Waikiki Differently

Not too long ago, Chile was far south of most people's vacation radar. This long, bony finger of a country is a long way away - it stretches more than 2,600 miles from the Atacama Desert all the way down to the icebergs of Antarctica. Though a colorful and fascinating destination, most of what people heard was about its murderous military government. Memo to budget travelers: Put it back on your itinerary. Augusto Pinochet's regime is history and he's spent most of the last year and a half under arrest in London, pending trial in Spain. Meanwhile, Chile has returned to democratic peace and prosperity, its most recent elections held just this past January. It's a safe destination that not only offers some of the most compelling sights but also some of the cheapest prices on the South American continent. Consider that you can spend a night in Santiago, the sprawling, cosmopolitan capital of nearly 6 million people, for $5 to $15, if you don't require the Ritz. You can gorge on tasty empanadas for less than a Big Mac costs back home. And you can take advantage of South America's flip-flopped seasons: Dig your feet into the white sand and surf of the palm-tree-studded resort city of Vina del Mar when people are shoveling snow back home, or carve up the white powder at renowned ski slopes like Portillo and Valle Nevado when it's sweltering in the States. First-time visitors will want to spend a few days looking around the museums, monuments, and gracious European-style precincts of Santiago, then, during the summer (December to February), grab a bus to Vina del Mar to wander the beaches and try their luck in a casino for several more days. Those interested in exploring farther afield might consider visiting the glaciers, penguins, and spectacular wilds of Patagonia in the south or the shimmering Atacama Desert in the north. Chileans like visitors, and they like it when you try speaking Spanish - even if you do it badly. "People from Chile are very warm," says Alejandra Oyarzun, a resident of the island of Chiloe. Despite a prospering economy, the exchange rate favors gringo guests. The U.S. dollar recently sold for some 520 pesos, up from 410 in 1997. Coming down, going around While not the cheapest ticket on earth, airfare to Chile is well within the budget traveler's reach. Airline ticket discounters or consolidators that specialize in South America travel offer reasonable prices in peak summer season, December to February. Round-trip flights from New York City cost between $615 and $660; while Los Angeles is only slightly more expensive at around $700. Travelers from Miami get even better rates, around $450. (These prices do not include taxes, which run from $30 to $64. Also, Chile charges U.S. citizens a onetime entrance fee of $45.) Some of the best fares are available from consolidators like World Trade Travel in New York (800/732-7386), Ticketplanet.com in San Francisco (800/799-8888), and Cheap Tickets (800/377-1000). Or fly as a courier; the Air Courier Association (800/282-1202) offers $450 flights to Santiago from Miami. Once you're here, local carrier LanChile (800/735-5526; www.lanchile.com) offers an air pass-$350 for three domestic flights ($250 if you fly LanChile from the U.S.) - allowing visitors to check out Santiago and environs, bounce north to the fascinating Atacama, and scoot south to Puerto Montt, in the heart of the gorgeous lake district. Buses are also a popular option. There are dozens of companies that run clean and comfortable vehicles on regular timetables. Buses leave hourly from Santiago to popular destinations like Vina del Mar (the two-hour trip goes for $3.18 each way) and La Serena. Advance booking is suggested only on holidays or for longer trips on a sleeper bus. Among the major companies are Pullman (2/235-8142), Cruz del Sur (2/779-0607), Flota Barrios (2/776-0665), and Tur-Bus (2/776-3690). Buenas noches The country is packed with budget accommodations, though options range from a plain room in a local home to posh five-star hotels. Hospedajes and residenciales are the best bargains, with simple digs and shared bathrooms at prices that generally range between $5 and $20 per person. Common in small towns, hospedajes ("oh-speh-DAH-hess") are homes that rent out rooms. Larger cities are more likely to have residenciales, essentially boarding houses with individual rooms and shared baths. Rooms tend to be austere - sometimes with just a couple of twin beds and space to drop your bags - but the beds are comfortable, and some places have communal kitchens. It's perfectly okay to ask to see the room first, and if it's not up to your standards - some are more run-down than others - move on; there are usually plenty of choices. Hospedajes and some residenciales offer a glimpse of how people live and, if you speak Spanish, a chance to discuss Chile with your hosts. A good word to keep in mind when planning your trip is Sernatur, the country's official tourism office (in Santiago, 2/236-1420). It issues a number of free booklets and maps-including some in English-on sights, rooms, restaurants, and special-interest activities like skiing; some staff hablan ingles, as well. Sernatur also runs an information booth near Santiago airport customs, open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekends. Also, there are plenty of taxi drivers in the terminal willing to help book you into a place in exchange for a tip (usually 10 percent of the fare). In Vina del Mar, the tourist office hands out a map at the bus station that lists dozens of hotels, residenciales, and restaurants, and some of the staff speak English. In many tourist-oriented towns like Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas, visitors getting off buses are handed business cards advertising budget lodging. In many cases, the card-giver is the owner of the hospedaje and will personally escort you to the lodging. At the low end of the scale in Santiago is the Hotel Olicar (Calle San Pablo, 1265; no phone), a sprawling residencial with a winding staircase and balcony windows. Popular among footloose Israelis, its rooms have a bit of peeling paint and some are windowless, but they are a bargain at $4.70 per person. Kitchen facilities are also available. For something homier, try Residencial del Norte (Calle Catedral, 2207; 2/695-1876), which charges $10 per person with a shared bathroom. Residencial Tabita (Calle Principe de Gales, 81; 2/671-5700) has the advantage of being both centrally located and quiet, in a cul-de-sac away from traffic. Rooms are plain but the beds are firm; it's $13 per person for shared bath, $24 to $31 for private bath. Vi a del Mar is loaded with residenciales, particularly east of the city center along Alvarez and Agua Santa streets, so be choosy. Residencial La Nona (Calle Agua Santa, 48; 32/663-825) has eclectic decor and some tightly squeezed rooms, but it does have rooms with a private bath for about $11.30. For a shared bath, the cost drops to $9.40. Residencial Agua Santa (Calle Agua Santa, 36; 32/901-351) also has rooms for $9.40, but the rambling, bright blue Victorian building is a little rougher around the edges. An interesting choice is Residencial Victoria (Calle Valpara­so, 40; 32/977-370), which features Spanish architecture, a Virgin Mary statue above the front door, and bigger rooms for $13.15. For midrange travelers who prefer more conventional hotels, rooms in such establishments begin at around $22 for a single, $27 for a double. They offer what an American might expect from a hotel back home: a television, a telephone, a desk and chairs, a bathroom with shower. A fun choice in Santiago is the Hotel Paris (Calle Paris, 813; 2/639-4037) in the University of Chile neighborhood. Tucked away on a brick street and featuring arched doorways, marble staircases, and a French-style cafe with a hanging garden, it costs $26 for a single, $30 for a double with one large bed. The agreeable Hotel Riviera (Calle Miraflores, 106; 2/633-1176) charges $41 to $48 for the same type of room without the Parisian flavor. Another option is the Hotel Santa Lucia (Calle Huerfanos, 779, fourth floor; 2/639-8201), which throws in a refrigerator for the rate of $33 to $40. In Vi a del Mar, the plethora of conventional hotel rooms includes crisp and clean Hotel Balia (Calle Von Schroeders, 36; 32/978-310), with