The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare, six nights' accommodations, and a rental car from $1,599 per person--plus taxes of about $150.

When: Depart Oct. 23, 25, 30, Nov. 1, 2007. Add $100 for Tuesday and Thursday departures, Sept. 4-Oct. 18 and Nov. 6-29.

Gateways: New York City.

The Fine Print: Hotel taxes, breakfast daily, and fuel surcharges (which can easily top $150) are included. Additional airport taxes and fees are $150 per person. Based on double occupancy; single supplement $599. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.

Book By: No deadline; based on availability.

Contact: Foreign Independent Tours, 800/248-3487, fittours.com.

Why It's a Deal: The lowest round-trip, multicity fare we found on kayak.com for travel in late October (N.Y.C.-Rome and Pescara-N.Y.C.) was $740 (multiple airlines); a lowest round-trip fare between N.Y.C. and Rome was $698 (Eurofly). In comparison, FIT provides the round-trip airfare as well as the six-night stay and rental car for $1,599.

Trip Details: The Hidden Gems package includes round-trip airfare--flying into Rome and out of Pescara on Eurofly--with six nights' accommodations. You'll pick up your rental car at the airport and make the roughly three-hour drive to the Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi, set on a hill with sweeping views of the Sibillini Mountains, the Gran Sasso peak, and the valley below.

During your three-night stay in one of the 10 antique-filled suites, you can soak up the atmosphere in the landscaped garden, home to palms, cypresses, citrus trees, exotic flowers, and a pool. A restaurant, a coffeehouse, a bookshop, a sauna, and meeting rooms are also part of the complex, built between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Borgo Storico lies in the southern Piceno area of Le Marche, in the tiny village of Castel di Lama. The rental car will give you the freedom to explore towns near (Ascoli Piceno) and far (Urbino) and to scoot around the Adriatic Coast, just six miles from where you're staying.

Castello Chiolo will be your base for the final three nights of the trip. While only a 20-minute drive from Borgo Storico, the hotel has a very different feel. It's situated in an imposing castle built in the year 864 above the town of Loreto Apruntino near Pescara, one of the main cities in the Abruzzo region just south of Le Marche. The 36 rooms have high ceilings, wood furnishings, works of art, and floor-to-ceiling windows with gauzy drapes. You'll find a pool and a cavernous restaurant, too.

While the beach lies just to the east, we recommend driving inland and exploring some of the national parks that make up about one third of the region; for example, Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga and Parco Nazionale della Majella. L'Aquila, the regional capital, and the town of Chieti are other notable places to visit.

From the Castello Chiolo it's about a two-hour drive to the airport in Pescara, where you'll return the rental car. (One exception: If you're returning to the U.S. after Nov. 11, you will depart out of Rome, not Pescara.)

Note that the seven-day compact rental car with a manual transmission is supplied by the German company SIXT. You can upgrade to an automatic transmission for an extra $50 per person, but we recommend sticking with the manual, if you can. Not only will the automatic cost you an additional rental fee, but it will make your driving less fuel efficient and thus cost you more in gas, which is notoriously expensive in Europe.

For more tips on what to see and do in the area, check the official tourism website of Italy. And before you go, check the weather forecast, exchange rate, and local time at BudgetTravelOnline.com.

More on Italy:

Best Places You've Never Heard Of: Erice, Italy

Europe, Day 4: Rome to Ostia

Once Upon a Time in Italy: Apulia