What’s the Deal? This week’s best travel bargains around the globe.

Land

l Hotel Palomar Philadelphia is offering a discounted rate targeted at Washington area residents for stays through Feb. 29. Rate starts at $139 a night, plus $21 tax, a savings of at least $107. Two-night minimum stay required. The deal also includes two cocktails and one appetizer (valued at about $35) at the hotel’s Square 1682 restaurant. Blackout dates include Nov. 18-19, Dec. 30-31 and Jan. 2. Book by Dec. 31 at 888-725-1778, www.hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com. Request promo code WASHDC.

l With Marriott’s Stay Here, Fly There promotion, spend at least two nights at one of nearly 30 participating resorts and receive a companion airline ticket voucher for a future flight, plus a $100 resort credit. Deal is valid at properties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada and Texas. Resort credit is good for golf, spa and dining services. Rates vary. For example, at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa in Colorado, a midweek December stay starts at about $408 for two nights, including taxes. Book by Dec. 31; stay through Jan. 31. Use promo code P91. Info: 800-721-6996, www.marriott.com.

l Budget is offering u p to 35 percent off car rentals with its Pay Now feature, which requires travelers to pay at the time of the reservation. For example, in early December, a one-day economy rental from Los Angeles airport costs $31 with the prepay option vs. $50 at the counter (add about $18 in taxes). Savings in other categories range from $6 (convertible) to $38 (intermediate SUV). Available at most Budget locations in the United States and Canada. No change fee. Book online at www.budget.com.

Sea

l Book and pay for a Galapagos cruise-tour with General Tours World Traveler by Nov. 23 and receive a $1,400 per-couple discount. Deal applies to five itineraries; prices vary by trip and date. For example, after the discount, a Journey to the Galapagos tour starts at $3,199 per person double, including taxes, on select departures through March 2013. Rate includes three nights at the Swissotel in Quito, Ecuador; round-trip airfare between Quito and the Galapagos; and a four-night cruise aboard the Galapagos Explorer II. Info: 800-221-2216,

Air

l American Airlines is offering sale fares to Europe. For example, a round-trip connecting flight from Reagan National to Paris starts at $697, including $141 taxes; other airlines are matching. For London, the cheapest fares are available Monday-Wednesday; for other cities, sale fares apply to Sunday-Thursday flights. Depart by April 1 and return by June 15. Blackout dates are Dec. 17-24. Seven-day advance purchase required. Book by Nov. or pay an additional $25 by calling 800-433-7300.

Package

l Book two discounted round-trip tickets on British Airways to select destinations in Europe and receive two free hotel nights. Deal applies to London; Paris; Rome; Madrid; Barcelona; Budapest; Prague; Amsterdam; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Manchester, England. For example, fly nonstop from Dulles International to London and spend two nights at the Royal National Hotel for $662 per person double, including taxes and continental breakfasts. Priced separately, round-trip airfare on other airlines starts at $676, and the hotel rate for two nights with breakfast is $319 — a savings of $347 per couple. Single travelers receive one free night. Travel dates and restrictions vary by hotel and destination. Book by Nov. 15 at www.ba.com, or pay $25 more by calling 877-428-2228.

l Vision Airlines, the new low-fare airline that recently started service between BWI Marshall and Grand Bahama Island, is offering $1 one-way fares, plus taxes, in conjunction with a three-night package for two. Prices vary per resort. For example, January packages with round-trip air and three nights at the Flamingo Bay Hotel and Marina in Freeport start at $427 per person double, including taxes. Book by Dec. 11; travel by March 4. Blackout dates include Dec. 29-31 and Feb. 16-20. By comparison, air alone starts at $289. Info: 877-FLY-A-JET (359-2538),

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Deals on trips to the Caribbean and elsewhere

The week’s best travel bargains around the world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LAND

●Windjammer Landing Beach Resort on the island of St. Lucia is offering discounts of 25 percent on stays through Dec. 20. Room rate starts at $120 a night plus $22 taxes, a savings of $40. The 60-acre, 247-room resort, built into a hillside facing the sea, offers several swimming pools, tennis courts, spa and fitness center. Info: 877-522-0722, www.windjammer-landing.com.

