The Real Deal: Roundtrip airfare, seven nights' accommodations, flights between Santiago and Easter Island, air-hotel transfers, daily breakfast, and tours from $2,383 per person

When: Through Dec. 11, 2005; add $280 for travel Dec. 12 - 31, 2005 and add $119 for 2006 travel

Gateways: New York City; Boston (add $20); Miami ($90); Los Angeles ($108); Atlanta, San Francisco ($130); additional cities available for up to $130 extra

Details: Rates are based on double occupancy and hotel taxes are included. Additional airport taxes and fuel surcharges total $169 per person. There is also a $100 entry fee upon arrival in Chile

Book By: No deadline but book early to ensure availability; at least three-weeks in advance of departure date

Contact: Tara Tours, 800-327-0080, taratours.com

Chile's thriving capital, Santiago sits at the base of the Andes in close proximity to some of the country's finest wineries and to the lovely port town of Valparaiso, where poet Pablo Neruda once had a home. It's a five-hour flight to Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui), a remote settlement in the midst of the South Pacific. The 45-mile island is most famous for its mysterious moai, giant ancient statues carved from volcanic rock and revered as gods and ancestors.

The package includes nonstop airfare on LAN Chile and accommodations for three nights at the Fundador or Novotel in Santiago and four nights at Otai on Easter Island. Travelers can upgrade to the Marriott or Intercontinental in Santiago and to superior rooms at Hanga Roa on Easter Island for an extra $223 per person.

English-speaking guides lead an afternoon tour of Santiago including La Moneda Presidential Palace, the Fine Arts Museum, and San Cristobal hill overlooking the city. On Easter Island, there is a full day tour beginning with a visit to the ruins of Vaihu, then to Ranu Raraku volcano's quarry where the moai statues were produced, then the archaeological sites of Ahu Tongariki and Anakena Beach where a picnic will be served.

To put this $2,383 price tag in perspective, consider that roundtrip airfare between New York and Santiago is currently pricing at $813 (LAN Chile) for travel in early December and flights between Santiago and Easter Island are  $1,050 (LAN Chile).