GO NUTS WITH SAMOA DEAL

YOUR WEEKLY TRAVEL COLUMN "travellers good buys"

DAVID ELLIS

Week beginning 23 July 2007

travel tips: with david ellis

GO NUTS WITH SAMOA DEAL

STAY seven nights but pay only for five at Samoa's laid-back Coconuts Resort and Spa through Adventure World on select dates until March 31 2008, if booked by October 31. The Resort has a private white-sand beach, pool with swim-up bar, indoor/outdoor dining, and entertainment including firewalking. Seven nights in a Garden Suite, return air and airport/resort transfers starts from $1641pp twin-share ex-Sydney, $1716 Melbourne, $1717 ex-Brisbane and from $2141pp ex-Cairns. Details 1300 302 591 or check-out www.adventureworld.com.au

TAKE advantage of the best start in years to the ski season in the NSW Snowy Mountains, with a self-contained apartment stay at the Novotel Lake Crackenback Resort that includes hot buffet breakfast, a 2-course dinner per person, sporting and fitness facilities, and 2-day ski, clothing hire and mountain pass. Prices start from $506 per room per night; details 1800 020 524 or www.novotellakecrackenback.com.au

FOUR nights at China's annual International Beer Festival is priced from $262pp twin-share at the Gloria Plaza Hotel in Beijing if booked through Student Flights. The 16-days of celebrations are based on the famous Tsing-Tao brewery in the coastal town of Qingdao, and run from August 14; air fares are extra. Full details of inclusions on 1800 069 063 or www.studentflights.com.au

MELBOURNE will get an extra Cathay Pacific daily flight to Hong Kong from October 1, giving it three flights a day and bringing the airline's total each week from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Cairns to Hong Kong to sixty-four. Full details of schedules including connections to Asia, throughout China, to London, Europe, the USA and Canada from travel agents.

ROMANTICS taking a Blue Lagoon 'Gold Club' cruise in the Mamanuca or Yasawa Islands can now treat themselves to a candle-lit dinner on a private screened-off section of the decks of boutique cruise-boats Mystique Princess and Fiji Princess during their 4- and 7-day sailings. Dinner includes appetiser, entrée, main course, dessert, port, cheese platter and a bottle of wine, and costs from FJ$150 per couple (about AU$111) on top of the $1399pp twin-share cost of a 4-day sailing and from $1949pp for 7-days; air is extra. These private candle-lit dinners are available only once per cruise on 4-day sailings and 3-times on 7-day cruises, and have to be booked on arrival at the company's departure lounge in Lautoka; details ++ (679) 666 1622 or email reservations@blc.com.fj

TRUE: English couple Eric and Doris King-Turner of Hampshire have booked themselves on the British liner Saga Rose next January to New Zealand as part of plans to start a new life on the other side of the world. Probably nothing unusual about that – except that Eric is 102 and Doris 87.

DINE LIKE A RAJAH AT KIMS

YOUR WEEKLY TRAVEL COLUMN "travellers good buys"

DAVID ELLIS

Week beginning 16 July 2007

travel tips: with david ellis

DINE LIKE A RAJAH AT KIMS

VISITORS to Sydney seeking the ultimate add-on coastal escape can get three nights for the price of two mid-week until August 31 at the boutique Kims Beach Hideaway just over an hour's drive north of the city; quiet and private bungalows tucked away amid sub-tropical gardens under the pines a few steps from Toowoon Bay, are complemented with gourmet dining, an extensive wine list and Kims' renowned evening cheese platters. Three-nights-for-two from Sundays to Thursdays priced from $1196 per couple includes all lavish buffet lunches and dinners featuring fresh local seafoods, full Australian breakfasts, pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres nightly and free DVD hire. Details (02) 4332 1566 or www.kims.com.au

