Prices to Europe Drop With Fall Temperatures

Starting in January, the price of a short European vacation will drop to levels rarely experienced in transatlantic travel. Blame it on the economic slowdown, the strong dollar, the relentless increase in the number of ocean-crossing aircraft--whatever. All these conditions will result this winter (January through mid-March) in weeklong air-and-land packages to London costing an unprecedented $399 per person (from the East Coast), the same to Paris for $439, to Ireland for $499, to Naples for $599 and to the Algarve of Portugal (a two-week stay) for $699.

Seven packages are especially compelling and will sell out fast; you might consider booking this far ahead. All prices are per person, two to a room.

* London. Of all the upcoming bargains, this $399 package (and the $439 package to Paris; see below) is the biggest, grandest and most irresistible, and it’s available for nearly two months, from Jan. 3 to Feb. 23, when the weather in Britain usually is tolerable.

At Go-Today.com, the Internet tour operator that requires that the transaction be fully online, you pay $399 per person for round-trip air from New York on Virgin Atlantic Airways, six nights at a choice of hotels, breakfast daily and all taxes and service. And you can buy $220 air add-ons from Los Angeles. See https://www.gotoday.com. Based on last year’s pattern, the prices for March departures are likely to rise by $100. You can get this deal on the phone, too, at (425) 487-9632, for a service charge as low as $10.

* Paris: From France Vacations, tel. (800) 332-5332, https://www.francevacations.net, here is a close equivalent to the London deal, enabling you to hit the January clothing sales in one of the world’s top fashion capitals. From January through March, five nights at a member of the Relais de Paris hotel chain, daily continental breakfast and round-trip air fare on Continental are yours for $439 out of Newark, $589 from the West Coast.

* Ireland: Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Eire’s air isn’t as chilly in winter as you might think--mostly in the 40s and 50s in January and February. So the independent-minded might consider this exceptional “fly-drive-plus”: $499 round trip to Dublin from New York, Boston or Baltimore on Aer Lingus, $589 from Los Angeles. You’ll get a Ford Fiesta for a week, a set of maps and six nights’ worth of vouchers good at 450 farmhouse B&Bs.; This rate is good from Jan. 1 to Feb. 8, then goes up $50 through March. (Note: The car is a stick shift; an upgrade to automatic will run you $42 per person). Contact Sceptre Tours at (800) 221-0924 or https://www.sceptretours.com.

* Italy: Off-season Italy is always cheap-package nirvana, and this winter TourCrafters, tel. (800) 621-2259 or https://www.tourcrafters.com, leads the pack with its $599 five-nighters from New York to Rome, Florence or Venice (plus $140 from Los Angeles). This year, add to that list Naples, near Pompeii, Capri and Sorrento, where it’s warmer than those more northerly cities. The price is valid Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 and Jan. 3 to March 23. (There’s a Feb. 1-to-12 blackout to Venice for the city’s Carnevale celebration.)

* Portugal: The Algarve resort area of Portugal’s south makes for a popular, fairly balmy getaway even in the dead of winter. So a long-standing two-week deal from Sun Holidays, tel. (800) 422-8000 or https://www.sunholidaytours.com, is pretty irresistible at $699 from Jan. 15 to March 5. It includes a one-bedroom apartment for 13 nights--in a complex with pools and a restaurant, near a beach, marina and casino--plus air fare out of New York (but not L.A.).

* Croatia: Dubrovnik is a gorgeous medieval walled city (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) set on one of southern Europe’s loveliest coastlines, offering excellent food, mild winter weather, superb sightseeing and impressive off-season bargains. Throughout January, February and March you can experience seven nights at the beachside Hotel Kompas, including daily breakfast and dinner, for $899 from Los Angeles--including air fare on Virgin Atlantic. And you can add a week to your Croatian stay for just $335. Call the New York-based tour operator Travel Time, tel. (800) 354-8728.

* Central Europe: Since the Iron Curtain lifted more than a decade ago, Prague (Czech Republic) and Budapest (Hungary) have become major world tourism stars, yet they still offer visitors more value than much of Western Europe. They’re not uncomfortable to explore in winter, and the price is right at $1,015 for six nights (three in each city). That covers round-trip air fare out of Los Angeles, modern hotel accommodations with daily breakfast and a flight between the two capital cities. The program is in effect Jan. 2 through March 25. Contact Paul Laifer Tours at (800) 346-6314 or https://www.laifertours.com.