fine TV-equipped rooms for $25 single, $35 double. Hotel Alcantara (Calle Viana, 575; tel. and fax 32/711-196) offers similar accommodations for $24.60 single, $30 double. Rooms are quite a bit more expensive ($108 for a single, $120 double) at the Hotel Cap Ducal (Avenida Marina, 51; 32/626-655), but it might be the most unique hotel in all of Chile; it's set inside an old ship resting above Vina's crashing waves. Even if you don't stay here, it's at least worth a visit to the bar to watch the surf come in below. !Buen provecho! (bon appetit) The food in Chile mirrors the landscape. With its wealth of wandering coastline, it's no surprise that seafood abounds. But the country's fertile central valley also produces a bounty of fresh produce, and Chileans love bread and pastry. Lunch generally takes place between noon and 2 p.m., during the siesta when many businesses close and people go home to eat with their families. Dinner's quite late - usually around 9 p.m. - but restaurants are open for dinner by 6 p.m. if you can't wait. The dining choices are truly formidable in Santiago, ranging from hot dogs to refined sit-down dinners featuring all manner of local and international flavors. For seafood lovers, a pilgrimage to the Mercado Central on San Pablo, across from Cerro Santa Lucia park, is a must. Here, tasty seafood restaurants nestle between colorful stalls selling just about anything with gills, fins, or shells - and it's straight from the water. At Marisqueria (2/698-6291) in the Mercado Central, a delicious plate of fried fish with tomatoes and onions (pescado frito a la chilena) sells for $3; the fish is so fresh, the tail is still on. For the same price you can get the mariscada especial, an exotic blend of fresh mussels, shrimp, and other shellfish, and wash it down with a half-bottle of excellent local Tres Medallas red wine for $3.20. Another lunch choice is the Bar Nacional, at Calle Bandera, 317 in the city center (2/695-3368), where the decor is retro-America 1950s and the national specialty pastel de choclo-a hearty casserole of corn, chicken, beef, olives, and onions-sells for about $5.50. For a typical Chilean meal of lomo a la pobre (a huge slab of steak topped with fried eggs and french fries), try Eladio, located at Avenida Ossa, 2234 in the Providencia neighborhood (2/277-0661); enormous portions cost about $7. El Chancho con Chaleco ("Pig In a Jacket") at Avenida Los Pajaritos, 99 (2/557-6152) is also enormously popular and specializes in beef and chicken dishes for about $6 to $7. Eats are wonderful and affordable in Vi a del Mar, too. Try a bowl of paella (shellfish, sausage, chicken, and pork on a bed of rice) for $2.82 or the pastel de choclo for $2.35 at Autoservicier Santander at the corner of Quinta and Arlegui. Or choose from a vast selection of empanadas and mini-pizzas for less than $1 at Panaderia Suiza (Calle Arlegui, 402) and go sit among the palm trees on Plaza Vergara to watch the crowds while you eat. The best edible bargain in Chile is the ubiquitous empanada, which costs less than $1 and is advertised in restaurant windows and sold on sidewalks everywhere. They usually have a hearty filling of beef, onions, hard-boiled egg, and olives, though apple filling is also popular. Also look for $1.35 humitas, a delicious paste of grated corn, fried onions, and basil sold by women in little stands on Santiago's busy streets, especially along the Alameda (the nickname for Avenida del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, a major city artery). As everywhere, fast food has also made local inroads. A completo - a hot dog with every imaginable condiment - generally sells for around $1.50 and is also listed on signs outside fast-food-type restaurants. Finally, a visit to Chile isn't complete without a pisco sour, a margarita-type drink made with a popular grape brandy. They are sold in nearly every restaurant and generally cost about $1.75. Surf, ski, and see One of the first places to check out in Santiago is Cerro San Cristobal, a 2,800-foot cliff that looms over downtown and is topped by a 115-foot white statue of the Virgin Mary. There's a challenging hike to the statue if you're trying to work off cobwebs from flying, and there's a teleferico (cable car) to carry you to the top for $4.50. Go around 8 p.m. in the summertime for a stunning panorama of city and sunset. Also worth exploring: the labyrinthine Cerro Santa Lucia, with a massive fountain and trails that lead to far-reaching views of the city and the Andes beyond. Another big attraction: fabulous and relatively economical skiing, both downhill and cross-country (the season runs from mid-June through mid-October). There are about a dozen ski areas above 6,500 feet, with long runs and deep, dry snow reminiscent of the Rockies. The best ones, happily, are clustered within striking distance of Santiago, the most famous being Portillo (2/263-0606), only 90 miles south. It's best done by day trip, though, because while lift tickets are about $35, the lodge is expensive and in peak season usually has a seven-night minimum stay. An hour's drive from Santiago are Valle Nevado (2/698-0103), El Colorado (2/211-0426), and La Parva (2/220-9530), where lift tickets cost about $33 and equipment rentals another $24. Each ski area has offices in Santiago that arrange transportation to and from the mountains. Santiago's ravenous growth has pushed many wineries out farther into the country, but a few notable ones still remain. Easiest to reach is Vi a Santa Carolina (Rodrigo de Araya, 1341; 2/450-3000), which no longer has actual grapes but still offers tours of the main house of the Julio Perera estate and the bodegas (cellars). Call the day before your visit to make a reservation. Beaches dot the coast around Vina del Mar, but the best white sand and crashing surf is at Renaca, a suburb about ten minutes from downtown Vina. Take Pony Bus No. 1, 10, or 111 from 2 Norte; directions and maps are available at the main bus station. If you like to wager after a day in the sun, the Casino Municipal (32/689-200) looms over the beach at San Mart­n, 199. Chile to go If you don't want to tackle Chile on your own, an abundance of tour operators there and in the U.S. will piece together your trip in advance. Certain elements of Chile-like Torres del Paine National Park, glacier tours, and the lake district - will appear in the listings of every company that deals with the country. It's a matter of shopping around. Even during high season, it's not hard to find your way on your own, with the possible exception of sold-out upscale hotels in remote regions like Torres del Paine. Escapes Unlimited (800/243-7227) offers a six-night package to Santiago and the lake district for a reasonable $1,299, including flights from New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. Los Angeles and San Francisco departures are $150 more. Extensions are available to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island, northern Chile, and Peru. Intervac (800/992-9629), meanwhile, flies you down for five hotel nights in Santiago for $765 from New York or Miami; other gateways are available. U.S. companies have package tours that cover every detail, but many also will customize a tour to individual interests. Ladatco Tours (800/327-6162, www.ladatco.com) offers more than a dozen tours involving Chile, including the ten-day Lakes Explorer from $2,890 per person, double occupancy. But customers are welcome to buy part of a tour and add and subtract as they see fit. To get quick tastes of different areas of Chile, Latour (800/825-0825) offers two- and three-day excursions from several departure cities to the desert or to glaciers at prices as low as $190 (for two days and one night in Puerto Montt, double occupancy). A three-day, two-night excursion in the Atacama Desert runs $723. Contact Sernatur, the official tourism office at Avenida Providencia, 1550 in Santiago, for information on activities ranging from river rafting to thermal baths to winery visits (from the U.S., dial 011-56-2/236-1420, fax 011-56-2/236-1417, or log on to www.segegob.cl/sernatur/inicio.html). To set up Patagonia tours once you get to Chile-including penguin tours of Isla Magdalena for $35-contact friendly and helpful Turismo Comapa in Punta Arenas (Calle Independencia, 830; tel. 61/241-322, www.comapa.com.).