PAY before July 30 but travel any time up to December 7, and river- cruise company Russia & Beyond has savings of $1300 a couple on a choice of 20 itineraries in Europe, Russia and China that range from 7- to 15-nights. Examples are 7-nights on the Danube from Passau to Vienna down to as low as $1101pp if booked by July 30, or 11-nights Berlin to Prague from $2428pp twin-share; details from 1300 363 544 or www.russiabeyond.com.au

TRAIN yourself to enjoy the best of rail travel with the super-luxury Royal Scotsman that offers 2- to 7-night train journeys out of Edinburgh. It doesn't come cheap, starting from $4667pp twin-share for 2-nights, but for true rail buffs it's the ultimate with just 36-guests indulging in mahogany-lined cabins with private bathrooms, all grand dining, drinks from the bars and with meals, visits to castles and distilleries, and at the end of the day a rare malt whisky in the Edwardian Observation Car. The train overnights in sidings so guests enjoy a peaceful sleep; see travel agents or check-out www.railplus.com.au

THIS year's annual Sydney Marathon on September 23 is expected to attract 13,000 runners, with tens of thousands of spectators watching from the sidelines; quickbeds.com has a range of accommodation from budget-to-best still available for the Marathon weekend, starting from $62 per night for a double room at Nomads Maze Backpackers to $265 a night at the Sydney Marriott Hotel. Phone 1800 002 333 or log onto www.quickbeds.com

UNCORK the fun with a NSW Hunter Valley Experience for wine buffs that from $337pp mid-week ($351 Friday or Saturday) includes 2-nights twin-share in a Studio Room at the 4.5-star Tallawanta Lodge with full breakfast, a half-day wine tour and entry to Hunter Valley Gardens; the Lodge has an open fire in the library, heated pool, spa and sauna and is walking distance to many Hunter Valley Wineries; travel agents, 1300 737 222 or visit www.nswholidays.com.au

TRUE: A hotel in northern Russia is attracting drinkers during the bitter northern winter that's due in a few months time, with the offer of free reindeer parking.

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BUBBLY REWARD FOR SINGAPORE SHOPPERS

YOUR WEEKLY TRAVEL COLUMN "travellers good buys" DAVID ELLIS

Week beginning 9 July 2007

travel tips: with david ellis

BUBBLY REWARD FOR SINGAPORE SHOPPERS

STAY four-nights in Singapore's luxury Shangri-la Hotel for a Lion City shopping spree, and back at the hotel when you need to revive with some canapés, a beer, soft drink, a glass of wine or even Moet & Chandon Champagne, all you need do is ask – between 11am and 10.30pm daily it's all included in the price. Travel Associates is selling this unusual offer until August 31 for travel up to October 31; four nights twin-share costs from $1215pp and includes Welcome Chinese Tea, a fruit bowl, and unlimited beverages including beer, wine and Moet & Chandon; air travel is extra. Phone 1800 044 066 or visit www.travel-associates.com.au

VICTORIA's Falls Creek is boasting its best early-season snow in years, with the white stuff over a metre deep across the mountain and all fourteen ski lifts now operating. A spokesman described conditions last weekend as "almost perfect" after several days of non-stop snowfalls at what is Victoria's largest alpine resort. To check conditions and make bookings phone 1800 45 35 25.

REAL adventure awaits on a Dragoman 19-night package from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador (or vice-versa) that also comes with a saving of over $270pp if booked through Adventure World by August 31 for travel until February 2008. The tour travels through the Brazilian Highlands and the Atlantic coast, and goes into Chapada Diamantina, with prices starting from $1543pp including hotel, hostel and camp stays, local guides, Dragoman crew and safari truck, and all camping equipment. A local fee of $630 is also payable on arrival and airfares are additional. Phone 1300 302 591 or visit www.adventureworld.com.au

THIS year's annual festival that welcomes the arrival of scores of humpback whales to Hervey Bay in Queensland as they escape the Antarctic winter, will also include a Teddy Bears' Picnic, Blessing of the Fleet and an Illimuninated Street Parade. Flight Centre Hotels has accommodation during the August 10 to 12 Festival from $153 per room per night at the Kondari Resort. Phone 1800 005 125 or check www.flightcentrehotels.com.au