●The 346-room Renaissance Dupont Circle in the District is offering a “Relatively Close” special this holiday season of $99 a night (plus $14 taxes). The promo reflects a $50-per-night savings and applies to stays Nov. 20-27 and Dec. 22-26. Guests must book Thanksgiving or Christmas night to qualify. A 14-day advance purchase is required, and the deal is nonrefundable. Info: 888-803-1298, www.renaissancedupontcircle.com. Request promo code HOL.

SEA

●Take a four-night Western Caribbean cruise from Miami aboard the 1,950-passenger Celebrity Millennium starting at $279 per person double (plus $78 taxes). The guarantee rate (Celebrity chooses the specific stateroom) applies to an inside cabin on the Nov. 10 sailing, with a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. Brochure rate started at $349. Info: 800-647-2251, www.celebritycruises.com.

●Disney Cruise Line has discounted fares for veranda staterooms on two week-long Caribbean sailings aboard the Disney Magic. Price is now $999 per person double plus $73 taxes (a savings of about $930) for the Nov. 26 Western Caribbean itinerary (visits Key West, Fla; Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Disney’s Castaway Cay) and the Dec. 3 Eastern Caribbean cruise (visits St. Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Castaway Cay).

AIR

●American is offering introductory fares on its new nonstop service between New York’s JFK and Antigua. The round-trip fare starts at $376, including taxes of $76; fare on other airlines starts at $612. Lowest fares apply to Monday and Thursday flights between Nov. 17 and Feb. 13; other days have slightly higher fares, and some dates are sold out. Blackout dates include departures Dec. 15-24 and 26-30 and returns Dec. 26-31 and Jan. 1-8. A two-night minimum stay is required.

●Air France has sale fares to Europe. For example, fly round trip from Washington Dulles to Istanbul for about $634, including taxes. Depart Oct. 23 through Dec. 14. Restrictions include a minimum Sunday-night stay and a maximum one-month stay. A seven-day advance purchase is required. A surcharge of $30 each way is incurred for Friday and Saturday departures and Friday-through-Sunday returns. Some dates are sold out. Other airlines are matching.

PACKAGE
●Insight Cuba is offering free round-trip air from Miami to Havana, valued at about $500, on select tours departing by Dec. 31. Several itineraries are offered, including four departures of the seven-night Havana & Colonial Trinidad tour, starting at $2,995 per person double; eight departures of the seven-night Havana & Scenic Pinar del Rio tour, starting at $2,495; two departures of the eight-night Cuban Music & Art Experience, starting at $3,395; and one departure of the seven-night Bay of Pigs (Havana and Playa Giron) tour, starting at $2,745. Trips include in-country escort, four- and five-star hotels, all meals, ground transport, domestic flights in Cuba (where required), entry fees, local guides, travel insurance and a U.S. Treasury Department license and letter of authorization.

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Travelers turn back to travel agents

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At state dinner, sparkling amid rain

On New Year’s Day, James Vaughn gave his travel agent a tough assignment: Book a 10-day trip to India. Departure date: Jan. 13.

It took David Rubin of DavidTravel in Corona Del Mar, Calif., just 48 hours to book flights and hotel rooms and hire tour guides. He even called the manager of a sold-out hotel and finagled a room out of him.

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But the work didn’t end once Vaughn and his husband boarded their flight from Los Angeles to Delhi. When their flight from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was canceled, Rubin came to the rescue. “They would have been on the phone for the next several hours trying to sort out what to do,” he said.

Instead, they went sightseeing while Rubin’s local contacts did the sorting. By the time the couple returned to their hotel, their bags had been packed and loaded into a car, and a driver whisked them off to Agra.

The irony, Vaughn said, is that Rubin had initially tried to get them to drive to Agra rather than fly, but they hadn’t taken his advice. “Ultimately, he was right,” said Vaughn, a public-affairs consultant. “Seeing a camel going through a toll booth on a highway is not something you get to see while you’re flying.”