A simple fact about specialty travel: Gay people travel differently than straight people. Gay and lesbian travelers usually like to meet other gays on the road, for reasons of security and comfort, if not to simply hang out with similar people. A booming hospitality industry has blossomed for this highly valued, double-income-no-kids market. Since lesbians and gay men (the latter especially) are praised for their dual-income, no-kids, frequent-traveler demographic, the travel industry seems to constantly jack up prices for the free-spending community whenever the word "gay" is used with "travel." But with a slowly re-bounding economy, as well as the embracing of the gay travel world by the mainstream, budget travel has risen to the forefront of the often-overpriced gay and lesbian travel market. When trying to budget a gay holiday, the first thing to do is your homework. Excellent resources like PlanetOut.com/travel, Gay.com/travel, and OutandAbout.com list hundreds of gay and lesbian accommodations, restaurants, and travel companies, all with costs that indicate the lower-priced ones. Gay friendly, wallet-friendly countries An obvious budget travel strategy is to choose destinations that are gay-friendly alternatives in cheaper countries. Forego expensive New York, San Francisco, London, or Paris and try instead more budget-minded gay destinations. In Latin America, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Costa Rica, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires are all gay-positive hot spots despite their Catholic surroundings, and with dirt-cheap but sophisticated hotels, restaurants, and bars. In Europe, experience the burgeoning gay centers of Prague, Budapest, Moscow, and St. Petersburg for a fraction of the cost of Western Europe. In Asia, the Philippines, Bali, and Thailand present a gayer culture than pricier (and more closeted) Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. If you are less adventurous, Montreal, Toronto, Cape Town, Sydney, and Auckland all give you a highly-evolved gay English-speaking experience for a lot less than similar cities in the U.S. or Western Europe, thanks to favorable exchange rates to the American dollar. Of course many of the places listed above require long-distance plane travel, but by securing good airfares or using frequent flyer miles, you'll be able to live like a king (or queen) on a lot less once you arrive. Penny pinching while you sleep Ah, the politics of the gay hotel room. Checking into a hotel as a same-sex couple, and asking to sleep in one bed, is the litmus test of how gay friendly an establishment is. Although this can seem at times like pushing the envelope in rural areas and certain foreign countries, insisting on one bed versus two can often mean the difference of paying up to a 25 percent or more on the price for the room in some places. And why check into a mainstream hotel at all? Check first for gay bed and breakfasts in the areas you are visiting: They are usually half the price of comparable hotel rooms, breakfast is included, you get a chance to meet fellow gay travelers, and you can pick the brains of your host who can more easily hook you into the local gay scene, especially in off-the-beaten-track destinations. Yes, budget gay B&Bs can be unearthed in spots like South Dakota and Arkansas, even Tijuana, Quito, and Latvia, places where staying with locals may mean the difference between feeling lost and having a gay ole' time. Purpleroofs.com list scads of gay budget accommodations, some starting as low as $25 per night. For singles, the pesky single supplement charge has been a thorn in every independent traveler's side for aeons. This charge, which can often double the "based on double occupancy" publicized price, is incurred regardless of sexual orientation when any single joins any organized tour group. How does one get around this hard fact? By asking the tour operator if you can split a room with another single traveler on the trip, thus securing the lower double-occupancy price. Sure, you may have to put up with snoring, but at least you'll have another single comrade to keep you company and your wallet will thank you (and who knows, your roommate may end up looking like Tom Cruise). Got a great house or apartment that is just going to go to waste while you're away? What better way to capitalize on it by swapping a week or more with another gay traveler's home somewhere else in the world? The home exchange network Mi Casa Su Casa (gayhometrade.com/) sets you up with listings of other gays for a mere $40 for a three-year membership. Anything from studios to cabins to mansions all over the world are listed, and members simply set up arrangements between themselves as to when and what will be swapped, and best of all, you can home trade as much as you like for free once you've joined. Gay B&Bs Luxury hotel chains like the W, Kimpton, Kempinski, and Intercontinental have gone out of their way to create gay and lesbian advertising campaigns to lure gay travelers to their properties. But for the frugal traveler, an old mainstay of the gay travel world is your best bet for cheap sleeps: the gay-owned B&B. They are ubiquitous, friendly, fun, and the best way to tap into the local gay community when traveling. And they can be half the price of a comparable hotel room. But since gay B&Bs are small operations with limited advertising funds and are usually run out of people's homes, it's often hard to find out about them. But you'd be surprised how omnipresent gay B&Bs are-I've discovered some in spots like South Dakota and Arkansas, even Tijuana, Quito, and Latvia. A gay B&B in an out-of-the-way spot can often mean the difference between being completely on your own or meeting other gay people, travelers and locals alike. Probably the most comprehensive site for digging up gay and lesbian B&Bs is Purple Roofs (www.purpleroofs.com). Here may be the only place you'll discover hard-to-find properties like the only lesbian guesthouse in India ($20 a night), or a gay-owned boutique hotel in the center of Marrakech starting at $35 a night, or a gay-owned B&B in Rio also for $35 a night. (Having said that, most of the listings are in North America.) And Purple Roofs is the only place that lists scads of gay B&B discounts under their Specials section-like 25 percent off room rates during low seasons, or 50 percent off of a third night stay. Also check out Rainbow Destination's B&B directory site guesthouses.net/. There aren't as many listings as Purple Roofs, and some are straight-owned and over $100 a night, but you can still dig up some great finds here-like the Inn at Coyote Mountain in Costa Rica, a luxurious and remote hacienda, for $99 a night; Or the 18-24 James in Cairns, Australia-a 26-room resort with pool, sauna, gym, and spa-starting at just $55 a night. Two other gay B&B directory sites are hsleepgay.com/ and gaybandb.com/. The first is lists 86 international B&B's and the second site 100, but www.sleepgay.com gives prices and profiles of each property, while gaybandb.com/ simply links you to each B&B's web site directly. As for finding gay B&Bs in the U.K., try pinkuk.com/tourism/B_B.asp and for Australia and New Zealand try inthepink.com.au/. Beyond the bed-and-breakfast Not a B&B person? No problem. You can easily do a home swap with other gay travelers as well-where you trade your domicile with another traveler for a period of time (or choose to host someone in return). Anything from studios to cabins to mansions all over the world are listed, and members simply set up arrangements between themselves as to when and what will be swapped, and best of