Croatia Air/Cruise/Hotel, $2,295

The Real Deal Round-trip airfare, three nights' hotel accommodations, seven nights aboard a small ship, meals, land transportation, and shore excursions, from $2,295 per person—plus taxes and port charges of about $457.

When Depart Feb. 1, 15, 22, 29, 2008.

Old Town of Dubrovnik (Bertrand Gardel/Hemis/Corbis) [enlarge photo]

Gateways Boston, Detroit, New York City, and Newark; add $100 for Washington, D.C.; $200 for Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami; many other U.S. cities available for a low additional charge.

The Fine Print Ten group excursions and activities, the services of an English-speaking tour guide, airport-hotel transfers, 25 meals (10 breakfasts, seven lunches, and eight dinners), and fuel surcharges (which tend to be in the $200–$400 range) are included. Taxes and fees of up to 10 percent and a flat $225 port charge are extra. Based on double occupancy; single supplement is 25 percent. See terms and conditions for details on additional discounts, such as up to 10 percent off your remaining balance (after your $500 deposit) if you pay in full by check or cash within two weeks of making a reservation; a 5 percent discount on your next trip with this company, as long as you depart on your next trip within a year. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.

Book By No deadline; based on availability.

Contact Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), Reservations are made over the phone only, using the code INET350: 800/873-5628, oattravel.com.

Why It's a Deal According to a recent search on Sidestep, the lowest round-trip multicity fares—arriving in Zagreb and departing from Dubrovnik—in early February are: $895 from Boston (multiple carriers); $969 from New York City (multiple carriers); and $1,115 from Los Angeles (multiple carriers). The three-night hotel stay is valued at about $323 per person, which would bring the DIY total to $1,218-$1,438, not including the cruise portion of the trip. In comparison, for about $1,000 more, the OAT package includes the airfare and three-night hotel stay as well as a seven-night cruise, most meals, guided excursions, and all land transportation. Also, by choosing to travel in the winter, you're saving about 50 percent off the high-season price of this package.

Trip Details The Cruising Croatia and Adriatic Islands Package allows you to explore, crowd-free, the rocky cliffs, the tiny harbor, and the thousand islands that dot the coast of this increasingly popular vacation spot.

You'll set off on your journey by flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt and then catching a connecting flight on Croatian Air to Zagreb, where you'll spend two nights at the 266-room Hotel Dubrovnik, located on the main city square, Trg Bana Jelacica, close to major cultural attractions and a five-minute walk to the main shopping district. You'll take a sightseeing tour that includes the historic monuments of 19th–century Lower Town, the medieval streets of Upper Town, and the lively open-air market, Dolac.

Next you'll begin traveling toward the coast. You'll stop in Trogir, an ancient island city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site first settled by the Greeks. After a sightseeing stroll through the city's Old Town, you'll proceed to the coastal town of Split, where you'll board your ship.

You'll spend the next seven nights aboard the Athena, one of OAT's two new small ships, with room for only 50 passengers. The ships, designed to cater to Americans over the age of 50, were built in Split. Decorated in the style of a 1930s yacht, each ship has 26 outside cabins with rooms measuring 140–170 square feet), a sundeck, a dining room, and a salon with a bar. The package price is based on a main deck cabin, but you can upgrade to an upper deck cabin for an additional $400 per person.

You'll stay two nights in Split aboard the docked vessel, which will give you time to explore Split, another UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the most well-known Roman ruin in Southeastern Europe: the Imperial Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. There is also an optional tour of Sibenik, a town about an hour from Split, and Krka Falls, a series of waterfalls by a national park.