For years, it looked as though the travel agent had gone the way of the milkman. As online booking sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and others soared in popularity, travel agents became the butt of jokes. A scene from a “30 Rock” episode this season said it all. Desperate at the prospect of losing her writing job, Liz Lemon is invited to live in a subway tunnel with people whose occupations have become irrelevant: an American auto worker, a rock band saxophonist, the CEO of Friendster — and a travel agent.

But the travel agent has been given a reprieve. That’s because many vacations have become as hard to plan as the name of last year’s traveler-stranding Icelandic volcano was to pronounce. Natural disasters cause flight cancellations. Revolutions put tourist destinations off-limits. Airlines and rental car agencies confound with ever-increasing fees. And the Internet spews so much information that it manages to hurt consumers as much as it helps them.

Travelers are starting to need vacations from planning their vacations.

“Not only are customers confused and frustrated by new airline fees and events, but they are bombarded by social media,” said John Clifford, president of the luxury travel consultancy InternationalTravelManagement.com. “Everyone is trying to tell you where you should stay, where you should eat, what you should do.”

A study by Forrester Research found that the number of leisure travelers who enjoyed using the Web to plan and book their vacations dropped from 53 percent in 2007 to 47 percent in 2010. And in an American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) survey, 44 percent of agents said that they had more clients in 2010 than they’d had the previous year, with the strongest rebound in rail and hotel reservations.

Travelers “don’t have hours to spend on research to compare multiple flights, multiple cruises, multiple packages,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Forrester Research. “It’s not unlike doing your taxes. Depending on who you are, what your priorities are, there are some people who will choose to do it themselves or to use a professional.”

resource : http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/travelers-turn-back-to-travel-agents/2011/04/25/AFZcLM8F_story.html

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The Navigator: Want a refund? Read the policy.

It looked like a lost cause.

Betty van Iersel had prepaid $3,900 for an all-inclusive seven-day French canal tour on the barge Luciole. But two weeks after she’d wired the money to the cruise line, a financial emergency forced her to cancel.

The Luciole’s owners refused to return her money, citing their refund policy. Her travel agency, Annapolis-based Special Places Travel, which specializes in European barge tours, told her that she could only get her money back if her cabin was resold. And that seemed like a remote possibility.

“I can’t afford to lose this money,” van Iersel wrote to me. “Do I have any options?”

An increasing number of cases that cross my desk look like van Iersel’s: Because of a policy or rule — not always clearly disclosed — a favorable resolution looks improbable. Though each case is different, they all tend to have one thing in common: They could have been completely avoided with a few simple preventive steps.

Take the case of Veda Robinson and Jackie Smartt, who contacted me recently after missing their Carnival cruise. The reason? Smartt hadn’t brought the right form of ID for her international trip. Then, because of a misunderstanding, both women were denied boarding, even though Robinson had the correct paperwork and wanted to take the cruise.

“Carnival will not reimburse me for being denied boarding, even though I had documentation, because they recently advised me that the personnel at the pier asked me, ‘Do you want to board?’ and documented on my incident report, that I said ‘no,’ ” she says. She denies that she declined to board the ship.

Carnival offered her, but not Smartt, a do-over cruise. After I blogged about the case, Robinson’s travel agency secured her a full refund.

But there’s a valuable takeaway for the rest of us here. Don’t wait until you’re home to ask a travel company to make something right. Had Robinson made her case more forcefully at the port, she might have been able to get on the ship. Unfortunately, Smartt would have been allowed on board only if she had remembered her passport or passport card. Double-checking for your passport before you leave? That’s always good advice, of course.

Or consider the case of Ana de Pascht, who recently had a flat tire on her way to the Albany airport. Her US Airways ticket, like most tickets today, was nonrefundable, nontransferable and non-changeable unless she paid a hefty fee.