all, you can home trade as much as you like for free once you've joined. The most extensive gay home swapping network is the GFN Home Exchange Club (nearly 1,500 listings at gfn.digsville.com/; $44.95 for a 1 year membership)-they guarantee you'll find a home exchange partner in one year, or the next year is free. Or try the well-established Mi Casa Su Casa (nearly 200 listings at gayhometrade.com/; $60 for a 3 year membership), in business since 1992; or the UK-based Home Around the World (350 listings at homearoundtheworld.com/; $70 for 1 year), which specializes in European homes and offers travel insurance, flight and hotel discounts, and online bulletin boards. Don't feel like forking over the membership fee? Two services-the excellent One World One Family (nearly 80 listings at oneworldonefamily.com/) and the relatively new Gay Home Exchange (19 listings at gayhomexchange.com/)-offer free memberships-but you get what you pay for in terms of quantity of listings. Or you simply camp it up! Gay campgrounds and RV parks are multiplying like crazy around the world, and offer a down-home way to save money and socialize at the same time. Surf to Gay Campers (gaycampers.com/) for over 100 listings in 12 countries of rural getaways where you can bring your own tent or stay in cabins for nominal fees. Gay Camp USA (campgayusa.com/) lists over 75 gay and gay-friendly campsites across North America (and one in England), all for low rates, and some even offer work-exchange for camping on the property-now that's budget living! If you don't like to go camping without your microwave, Rainbow RV (rainbowrv.com/) is the largest GLBT RV/Camping club in North America. For a membership of $12.95 per year, you get discounts to select gay campgrounds, an online newsletter, a gay campground directory, and invitations to gay RV rallies and events. Also check out the California-based non-profit gay RV club Traveling Our Way (travelingourway.org/), with 230 members and membership of $20 a year. So be it B&B, home swap, camping, or in an RV, there is no reason gay travelers should have to pay anymore than anyone else to have a great vacation-you just need to know where to look. Camp it up Many of us don't like getting dirt under our fingernails, and you may have given up camping long ago after a stint in the Brownies, but gay campgrounds have been a steadily growing trend in North America. Not only do they tend to be social havens for rural gays and lesbians, they offer city-slickers a chance to let their hair down (as well as their trousers, since a large percentage of them are clothing-optional). Needless to say, camping and its grown-up sister RVing are a fun, budget way to travel. Gay Camp USA (campgayusa.com/) lists over 75 gay and gay-friendly campsites across North America (and even one in England), all for low rates, and some even offer work-exchange for camping on the property-now that's budget living! If you don't like to go camping without your microwave, Rainbow RV (rainbowrv.com/) is the largest GLBT RV/Camping club in North America. For a membership of $12.95 per year, you get discounts to select gay campgrounds, an online newsletter, a gay campground directory, and invitations to gay RV rallies and events. So gas up your Winnebago and get going! Five tour operators that stretch your dollar and your mind A majority of gay tour operators blatantly market their products as upscale, luxurious, and far from affordable. Thankfully, a handful doesn't. You can always check out the round-up of twenty monthly best buys from gay operators listed on the useful and up-to-date web site www.gaytravelnews.com. Here are profiles of five specifically cost-conscious tour operators serving the gay market: Gay Jet (800/9-GAYJET, gayjet.com/): Only a couple years old, Gay Jet has quickly become a budget leader, offering all kinds of air/hotel packages around the globe. Amazing deals include three nights in Europe with air for $489, or seven nights on two Hawaiian islands for only $625, air-inclusive. Moreover, their web site is a plethora of gay travel info, from an events calendar to travel bulletin boards, and you can also book online gay-friendly hotels, car rentals, and flights. Alyson Adventures (800/8-ALYSON, www.alysonadventures.com): Specializing in outdoor adventures, Alyson recently joined forces with the large and more staid Hanns Ebensten Travel (although both will keep their respective identities). Alyson's trips include biking, hiking, skiing, kayaking, scuba diving, rafting, and other active adventures, at reasonable costs (starting at $1,195 for a week). Most meals, activity costs, accommodations, and parties are included in their pricing. Inta-Aussie (800/531-9222, inta-aussie.com/): The Australia-based mainstream tour operator Inta-Aussie has jumped into the gay and lesbian travel market full force, with incredible deals to Oceania and the South Pacific for dirt cheap, thanks to their volume discounts. Deals start at $999 for five nights' hotel in Sydney, air-inclusive from the West Coast. Their Sydney Gay Mardi Gras package is $1,799 for air-inclusive five nights' hotel, a city tour, a harbor cruise, and a ticket to the actual Mardi Gras party (over $110 each themselves). 2Afrika (877/200-5610, 2afrika.com/): This gay-owned Africa tour operator is little known in the gay market since it specializes in mainstream travel, but their gay-friendly deals to the world's second largest continent can't be beat. 2Afrika promotes a $999 package to Cape Town from the East Coast, including air and five nights' accommodations, as well as info on the gay scene and even a gay tour guide if needed. They also offer packages to Ghana and Senegal for not much more, as well as week-long safaris in Kenya and Tanzania starting at $1,795 including air, all meals, and fairly upscale accommodations-much less than their competitors. Pied Piper Travel (800/874-7312, piedpipertravel.com/): Around since 1990 (and mentioned last week on our site), Pied Piper specializes in small gay groups aboard mainstream cruises (including the Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2) in contrast to the more expensive gay-only cruises offered by other companies. Included in their cruise deals are private cocktails parties, a tour escort, private dining tables, and of course meals and most drinks. Seven-night cruises start at an amazing $461 per person. Cruises and Mexican resorts RSVP Travel Productions of Minneapolis (rsvp.net/) and "Atlantis Events" of West Hollywood (800/628-5268; atlantisevents.com/) appear to be the largest tour companies for gay men and lesbians. In addition to operating a great many gay cruises since 1986, RSVP offers vacations in Peru, Ireland and French Polynesia, among other destinations. Atlantis, appealing to a slightly younger and perhaps more active clientele, runs a variety of stays, tours and cruises to various Blue Bay resorts and on smaller cruise ships, as well as to its own "Club Atlantis" near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Olivia Cruises and Resorts of Oakland, CA (phone 510/655-0364 or 800/631-6277; oliviatravel.com/), is the largest operator of cruises and tours for lesbian travelers, a successful company in the cruise business since 1990 whose destinations are widely scattered and sold to a national audience. Its cruises outnumber its land tours four to one, and have recently gone to such attractive locations as Greece, China, Vietnam and Thailand, Tahiti, Turkey, and Alaska. It also offers long-term payment plans for its packages. Because of its high volume of incoming phone calls, you will occasionally have to leave a number, but