travellers good buys: with david ellis
CRACK THESE CHINA CRUISE SAVINGS
SAVE $1250 a couple on river cruise holidays in China this year simply
by booking before February 14. Adventure World have a 12-day itinerary
that includes 2-nights in Beijing, and three in Shanghai, a 6-day
Yangtze River cruise with meals and 12-guided tours that now costs
from just $2749pp twin-share. A 10-day Yangtze cruise with meals,
2-nights in Shanghai and three in Xian, plus 16-guided tours is
discounted to as low as $3624pp twin-share. Air is extra; phone 1300
363 055 or check-out www.adventureworld.com.au
ESCAPE to the village charm of Noosaville, an hour north of Brisbane,
with deluxe 2-bedroom/2-bathroom family apartments at the 4.5-star
Montpellier Boutique Resort, that costs from $210 per room per night
for a minimum 2-nights. The resort is a brief stroll to the Noosa
River beaches, parklands, restaurants and boat hire; available to
September on www.noosa.com.au
A LEISURELY 12-day river cruise package from Paris to Prague that's
priced from just $2966pp twin-share includes 7-nights cruising, and
four pre- and post-cruise, all meals aboard a Viking Riverboat and ten
shore excursions with local guides; available from May to October if
booked and paid by February 14. Phone 1300 363 554 or visit
www.beyondtravel.com.au
AN unusual Melbourne stay is at Sweeney Cottage, a boutique
home-from-home amid some of the city's finest residences and with some
of the its best attractions almost at the doorstep. The 2-storey,
2-bedroom cottage in Albert Street across the street from the St
Vincent Gardens is just 5-minutes from Bridport Street Village shops,
cafes and restaurants, and has an ultra-modern kitchen, 42-inch plasma
TV and broadband internet connection. Price starts from $272 per night
for minimum 7-nights; details www.roamfree.com
SAVINGS of 10 per cent and free upgrades are available on rental cars
in the UK and Europe this year if you hurry: book by January 31 and
pay from $38 a day in Italy, $39 in France and the UK, and $49 in
Germany. Prices include unlimited miles, loss damage waiver, taxes and
airport surcharges. Phone 1300 789 992 or www.globalCARS.com.au
ESCAPE to the bush but do anything but rough it in an
architecturally-designed eco-cabin on 100-hectares of farmland near
Blackheath in the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney. The two airy
cabins feature galvanised iron wall coverings inspired by a heritage
woolshed on the property, gas heating, solar-design principles, spring
drinking water, games and puzzles; 5-night stays start from $120 per
night for 2-people including a first-day basket of breakfast
provisions. Available to November 12 on www.roamfree.com
TRUE: POLICE in Hungary spent Christmas searching unsuccessfully for
a stolen beach. The artificial beach comprising 6000 cubic metres of
sand, playground rides, beach huts, sun lounges and even shops is a
summer attraction in land-locked Hungary and had been closed and
tarpaulined for winter; a security inspection just before Christmas
discovered it was missing.
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