“I called US Airways and asked what could be done,” she said. “I was told that I had to buy a new ticket and also pay a change fee of $150 — a total of $273 — if I wished to travel on the next flight out. I did question the agent about any other ways to avoid paying all that money and was told that was my only option.”

No, I’m not going to suggest that de Pascht should have checked the air pressure in her tires before heading out, although in hindsight, that might not have been a terrible idea. It helps, though to have some passing familiarity with airline policies. Turns out that there’s a “flat tire” rule, and airlines are known to cut their passengers some slack if they can’t make it to the airport through no fault of their own. (Seems fair, given that we’re pretty understanding when their planes break down.) I thought the rule had been phased out, but I’m told it’s still unofficial policy at some airlines, including US Airways. Had de Pascht politely invoked that rule with the reservations agent or the agent’s supervisor, she might have been able to rebook her flight at no charge.

A US Airways supervisor at the airport conceded that the $273 fee to fly the same day seemed unfair, but he couldn’t initiate a refund. Only the refunds department is allowed to do that. Eventually, de Pascht’s story reached the ears of the Transportation Department, which referred the case back to the airline. As a “courtesy,” US Airways agreed to refund the $150 change fee.

And what about van Iersel? Standard travel insurance wouldn’t have addressed her troubles, although a slightly more expensive “cancel for any reason” policy may have allowed her to recover part of her ticket. Nor did using a travel agent protect her from the Luciole’s restrictive refund policy. But it gave her an advocate in dealing with the cruise company.

She might have avoided her problem by carefully reviewing the cruise line’s policies and paying by credit card. Many cruise lines offer either a full or partial refund as long as you cancel with enough advance notice.

Also, I would never recommend paying with anything but a credit card. While a small percentage of legitimate travel companies accept only wire transfers as payment, many more questionable operators insist on having the money in hand, because they know they’ll be able to keep it even if you have a problem.

I have no reason to believe that the Luciole’s operators fall into that category. But nothing could compel me to wire anyone $3,900, unless maybe they were holding one of my children hostage.

I had a lengthy conversation with van Iersel’s travel agent, who reiterated the Luciole’s policy. I got the impression that a refund was all but out of the question, because her cruise was only a few weeks away. But a few days later, I heard from both the passenger and her agent. The cabin had been sold and a refund was being processed.

“I am off the hook,” van Iersel told me.

I love a happy ending.

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Going Our Way: An East Coast vacation for a military family

Who: Rob and Andrea Cornfeld of Kensington and their children, Samantha, Kate and Megan

Where: An all-inclusive resort or condo on the East Coast

Why: A little R&R before their summer move and Rob’s upcoming deployment

When: 10 days in June

Budget: $2,000-$3,000

“We are interested in water activities — a beach would be great, providing the water isn’t too rough. Our children enjoy playing outside; my wife and I enjoy eating at dives and exploring new places.”

Rob and Andrea Cornfeld need a break. With a summer move looming and Rob’s anticipated Army deployment within the year, the Kensington couple and their girls — Samantha, 5; Kate, 3; and Megan, 1 — want to take a fun family trip before the craziness kicks in. They’d prefer an all-inclusive resort on the East Coast, ideally with water activities, and they’d like to keep the total cost under $3,000.

This effectively eliminates most schmancy all-inclusives, even if we lop a couple of days off the trip. For example, Florida’s Club Med Sandpiper (sandpiper
bay.clubmed.us) is a great family destination, with swimming, sports, age-specific “clubs” for the kids, entertainment and gourmet dining. But the tab for seven nights in mid-June, including round-trip air for five from Washington, comes to a whopping $5,231. Similarly, a week at Vermont’s well-regarded Tyler Place (www.tylerplace.com), a lakeside playground with boating, biking, fishing, crafts, three squares a day and an energetic contingent of children’s helpers, costs $4,781 for a two-bedroom unit. And that doesn’t even include transportation.

Clearly, we have to get creative here. Military rates are an obvious option: Check such organizations as the Armed Forces Vacation Club (www.afvclub.com) and Military.com (www.
military.com) for deals and discounts. But to show you what else is out there — and to inspire other families with limited vacation funds — here are two appealing plans that come in well under your budget.