are always called back promptly. Particularly skilled at low-cost group tours on popular cruise ships is New York City-based Pied Piper Travel (800/874-7312; in New York 212/239-2412; gaygroupcruises.com/). Pied Piper's periodic offerings typically run in the Caribbean and to Europe, with a few to Australia and Africa. In San Diego, a company called Arco Iris specializes in escorted tours and group tours to Mexico, including airfare from many U.S. cities, for quite decent prices (800/765-4370; arcoiristours.com/). Land-based holidays For land-based holidays, there are growing options. One respected operator is Above & Beyond tours, based in Palm Springs, CA (phone 800/397-2681; owners vigilantly update the Web site, including last-minute specials, at abovebeyondtours.com/). It has been around since 1987, is United Airlines' official gay operator, and offers a wide variety of both independent and group global travel, including regular forays to Europe, South Africa, Latin America, and an annual trip to the Sydney Gay Games and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Skylink Travel of Santa Rosa, California (800/225-5759 or skylinktravel.com/) is prominent among the medium-sized women's operators, and growing in popularity. Around for over a decade, Skylink primarily operates land tours to international destinations (Kenya, China, Greece), and has recently discovered that perhaps half of its former group passengers are now requesting individual, custom-tailored arrangements for singles or couples, the classic "f.i.t.'s" (foreign independent tours) of travel, which Skylink willingly provides. Adventure/sports vacations Onto outdoor and sporting vacations: Gay-owned Alyson Adventures (phone 800/825-9766, or visit alysonadventures.com/) is known for outdoor-activity trips, especially biking in France, but also river rafting, canyoning, and scuba diving all over the world. Or check out Montana-based OutWest Adventures (800/743-0458, or outwestadventures.com/), whose tours include skiing, hiking, and gay dude ranches. Operating since 1990, Toto Tours (773/274-TOTO or 800/565-1241) is a smaller tour company for gay men only (primarily adventure travel, such as whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon, barging in Burgundy, hiking in Switzerland, multi-adventure tours (bungee jumping, game driving, biking, trekking) in South Africa, sailing a tall ship in the Caribbean). The Chicago-based company is online at tototours.com/. Operating for over 10 years, Undersea Expeditions (800/669-0310, underseax.com/) has about six scuba diving trips planned at any given time. Trips include Cozumel, Papua New Guinea and Tobago. Most trips have between 15-30 fellow divers aboard from both genders. However, Undersea does offer trips separated by gender. Lodgings are either land-based or live-aboard (which means you sleep on a boat, and jump right in the water). They invite non-divers to also come along for snorkeling or to just get their feet wet. Tours range between $800-$1,600, and last about seven days. Spiritual journeys Spirit Journeys (800/490-3684, spiritjourneys.com/) focuses on gay and lesbian spiritual group journeys to mystic places like Peru, Bali, and Mexico, with participants educating themselves on their own as well as the native's beliefs; rituals are enacted in the course of these journeys along with more standard guide-led sightseeing. Useful websites and publications The most important guidebook to travel by men is published by the San Francisco-based Damron. They have several titles at your disposal: the "Damron Men's Travel Guide" ($19.95, published since 1964), the "Women's Traveller," ($17.95), and "Damron Accommodations Guide" ($23.95). Damron has been working to expand its European coverage and now publishes a gay guide to Amsterdam ($12.95). Its titles can be obtained from many bookstores or the Damron Company Web site (damron.com/), where they're discounted (shipping is $5 for the first book and $1.50 for each additional book). You can also order by phone, at full price, on 800/462-6654 or 415/255-0404. Then there is the Rainbow Handbook Hawai'i. Traveling with the Rainbow Handbook is like traveling with an old friend who has lived on the accepting islands for years. This charming insider's guide is written with a witty and conversational tone. It includes trivia, anecdotes, history, and interviews along with must-have maps and glossary. Of course, no guidebook on Hawaii would be complete without pictures, and the Rainbow Handbook goes above and beyond to deliver. Viewable online, or can be purchased for $25 at rainbowhandbook.com/. Of course, there's also Frommer's "Gay & Lesbian Europe," an all-in-one volume that marries orientation-irrelevant information such as travel tips, dining, and attractions with descriptive gay- and lesbian-specific information about local gay history, lodging, bars, clubs-even saunas ($24.99 at bookstores). Some people, especially Europeans, favor the German "Spartacus" guide by Bruno Gmunder, which is available in English. It is the bulkiest of them all, though, and there has been grousing that some of its information is out of date, despite annual editions. Even so, it remains the most complete and oft-quoted international reference, and although it doesn't have a Web site, it's available for purchase for $32.95 at most mainstream outlets, including Amazon.com. The nation's leading travel newsletter for gays and lesbians is the award-winning "Out & About," published 10 times a year in a handsome, quality format; it covers travel opportunities of a fast-breaking sort, and is obviously more topical than the once-a-year guidebooks are able to be. Subscription information is available at gay.com/. A few other periodicals can also be helpful. Our World, published since 1989, strives to furnish up-to-date information about operators and current tours by publishing a 56-page magazine 10 times a year (www.ourworldpublishing.com, $25 by mail, $12 online, 386/441-5367). It's well stocked with ads, phone numbers, and details about upcoming packages and tours. Another is the smaller Passport Magazine (passportmagazine.com/), which is a published bi-monthly ($19.95/year, call 800/999-9718) and focuses on first-person articles, recommendations, and tips. For city-by-city entertainment information, flip through the racy pages of "The Guide," distributed for free at gay clubs around the world and available online at guidemag.com/. If you're still at a loss for holiday ideas, refer to one of the oldest and most well-respected exclusively gay and lesbian travel Websites, gaytravel.com/. A self-named "portal site" offering access to a multitude of special travel offers, providing information on last-minute discount airfares and special cruise and tour packages, many of which are offered by some of the other major gay and lesbian tour operators. The site is updated at least thrice weekly, and its more than 400 destination articles and featured programs (including such esoteric offerings as llama trekking for lesbians in Canada) make the site a good place for expanding your vacation search. For additional information, you can call 800/GAY-TRAVEL or 800/429-8728. A few nascent resource Web sites are testing themselves in the marketplace. The jury is still out on them, but you might find helpful information at one of several spots. These are general-interest gay sites, but each has sections devoted to travel that supply destination information: gay.com/, industry leader planetout.com/, and gaywired.com/. Of the three, GayWired.com has demonstrated the most interest in maintaining a particularly helpful travel section.