THAILAND's colourful Koh Phangan Full Moon Party is an annual festival of music, dancing, eating and drinking, with 5-night party packages through Student Flights including twin-share at the Drop Inn Club, breakfasts daily, return transfers from Koh Samui Airport to the pier and ferry to Koh Phangan, and Festival entry. It's priced from $345pp and on sale to August 31 for travel on August 24, September 22 and October 23; air is additional. The Full Moon Party celebrates the setting of the and the rising of the moon; phone 1800 069 063 or check www.studentflights.com.au

TRUE: Staff aboard legendary QE2 that retires next year after nearly 40 years at sea, say the most often-heard phrase on board is: "He would have wanted me to enjoy myself…"

ALASKA’S WILD TASTE OF GOLD…

YOUR WEEKLY TRAVEL COLUMN "travellers good buys" DAVID ELLIS

Week beginning 2 July 2007

travel tips: with david ellis

ALASKA'S WILD TASTE OF GOLD…

SEAFOOD lovers thinking of an Alaska cruise shouldn't look past
Holland America Line's latest temptation: throughout this year's
cruise season, all their ships sailing Alaska will feature a Wild
Alaska Seafood Dinner three times weekly. Menu ideas include starters
of Avocado & Tomato Dungeness Crab Salad, maybe a Smoked Ketchikan
Salmon Chowder, and for mains, delights like Herb-crusted Alaskan
Weathervane Scallops or Ginger-glazed Alaska Black Cod – and to
finish, the company's signature Gold Rush Baked Alaska dusted with
edible gold. Seven-night cruises from Vancouver to Anchorage start
from $1319pp twin-share, plus air, from July to September. Details
from Travel the World on (02) 8296 7072 or www.traveltheworld.com.au

CANBERRA's popular yester-year Hotel Ainslie that's now Olims Canberra
All Seasons, is celebrating 80 years in business with overnight stays
to December 31 from an apt $80pp twin-share, with a bottle of bubbly
on arrival and full breakfasts included. The English deco-style hotel
with all today's mod-cons is set amid landscaped gardens and has a
Thai restaurant, courtyard bistro and beer garden, cocktail bar, and
lounge with cosy fireplaces. It's just four blocks from Canberra's
CBD. Details 1300 65 65 65 or www.stay@olimshotel.com

MUNICH's two-week-long Oktoberfest, an annual celebration of beer,
sausages and sauerkraut, kicks off on September 28 with 3-night
packages from London starting from $339pp including return travel from
there to Munich, twin-share in pre-erected tents at a modern campsite,
full English breakfasts daily and shuttle-bus transfers daily to the
festival. Details from Overseas Working Holidays on 1300 651 639 or
www.owh.com.au

On sale to September 20.

RETREAT to the bush in the secluded deep south of Tasmania with a
drive-and-stay package that includes 3-nights at the self-catering
Huon Bush Retreat cabins and 3-days car hire from just $267pp
twin-share. The Retreat's licenced restaurant features organic meals
with Tasmanian wines and beers available, and guests can take yoga
classes, enjoy a massage, hike the forest or simply lounge by the wood
fire. Available to October 31 but must be booked by October 24;
details including costs of air to Huonville from Flight Centre on 131
600.

WANNABE chefs can learn the secrets of Thai cooking in the homes of
professional Thai chefs as part of a 4-night package that includes
twin-share hotel in Chiang Mai, 3-days of cooking lessons, breakfasts
daily, 3-lunches, and transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to
chef's homes. There're also visits to bazaars, temples and museums;
price starts from $350pp plus air until October 31; phone Student
Flights or visit www.studentflights.com.au

TRUE: If you're visiting Griffith in NSW's Riverina wine country and
call into Westend Estate, owner/winemaker Bill Calabria will offer you
a taste of his award-winning product, but won't join you: he's a
rarity in the winemaking world in that he's a teetotaler, who doesn't
even drink his own product because of an allergy to fruit acid.