A condo on the bay

You’ll have to get your own meals and plan your own activities, but you can save a bundle by forgoing beach resorts and renting a vacation home directly from the owner. We checked the online clearinghouse Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com) and found many affordable options in the Virginia Beach area. With its proximity to Washington, abundance of family-friendly attractions and great natural beauty, it’s a good choice for D.C. families.

Sample offering: “Charming Condo with Access to Wide Chesapeake Bay Beach,” featuring two bedrooms and 1.5 baths. No rough waves to worry about here: The recently redecorated home fronts the wide, sandy beaches of the Chesapeake Bay. The area is a secret that’s well-hidden from most tourists, according to the owner, and the gentle surf is great for kids. In-season rates (June 11-Aug. 12) are $1,475 per week.

In this part of the world, boredom is not an option. When you tire of swimming, kayaking, fishing, boating and biking, check out the lighthouse tours at Cape Henry; the cute Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, located in the last remaining Virginia Beach Boardwalk cottage; the interactive Virginia Beach Aquarium; and the Nauticus maritime museum and Battleship Wisconsin in nearby Norfolk. Info: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-822-3224, www.visitvirginiabeach.com.

Estimated cost: Seven nights’ lodging, $1,475; food, $600; gas, $80.

Total: $2,155, leaving $845 for attractions and incidentals.

A lakeside lodge

Purity Spring Resort in East Madison, N.H. (800-373-3754, www.purityspring.com), can hold its own against any big-name New England resort, with its gorgeous mountain setting and clear, spring-fed lake. Just one difference from those other places: It’s affordable.

The venerable resort — it just celebrated its 100th birthday — meets your water criterion easily, with four sandy beaches as well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Summer packages include meals, lodging and more than 90 hours of recreational programming a week: canoe trips, hiking, water-skiing and wakeboarding, nature walks in the Audubon sanctuary, mountain biking, crafts, sports and more. Cookouts, scavenger hunts and kids’ talent shows add to the fun. Day care for the little ones is free, five nights a week.

The summer program doesn’t officially start till June 24, when a seven-night stay in a two-room suite at the inn starts at $1,511 for a family of five, including daily breakfast. (Prices vary slightly depending on the age of the kids.) Lunch and dinner for the family are an additional $567. Total: $2,078.

If you’d rather visit earlier in the month, there’ll still be plenty to do — swimming, hiking, biking, boating — and you’ll save more than $500. Rates are $996 for the week, or $1,563 with meals.

Estimated cost for an early-June stay: Seven nights’ lodging, $996; food, $567; gas, $200.

Total: $1,763, leaving $1,237 for attractions and incidentals.

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The ever-changing scene of hotel room amenities

My hands were as dry as parchment when I checked into Washington’s Donovan House hotel on a bitterly cold day last winter. Eager for some moisturizer, I went straight to the bathroom, where I discovered that — egad! — there was no moisturizer to be found. Nor was there any shower gel for bathing, just plain old skin-drying soap. I was perplexed. Where were my favorite toiletries?
For a while there, you could count on your average hotel room to be almost as well-stocked as a Wal-Mart. Walk into the bathroom and you’d find shampoo, conditioner, lotion, mouthwash, a shower cap and not one but two bars of soap, in case you didn’t want to lather your body with the same suds that oozed over your hands. Lost a button on your blouse? Mending kit right this way. Want to buff your shoes? Grab the shoe mitt.

But the recession put the brakes on such bountiful in-room accouterments. Suddenly, shampoo was in, conditioner was out — kind of like a restaurant placing a salt shaker on a table without its pepper twin. The Frankenstein of bathroom toiletries — the bath gel and shampoo combo — appeared in many showers. And forget about needle and thread and shoe mitts. If you needed a shoeshine, you had to pay for one.

Now, though, the hotel business is reviving as people start to travel again. But the never-ending competition for guests is fiercer than ever, because travelers are being pickier than ever.

