A Global Whirl of Spring Deals to Europe, Asia and Beyond

By most accounts, international air travel remains down 15% to 20%, and bargain vacations continue to be prevalent in almost every resort area and overseas destination to which vacationing Americans fly.

Here is a selection of best buys available after Easter week and continuing into June that seem typical.

These prices are per person, based on double occupancy.

Belize: This English-speaking Central American nation is probably the hottest ticket in the tropics, partly because of the low cost of vacations there. From early April through June, for $884, you’ll receive round-trip midweek air fare from Los Angeles and seven nights in a beachfront hotel in the town of San Pedro on Ambergris Cay (where the reality TV show “Temptation Island” was filmed). Capricorn Leisure, (800) 426-6544, www.capricornleisure.com, makes the arrangements.

Rio de Janeiro: The low exchange rate of Brazil’s currency--which some have blamed for the economic crisis in neighboring Argentina--has brought a torrent of tourism to Rio.

From April to June 17 you can buy an air-and-land package to Rio de Janeiro from L.A. for $849 from South American Fiesta, (800) 334-3782, www.southamericanfiesta.com/latimes, which flies you round trip and puts you up for seven nights (with breakfast) at a hotel on Copacabana Beach.

Peru: Analie Tours, (800) 811-6027, www.analietours.com, offers a colorful vacation package to Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. For $779 (from April until June 2) the packager will fly you round trip from Miami to Lima, put you up for two nights in that capital city and take you for four nights to the Andean city of Cuzco, where you’ll have a full-day excursion with lunch to Machu Picchu. The price also includes air fare and train transportation within Peru. West Coast travelers can arrange their own air fare to Miami or have Analie Tours do it.

London: We’ve written about those winter air-and-land packages to London that sell for only $399 from the East Coast. That miracle rate disappears at the end of March, but it’s good to remember that from April 1 until June 12, the same package--round-trip air to London and six nights with continental breakfast daily at a modest hotel--will start at $599 per person, which is still less than air fare alone to London would cost at that time. The add-on from Los Angeles is $150. The tour operator is an Internet service called Go-today .com, www.go-today.com.

Portugal: You can spend a week in Lisbon from April 1 through May 31 for as little as $599 per person, including round-trip air fare from New York on TAP Portuguese Airlines and six nights at a fine hotel with indoor heated pool and rooftop restaurant.

That’s for a Tuesday departure; leaving on a Monday or Wednesday is $659, Thursday through Sunday $831. Additional nights run $40 per person, the single supplement $200.

For details or to book, call (800) 223-1580, www.abreu-tours.com. Check with the tour operator for good deals on air fare to New York.

Hong Kong: After a shaky start under Chinese rule (touristically, that is), the former crown colony is again awash in visitors, partly because of well-priced air-and-land packages there. From April until June 9, from Gate 1, (800) 682-3333, www.gate1travel.com, there’s round-trip air from Los Angeles and five nights at the 400-room Park Hotel starting at $789 per person. Extra nights are available at good prices.

China: Frequently asked to recommend the top tour to China, I always answer that it’s the 10-day, six-city air-and-land package operated by China Focus of San Francisco, (800) 868-7244, www.chinafocustravel.com. In May and June, for $1,259 from Los Angeles or $1,199 from San Francisco, the package includes all meals, guides, lodging and air fare to Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Qufu, Tai’an and Jinan.

Beijing: In April and May the single least expensive quick trip to China is an air-and-land package to Beijing operated by China Silk Tours, (800) 945-7960, www.chinasilktour.com. For $735 per person ($795 in June or July), it will fly you there from Los Angeles, put you up for five nights at a fine hotel and throw in airport transfers, seven meals and two full-day tours to the must-see sights: the Forbidden City, Imperial Palace, Great Wall and Ming Tombs.

Extra sights are slightly more. A similar deal to Shanghai is $785 in April or May, $850 in June or July. The single room supplement is $120 for Beijing, $110 for Shanghai.

New Zealand: The Kiwi currency has plummeted, and one U.S. dollar buys 21/2 New Zealand dollars. Result: low costs for almost everything. My advice for exploring this wild yet civilized country is a motor home.

For $836 through April, Sunspots International, (800) 334-5623, www.sunspotsintl.com, will fly you midweek from Los Angeles to New Zealand on Air Tahiti Nui and provide you with a Spirit Two RV with unlimited mileage for eight days, a discount pass to several attractions and the right to extend your stay for just a little more. For prices on trips after May, call Sunspots.