Africa's loveliest city is an intriguing contradiction -- radiant and fair on the surface, layered like an onion beneath; its setting celestial, but injustice still widespread. Cape Town was founded as a European enclave in the seventeenth century, when India-bound ships pulled off the overseas highways for the colonial equivalent of a pit stop, but today its African sun and gracious seaside lifestyle attract Euro hedonists, models, and playboys, even as just beyond the city center, South Africa kneels to violence, disease, and the lingering racism embedded in society. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" sighs a South African friend as we stand atop Cape Town's crowning glory, Table Mountain. "Like the back end of the Titanic." Like so many others, Deon may reluctantly move abroad to escape the implosion of the once-mighty currency, the rand. A half-mile below us hums one of the world's most spectacular cities, ranking with Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro. City Bowl, its central area, snuggles against Table Mountain (which Mark Twain once called "a glorious pile"), now rising from the suburbs like a mythical beast turned to stone, the flanking sentinels of Devil's Peak and the Lion's Head spilling the streets gently into Table Bay. It's the rand -- weakened by economic instability and recently trading at R8 to the U.S. dollar -- that has made South Africa in general and Cape Town in particular one of the cheapest places on earth, a magnet for budget travel where one can live in European-style comfort for less than $20 a day. Sometimes it's like apartheid never ended -- though they comprise 76 percent of the population, most of the black people visitors see are serving foccacia or fluffing pillows. But that sobering sociology, combined with setting and attractions, make the "Mother City" endlessly stimulating. The Cape and its allures With some three million people, the capital of Western Cape province sprawls along the Atlantic seaboard at the bottom of the African continent. From the commercial high-rises under Table Mountain emanate the steep streets of Green Point, home of budget motels and the bustling V&A Waterfront development. Past that, around Signal Hill, promenade the Florida-style condos of Sea Point, and farther down the Cape, the glamorous cliffside homes above the bistro-and-beach coves of Camps Bay, where the "beautiful people" cavort. Head east, or deeper into the province, and you'll find antique Dutch colonial estates in posh suburbs like Constantia. In the eastern distance, past the dreary Cape Flats where most nonwhite citizens dwell, lie the mountains near Stellenbosch, where elephants once roamed but wineries and country inns now beckon. Distinguished Cape Dutch architecture and gardens abound, and a visit to Table Mountain is a must (cable car $9.50 round-trip, $5 one-way). But Cape Town's most compelling sights evoke the brutality of the generations-old apartheid regime, which finally ended in 1993. That's one reason why the city's top draw is actually a mall: the V&A Waterfront, an appealing (though Americanized) bayside hub for shopping, partying, and eating in all price categories. Here, you see, is where tourists also catch the ferry to Robben Island, the infamous prison where Nelson Mandela spent nearly 20 years on work detail as a political convict. Operated by the ruling party, the ANC, it's the most expensive attraction in town: $12.75 for three-and-a-half-hour visits to his cell, which leave hourly across from the vaults at Victoria Wharf daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (419-1300, $6.25 for ages 4 to 13; book at least a day in advance). Unfortunately, although dolphin sightings are common during the ferry ride and tours are led by former prisoners, the commentary provided is something of a letdown. Actually, Mandela split his 28 years of incarceration between three jails. One of them, Pollsmoor, is still open, and -- get this -- doubles as one of the biggest budget dining secrets of Cape Town. The on-premises lunchroom, staffed only by supervised, nonviolent inmates, offers the rare opportunity to interact with a South African living on the firing lines of the social and racial war that still rages. Inmates crave interaction with interested outsiders, and as a bonus, prices are astoundingly low: sandwiches for $.30 to $.50, sirloin steak and potatoes for $2.15, and banana splits for $.60. The food is frankly unremarkable, but the chance for an up-close look at apartheid's legacy is priceless (Orpen Rd. near Tokai; call 700-1270 for entry instructions). Perhaps the most moving reminder of the former system's evil is District Six, a deceptively placid meadow that was the site of a thriving downtown tenderloin bulldozed in 1967 to force nonwhites to move out to the Cape Flats. A nearby church is now a heartbreaking memorial featuring a floor-wide map where former residents still leave touching reminiscences about their lost homes (25A Buitenkant St., 461-8745; free). It's a refreshing museum in a place still surprisingly rife with paeans to oppression (such as a memorial to British colonialist Cecil Rhodes and another to the Afrikaans language). Roaming farther afield Don't miss the Cape Flats, the impoverished sprawl beginning five miles from downtown, past the white-dominated slopes of Devil's Peak; in the Khayalitsha district alone, 1.3 million souls jam into a space designed for 350,000. Under no circumstances should travelers attempt going on their own, but (though one may debate the propriety of poverty-gawking as a holiday activity) the shantytowns are well worth a guided tour. They'll be the most haunting excursion of your trip -- perhaps of your life. As wide-eyed children stream barefoot from squatters' huts to stare at the novelty of you, even "budget travel" feels downright decadent. A three-hour excursion from One City Tours (387-5351; $15, or $23 with an African lunch) is the cheapest and one of the least exploitative; it's led by Gladstone, a man who actually lives in Khayalitsha. Some popular attractions aren't accessible by public transportation, so rent a car from the likes of Value Car Hire (696-5827), whose manual-transmission compacts go for just $6.25 daily, including 90 free miles. Extra miles generally cost 18: each, which can rack up, so you may want to arrange an unlimited-mileage car through Avis (800/331-1212) or Budget (800/527-0707) before you leave home for about $14 per day. Both have offices at the airport and on Strand Street, but both will limit your free miles if you wait until arriving to reserve. The most popular out-of-town excursion is Cape Point, where the Cape of Good Hope bucks and tapers into the sea like the vestigial tail of a dragon. The rental car's free miles will barely get you there and back, but even with the $2.50 entry fee, going this way still beats tour prices, which start at $25. On the dramatic drive (90 minutes each way), stop at the 3,200-bird Jackass penguin colony at Boulders Beach (786-2329; $1.25) past Simon's Town. The intrepid can head three hours southeast of town to desolate Cape Agulhas, the true dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Halfway there, stop along the ten-mile-long bay of Hermanus, where June through November you can enjoy what's probably Earth's best land-based whale-watching free of charge. On the way back, take one of the world's great driving routes: the heart-quickening Clarens Drive, which dances along the seaside cliffs between Rooiels and Gordon's Bay, the town whose beaches line the warmest waters. Fans of the grape will love the 40-odd elegant wineries around Stellenbosch and Paarl. Most vineyards encourage visitors, but not all are alike. Some of the cheaper estates are Hazendal (903-5112), where tastings are free; Simonsig (888-4900), where they are $1.25 with a take-home glass; and the Bottelary (882-2204) on Bottelary Road near Stellenbosch, a wine co-op where bottles start at $.88 each. For their hidden charges and highfalutin gift shops, big-ticket wineries such as Spier are best avoided, unless it's