The upshot? The latest war of the amenities.

By offering new and varied extras in their rooms, hotels “think they will have differentiation,” said Glenn Haussman, editor-in-chief of industry magazine Hotel Interactive. “But other brands pick up on them, and the leads gained are lost quickly.”

Let’s get one thing out of the way: In any economy, luxury hotels offer more amenities, budget hotels fewer. But some things are universal.

“I remember in 1967, we had a major decision to make in the Sheraton: Should we make it mandatory for all our hotels to have color TVs?” recalled Joseph A. McInerney, president and chief executive officer of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. “It shows you how far we’ve come.”

McInerney can offer a ticktock of the milestones: After color TV came the TV-plus-remote, then the clock radio. In the 1960s, shampoo became a must. Lotions, mouthwash and more followed. The 1970s saw the introduction of sewing kits, shoe mitts and shoe horns. In the early 1990s, coffeemakers appeared in the room. At the end of the century, irons and ironing boards became de rigueur.

McInerney can’t remember who came up with which idea (why a sewing kit and not earplugs?), but they had their reasons. “Hotels don’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘Gee, I’m going to do this because the consumer wants it.’ The hotel industry does research,” he said. “We’re always looking to get an edge on our competitors.”

Here’s a look at the latest stage in the evolution of hotel rooms and the treats they dangle before us.

Getting fancy, and frugal

Hotel guests are like celebrities: They love their swag. And not just any swag, but brand-name swag.

Which is why the Marriotts and Hyatts of the world have stopped tagging their toiletries with their own names in favor of L’Occitane, Molton Brown and other spa lines. Even midrange and boutique hotels have gotten into the act. Guests can get blissful with Bliss products at Starwood’s Aloft hotels and others. Bath and Body Works work their magic at the newly renovated Holiday Inns. Morgans Hotel Group boasts Apothia products.

“People have more trust in a product that they may be somewhat familiar with,” said Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hospitality, which owns several hotels. “When you put your logo on the bottle, they don’t know what the product is.”

Not that there’s always an unlimited supply of these aromatic delights.

“In the early ’90s, the bathroom was full of stuff,” said Lara Weiss, global director for sales for K Hotels, a marketing company representing independently owned hotels worldwide. “You almost had too much of it. Travelers just put it in their purse. It was an expense.”

Some boutique hotels, such as the Affinia Liaison Capitol Hill, now put their shampoo and conditioner in dispensers attached to the shower wall. “It clearly presents cost savings in a hotel and also leads to a reduction in the amount of waste,” said Jeff Gurtman, vice president of strategy for Dana Communications in Hopewell, N.J., a marketing agency for several global hotel chains.

Also, don’t always expect a bathtub. The powers-that-be have ruled that travelers, especially business travelers, don’t have time for a soak in the bubbles. At the Tryp by Wyndham brand’s first hotel in New York, set to open this summer, three-quarters of the rooms will have only showers with European-style hand-held shower heads.

While fancier bath products have made their way into the hotel room, shower caps, sewing kits, mouthwash, shoe mitts, shoehorns and other “nonessential” items are making an inglorious exit (a nod to you klepto guests). But here’s a secret: They haven’t left the building. If you call the front desk or housekeeping and ask nicely, someone will probably make a special delivery to your room.

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JetBlue partners with Virgin Atlantic to provide flights on both airlines on a single ticket

NEW YORK — JetBlue said Tuesday it has formed a partnership with Virgin Atlantic that will allow customers to fly on both airlines with a single ticket.
Travelers on JetBlue will be able to connect through Boston, New York, Washington to catch flights to London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. JetBlue customers connecting in Orlando will be able to fly to London’s Gatwick airport, Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland.

Passengers can purchase the JetBlue-Virgin Atlantic flights beginning this week.

