Deals
Cruise the Yangtze River
Air Canada Vacations is now offering deep discounts and bonus Aeroplan points on Yangtze River tours, a new cruise option available as part of its Asia program. Thirteen-day packages are departing through Nov. 30, and include round-trip airfare, return airport transfers, four-star centrally located accommodation, guided tours and some meals. Well-priced connecting flights are available from most major Canadian cities. Prices range from $3,599 to $4,299 (plus $200 tax).
Air Canada flies non-stop to Beijing from Toronto and Vancouver. In addition to a variety of optional excursions, the Yangtze River cruise package includes three nights each in Beijing and Shanghai, and two nights in Xian; breakfast daily and some lunches; a three-night cruise; and visits to such attractions as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall, along with Three Gorges excursions, a trip to the Yu Yuan Garden and Jade Buddha in Shanghai, and internal flights within China.
For more information, visit aircanadavacations.com
Guided European skiing
Canada Connection Tours specializes in organizing escorted ski vacations in Europe. This winter, tours are available to the Swiss resort areas of Grindelwald (Jan. 14 to 22), Chur and Lenzerheide (March 23 to April 2); to Austria's Mayrhofen (Jan. 21 to 29), Kitzbuhel (Jan. 28-Feb. 5) and Innsbruck (Feb. 9-19); to Italy's Alta Badia (Feb. 9-19); and to France's Val Thorens (March 30-April 9). Land-only prices start at $1,540 for the Hotel Eigerblick in Grindelwald, and include round-trip transfers from Zurich to the hotel, seven nights accommodation, daily breakfast and dinner, a six-day ski pass, a ski guide and local tour representative, and all lodging taxes and service charges. Return airfare is available from Toronto and Montreal starting at $750.
For more information, call 1-888-581-7241 or visit www.alpineconnections.com
Cut-rate Orlando hotels
Last-minute hotel specialist Wotif.com is offering 55 per cent off at a pair of properties in Orlando. The Sheraton Vistana Resort has a special rate starting at $164 a night, including tax, for a one-bedroom villa that can accommodate up to four people. Located minutes from Walt Disney World, the resort offers seven outdoor heated pools, one of which is the longest in central Florida. Meanwhile, the Sheraton Vistana Villages is offering a special rate starting from $165 tax-inclusive for a one-bedroom villa.
For more information about the Vistana Resort, visit www.wotif.com/hotel15685 or call 1-888-394-0616. For more information about Vistana Villages, visit www.wotif.com/hotel19497
Cuba for the birders
Nolitours is selling a special one-week package to Brisas Guardalavaca in Holguin, Cuba, which is hosting "Bird Watching & Nature" activities Oct. 2-6. The program includes an overnight excursion to El Saton, one of the oldest villages in Cuba; guided bird-watching, nature walks and horseback riding; and live music, dancing and other festivities. Nolitours is offering the four-star all-inclusive Brisas Guardalavaca for $767 including return airfare from Toronto (plus taxes of around $174 a person) for a one-week holiday departing Sept. 30.
The deal includes the option of one child aged 2 to 12 staying and eating free when sharing a room with two adults. Teens aged 13 to 14 pay a special rate, and savings are also available on a separate room for children and teens, in conjunction with an adult double room. Nolitours offers weekly Friday departures to Holguin from Toronto.
For more information, visit www.nolitours.com.