for the privilege of petting the rare cheetahs in the nonprofit sanctuary on its grounds (809-1188, www.cheetah.co.za; $4.45 adults, $1.90 children). Wrap up your week with a visit to a certain Evita Bezuidenhout. In the former railway station of the aptly named hamlet of Darling (an hour's drive north of town on the R27), cross-dressing satirist Pieter Dirk-Uys portrays his nationally beloved creation -- a politics-drenched analogue to Australia's Dame Edna Everage -- as you enjoy a traditional South African meal. A basic understanding of national history is essential, but if you tell Evita you're a neophyte, she'll tailor her performance to help you along ($6.25; from Cape Town, 022/492-2831, evita.co.za; ask for English performance schedule). As the '60s-kitsch dining hall fills with steaming bobotie meat pies ($4.45) and honey-soaked koeksisters pastry ($1) being served, Evita lampoons fundamentalist Afrikaaners, dishing up spicy racial commentary to indulgent laughter and sloshing wine. "We apologize for apartheid," she solemnly chirps. "Yes, we're very, very sorry . . . that it didn't work." Sleeps & souvenirs Since the end of international sanctions, the deluge of tourism has fed a burgeoning lodgings industry; steer clear of the big name-brand hotels and you're off to a good start. At the rock-bottom end are several dozen hostels (most charging just $6.50 to $8 year-round for a dorm bed), many of which have diversified to include simple private rooms for couples and families. One, Ashanti Lodge (11 Hof St., 423-8721, ashanti.co.za), is a manse that boasts a golden veranda, lots of burnished wood, and a cheap cafe. Poolside doubles cost $19 to $23.50, or $29.25 with private bathroom (called an "en suite" here in South Africa). A less frenetic option, the loopy St. John's Waterfront Lodge in Green Point (6 Braemar Rd., 439-1404), near the pastel-splashed gay district of De Waterkant, is a melding of two houses, so it has two of everything (including pools) and 12 doubles for $22 to $25.50. Around Signal Hill in beachy Sea Point, an unrelated St. John's Lodge (9 St. John's Rd., 439-9028, stjohnslodge@mweb.co.za) stands next to the local ANC office. It's very basic-bed, table, wardrobe, and equipped kitchen -- but even more inexpensive: Prices start at $14.60 for a single without bath and peak at $22.25 for a double with bath. Cozier are the B&Bs, usually clustered in quiet residential areas away from public transportation and charging $22 to $27 per person during the April-to-September low season, when weather can bluster, and as much as twice that in the country's summer. The sleek Bayview (10 De Hoop Ave., Tamboerskloof, 424-2033, bayviewb@iafrica.com), with stylish art and wonderful skylight views of the mountains, charges a negotiable $31 in high season, $20 in low (up to $33/$25 for the spacious master bedroom). Every room has a patio, and you can raid the fridge whenever you want. Bluegum Hill Guest House (Merriman Rd., Green Point, 439-8764, bluegumhill.co.za), clinging to Signal Hill, flaunts a stunning 180-degree view of Table Bay from its backyard; rates run $23 to $32 in season (September through April), including a sumptuous breakfast served outdoors. Reasonably priced hotels exist mostly downtown, where some travelers don't feel comfortable after business hours. Two I can recommend: the atmospheric 33-room Metropole Hotel, an antique with a still-running 1894 cage elevator (38 Long St., 423-6363, standard doubles $16-$25), and the unadorned, midsize Tudor Hotel on Greenmarket Square (424-1335, $25-$38 with breakfast). By the way, every day except Sunday, Greenmarket Square is also the site of a tourist-oriented bazaar (most of the trinkets are really Nigerian or Kenyan); bartering is crucial. For local crafts -- more of a rarity -- try Masizakhe (419-2716) at the V&A Waterfront shopping mall. Its wares typify the resourcefulness required of Cape Flats living: Old oil cans are twisted into $3.50 baskets and $7 dolls are fashioned from discarded clothes. Quite Cape-able cuisine Most menus mimic trendy cafe fare (white Cape Town is more culturally European than African, after all), but the Western Cape's Mediterranean bounty is ambrosial: complex wines, luscious olives, and capers as plump as New England scallops. The good news is that wherever you go, a fancy meal will probably cost $5 to $8 per person including wine, and a glass of beer will be $.65. For authentic local fare, such as it is, try the Portuguese-run Dias Tavern downtown, which brims with soccer fans on Friday afternoons (27 Caledon St., 465-7547). For $5, two can feast on its espetada, rump steak on a vertical skewer topped with a gob of dripping garlic butter. Zorina's (172 Loop St., closed Fridays), at the edge of the sprightly Bo-Kaap district (with South Africa's largest Muslim population, known as "Cape Malay"), serves up zesty ethnic cooking: salomi pancakes filled with mutton curry ($.15), strings of fried pastry called slangetjies ($.40), plus traditional South African sausage rolls called boerewors ($.95). Unless you're a vegetarian (tragically condemned to forage in this meat-mad nation), don't depart without trying biltong, teeth-blunting hunks of cured game that locals gnaw with a frequency we accord to potato chips. You can get it everywhere, but it's best and cheapest at Morris's (265 Long St., 423-1766) in City Bowl, where cucumber-size slabs of choices from ostrich to kudu (a type of antelope) will cost you $1.50. Getting around, staying safe By day, skip the slowpoke buses and patronize the minibus taxis (a.k.a. kombis) that ply Main Road from Camps Bay through Sea Point and Green Point to the Waterfront and into City Bowl - all for $.25 to $.45 a ride. Hail one and enjoy the harrowing thrill of a Manhattan cab ride. Some white Capetonians will tell you to avoid what they denigrate as "black taxis" - and if you're hitching to the Cape Flats slums, where turf wars are common, heed their advice. But otherwise, I've used minibuses hundreds of times without incident. For destinations not near the minibus routes, phone Rikki's (423-4888), which will load you into its teeny pickups (bakkies) and take you anywhere in town, including the Table Mountain cableway station, for $1.25 to $1.90. Taxis flag at $.25 and cost $.90 per kilometer ($.56 per mile, a bargain); reliable companies include Sea Point Taxis (434-4444) and Marine Taxis (434-0434). Use them at night when the streets become less safe. Which brings us to crime. It's true that theft occurs here more often than in many American cities. Counter it by taking the same precautions you'd take in any new city. By keeping my appearance neutral, my wallet light, and not wandering around on foot at night, I spent six months here without even a hint of trouble. The bombings splashed all over the media are overplayed; usually targeted at gay bars and police, in the last three years they've led to three deaths -- no different than tourist-thronged London. Simple street smarts should see you through quite nicely; don't let scare stories cheat you out of the eye-opening, mind-expanding experience that is Cape Town. A Cape Crusade South African Airways (800/722-9675, flysaa.com) and Delta (800/221-1212, delta.com) fly direct to Cape Town from Atlanta (15 hours); SAA returns via Fort Lauderdale. Specialty travel vendors such as Magical Holidays (800/228-2208) and 2Afrika (877/200-5610, 2afrika.com) can often cut you a deal for $1,000 or so round-trip, usually via Europe. You may pare costs slightly by flying into Johannesburg (served by more airlines, and by SAA from New York) and taking a two-hour connecting flight (about $150 round-trip). 2Afrika also offers air/hotel packages that in the October/November shoulder season, for example, can mean $995 plus taxes for extendable round-trip airfare and five nights' hotel in town. To book B&Bs in the Western Cape area try the Portfolio Collection (http://www.portfoliocollection.com/), which lists nearly 300. For more information, call 212/730-2929 or visit gocapetown.co.za. When dialing Cape Town, use the prefix 011-27-21.