JetBlue already has similar partnerships with Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, Irish carrier Aer Lingus, South African Airways and American Airlines. These partnerships allow airlines to expand their available destinations without adding costs. They also feed more passengers into their respective networks.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Learning to build an igloo in the mountains outside Vancouver

Chilled from a day in the snow, stiff from hours of shoveling, we worm down the tunnel of the igloo one after the other. The wind's howl mutes to a low hum. The day's gray light goes black. I follow the pair of boots in front of me, crawling through cold, clammy air toward the glimmer of light ahead.
The boots belong to Michael Harding, igloo evangelist. An outdoor guide with baby-blue eyes and snow-white hair, Harding has raised untold hundreds of igloos in this corner of western Canada. "They're warmer than tents. They're soundproof. They're practically cozy," he'd explained that morning, as we climbed into the backcountry of the mountains outside Vancouver in his late-model Nissan Pathfinder. A friend and I have joined him and another guide for a one-day crash course in igloo basics. Not that I'm planning an assault on K2 anytime soon. But even for armchair adventurers, there's just something about an igloo.

Our proving ground today is a plateau high atop Cypress Mountain, whose 4,700-foot peaks rise dizzyingly just beyond the city limits. Perhaps best known as the host to some 2010 Olympic ski events, Cypress is stubbornly wild. More than 30 feet of snow falls here in an average winter, and the endless, craggy backcountry provides a popular training ground for hard-core hikers gearing up for expeditions to Washington state's Mount Baker, Alaska's Mount McKinley and other high peaks of the North American West. Never mind the tots in ski boots in the parking lot and the legions of Lululemon-wearing hikers: Cypress still feels extreme.

Harding's eyes are shining on this rare sunny morning as our small group sets off down the trail. A young-looking 62, with an accent that betrays his English roots, Harding got hooked on Vancouver's epic scenery while backpacking here in his 20s, selling fish-hook jewelry to fund adventures. "You can ski in the morning and kayak in the afternoon, which I still always do a few times every year, just to remind myself I'm in outdoor heaven," he says. Our group this morning, in snowshoes and sporting heavy packs, might pass as intrepid outdoorsmen, but this is just a trial run, valuable practice should we ever venture into the mountains for a real overnight trip. Fraught with hazards that fair-weather campers rarely face, winter camping in Vancouver is serious business. In fact, I'd initially had ambitions to make an overnight trip. But after watching the weather forecast with trepidation all week, wondering whether my Wal-Mart ski parka and borrowed sleeping bag would be up to the challenge, I got a reprieve. With a storm blowing in, the grizzled trip leader, with no time for newbies, politely recommended that I first invest in some proper equipment and remedial training. Igloo 101 seemed like a good place to start.

Climbing higher up Cypress under blue skies, we pass a sign posted trailside warning of avalanche country ahead, a reminder of the threats that accompany even day trips into the backcountry.

After huffing our way up a long, snowy ridge, we're greeted with an only-in-Vancouver view: Thousands of feet below, half-hidden by shifting clouds, a cityscape of glass towers cascades toward the gray-green waters of the Pacific. Plumes of vapor billow into the air as we catch our breath. Abandoning the trail, we crunch along to a nearby clearing flanked by pines buried to mid-trunk in the snow.

Harding's second-in-command, 31-year-old Steve Santelli, fresh off a week-long expedition to the 18,000-foot mark of Mount McKinley, unloads a threatening arsenal of steel shovels and snow saws with serrated teeth. "There's something about being in the middle of nowhere, in the freezing cold, miles from help," he says, meditating on joys of winter camping that I can't really relate to.

With a telescoping metal probe, Harding tests the snow, poking around in search of rocks, trees and buried hazards with the delicate touch of a surgeon. The pole sinks down - three feet, six feet, nine feet - before sounding bottom. When a cold wind suddenly picks up, Harding spreads the gospel: "Even if it's howling outside, it can be completely silent in the igloo. You'd never believe it."

