July 27. You can stay for a week, attending your choice of as many as 12 workshops supplemented by lectures, open-mike readings and time for old-fashioned scribbling, for $400 if you book in May. You can secure lodging for as little as $225 for the week. See the whole program online at https://www.uiowa.edu/~iswfest. Or call the Iowa Summer Writing Festival at (319) 335-4160.

* I have written before about a skilled, budget-priced operator of African safaris, 2Afrika Inc., that charges much less than most other such companies. To widen the gap, 2Afrika has just reduced its price by $100 until June 6. You will pay $1,795 for round-trip air fare to Nairobi on KLM via Amsterdam (from New York), one night in Nairobi and five nights in Kenyan game preserves, including Masai Mara. Those five nights, to me, are a perfectly adequate amount of time, and the price is a world’s wonder for an activity that usually costs two or three times as much. Call (201) 533-1075.

* In the single most expensive city in America for hotel stays (New York), it has finally happened: The occupancy rates have begun decreasing, and one hotel after another has announced rates more like those in the rest of the United States.

Throughout May, rooms will rent for $99 to $119 a night midweek (weekends a bit more) at three boutique hotels in Manhattan: the Union Square Inn, the Amsterdam Inn and the Murray Hill Inn. To book any of the three, call the Murray Hill Inn, (888) 996-6376.