Nothing in travel is more outrageous than the $400 to $500 a day that many prominent bicycle tour operators charge for a trip on wire-and-spoke wheels through the rolling countryside of Europe. Imagine! You are utilizing yourself-your own legs, your own feet, your own stamina-as the means of locomotion, and yet you are paying five or six times the price of an escorted motor coach tour of the same area. I have to confess, my husband and I contributed to the success of the High-Priced Harrys. The first three times we took bicycling vacations in France, we enjoyed ourselves on organized tours. But as prices rose, so did our expertise. We thought we could do it by ourselves for a fraction of the cost. We did, and so can you. Per person, we now spend a maximum of $125 per day on our trips, and that includes everything. For a bit more, we could stay at the most luxurious places available, although as budget travelers we actually prefer smaller inns or farm stays. But when you compare $125 to the $400-$500 tab per day per person for a luxury bike tour, you might prefer to do it our way. After four self-planned trips, we consider ourselves experts. And we've had a great time working out all the details. Here are eight steps to follow for budget biking on your own. 1. Begin by finding compatible companions Four to six people work well. The reason you travel with a small group is to provide one person a day in alternation who will drive the "sag wagon" (a rented car) that carries your group's luggage from place to place (or occasionally carries a member of your group who might be too tired to bike on a particular day). You'll find that four people is an ideal number for such a car - you and your luggage can fit in any medium-size auto equipped with a bike rack. Or if all of you prefer to bike every day, you can spend two or three days in one location doing cloverleaf routes, and then drive together to the next stop. 2. Pick a destination Start in a place where others have blazed a trail. For instance, when we decided on France, we read every bicycle tour brochure we could find to get ideas from their itineraries and hotel choices. In fact, you ought to compare the itineraries offered by several bike tour companies. In some cases, we chose the same inns/chateaux as the tour groups. I recall with delight the time a bunch of envious cyclists on a luxury tour asked us how we managed to be in the same places they were at a fraction of their cost. We've come a long way since our first attempt. On a recent trip, we biked without a tour to emulate because we couldn't find one for the region we were interested in, and we did just fine. Although we have the most experience in France, we've also planned great trips to the San Juan Islands (off the coast of Washington State), Vermont, and Denmark. (For your information, Denmark is flat. The San Juans and Vermont aren't.) 3. Decide on the length of your trip and the approximate number of miles you want to ride each day Then buy a detailed map of the area. Michelin maps are excellent, and the smallest roads are well marked and virtually car-free. However, even Michelin maps can let you down, like the time we took a road down a huge hill to a river we had to cross. There was a road on the other side of the river, but alas, no bridge. So we had to pedal back up and find a different way. (That, admittedly, would not have happened on a name-brand tour because someone carefully checks out the routes.) Then there was the time the road we chose was exceedingly deforme, as the French put it. We endured about ten kilometers (61/2 miles) of near-misery, and our bottoms had a difficult recovery period. 4. Make a tentative list of towns where you might stay Be flexible because you may not find good places to stay in your preferred choices. 5. Buy a hotel, inn, or bed-and-breakfast guide We sometimes use Karen Brown's guides to exquisite country inns, and have stayed at several of her recommendations in France, England, Ireland, Italy, and California. (To save money, we have also used the appropriate Frommer's guide, which recommends not simply upscale inns but also standard hotels and budget properties.) The Internet is another increasingly useful source, and it is easy to e-mail for reservations. Be sure to make reservations in advance. You don't want to have to go from town to town on your bicycle looking for a place to stay. 6. Decide how much time to spend per town Staying more than one night in the same place once or twice is a good idea. It's easy to cover quite different sights from one location, and you will appreciate having a morning or two without packing, not to mention having enough time for your hand-washed laundry to dry. 7. Decide whether or not you want a car The answer should probably be yes. One time a car was helpful was when one of us had a bad fall. Another advantage is that you don't have to bike to dinner, which can be an inconvenience if you are staying in an isolated area. Of course, a car makes it possible for you to take plenty of clothing rather than be limited by handlebar panniers. On the other hand, we've done fine on trips carrying our belongings in panniers with no car. It's amazing how little you need to bring if you don't mind dressing in the same clothes every other day. 8. Decide whether or not to take your bicycle We have taken our own, and we have rented bikes. We find renting convenient because, although the quality of the bicycles can vary, there are times when having your bike with you is a big pain. Others wouldn't dream of renting a bike. It depends on how comfortable you are with preparing your bicycle for boxing (to be checked onto airplanes) and putting it back together upon arrival at your first destination. And you are probably going to have to store your carrier (or box) at the airport. (If you do bring your bike, bring an air pump. Foreign air pumps may not fit your tires. We learned that the hard way.) In France, we have been pleased renting bikes from Bourgogne Randonnees (terroirs-b.com/br/index.htm). Located in Beaune in Burgundy, it will deliver bikes and pick them up wherever you may be in France (and in some other parts of Europe) from 13.72 euros ($12.50) a day to 152.45 euros ($138.89) monthly, plus a reasonable pick-up and delivery charge. Also try discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Paris_intro.shtml, which lists ten bicycle rental sources in Paris with phone numbers. Prices range from 12.96 to 22.87 euros ($11.80-$20.83) a day. Finally, in Tuscany, try tuscanytravel.com. If you follow these guidelines, you will find that the best part of your own trip is the tremendous satisfaction in finding each destination, despite a few wrong turns or extra hills. A lovely surprise or two might await you in the evening's accommodations. Nothing's more exhilarating than a made-on-the-premises cognac aperitif or the after-dinner coffee offered in an antiques-filled parlor. Even the occasional small disappointment can make all the rest so much better. And just think of all the ways you could spend the money you save.