His enthusiasm is well founded. Traditional winter dwellings of Canada's Inuit, igloos are engineering marvels, having little in common with the haphazard snow caves I built as a kid. Their precision-carved blocks curve inward and upward in an elegant, self-reinforcing spiral. The dome itself is a miracle of resiliency, strong enough, after freezing over, to support the weight of a grown man. And they're marvelously efficient at trapping body heat. Even in polar conditions, the interior stays a relatively balmy 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not to mention that all the building materials are right at hand. In the 1922 documentary "Nanook of the North," a classic shot in the Canadian Arctic, amiable Inuit Nanook builds a spacious family-size igloo, complete with ice-block picture window, with little more than an ivory knife in about an hour.

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What's the Deal? The week's best travel bargains around the globe

LAND

Ski Salt Lake is offering hotel discounts of up to 30 percent off and free-night deals at Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude resorts in Utah. For example, Snowbird has a Ski Free and Stay 5th Night Free offer through April 2: Pay for four nights and stay the fifth night free, plus get two free lift tickets for each night's stay (normally $74 for each ticket). With the deal, a Feb. 18-23 stay at the Cliff Lodge, with lift tickets for two people, would cost $1,813 (normally $2,809), including all taxes - a 35 percent savings (Snowbird reservations: 800-354-6092). Book by March 15. Info: 801-534-4900.

The Caribbean island of Barbados has discounts on hotel stays, attractions, shopping and dining. With the Take Me to Barbados package, get a fifth hotel night free (two nights free on a seven-night stay), free breakfast daily, free room and board for children younger than 16 at participating hotels (up to two kids per family) and a coupon book valued at $150. For example, at the Time Out resort in St. Lawrence Gap, the nightly rate is $110, including all taxes, for a savings of either $110 for a five-night stay or $220 for a seven-night stay. Book through a travel agent by March 25; travel April 25-Dec. 15. Info: 800-221-9831.

New York City's tourism office has several winter deals, including two-for-one tickets for select Broadway and off-Broadway shows (through Feb. 10 and 13, respectively) and third-night-free offers at participating luxury hotels (through March 7). For example, an orchestra ticket to "Avenue Q" at New World Stages costs $45.50 with the On the House promotion (normally $89.50, two-ticket minimum, Saturday nights excluded). And three nights at the Carlyle Hotel, normally $1,844, go for $1,229, including all fees and taxes - a savings of $615.

SEA
Maple Leaf Adventures, a Canada-based cruise company, is offering half off the cost for the ninth and 10th passengers on its charter cruises for small groups. The nature-focused schooner trips, timed for spring break and summer holidays, feature hands-on sailing, whale-watching, glaciers, rain forest hikes and coastal town visits. Trips range from six to nine days and from $2,183 to $4,570 per person, not including fees and taxes. For example, on the six-day British Columbia's Gulf Islands round trip from Victoria, B.C., a group of up to eight people can charter the ship for $17,464, or $2,183 per person; up to two additional passengers then pay $1,100 each. Add $374 per person in taxes ($244 each for the two additional passengers). Cost includes all food and drinks, admissions and guides, but not air to and from Victoria. Info: 888-599-5323.

Windstar Cruises is offering up to $1,000 per couple in on-board credit for select European sailings. For example, on the May 7 one-week voyage of the Wind Spirit from Rome to Athens, get $600 credit per couple when you book a cabin at $2,299 per person double. Add $85 per person in fees and taxes. Book by Feb. 28. Info: 800-258-7245.

AIR

American Airlines has sale fares for winter and spring travel to Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and many other European cities, with one-way fares starting at $199, not including taxes. Sample round-trip fares, including all taxes: New York JFK to London Heathrow, $587; Reagan National to London Heathrow, $626. Book by Feb. 10; travel through April 17. Other airlines are matching. Info: 800-433-7300.

PACKAGE

Sceptre Tours has a six-night Explore Scotland in Spring package for $948 per person double, including all taxes. The cost includes round-trip air from BWI (flying into Edinburgh and returning from Glasgow), six nights' hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and a standard manual rental car. Book by Feb. 4; travel by March 31. Booked separately, air would run about $650 per person, hotel $500 and rental car $85. Info: 800-221-0924.

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