Cultural Tours of Africa

New Zealand is green. I can't say it enough. The greenness of New Zealand eases the mind and soothes the eyeballs. Honestly-is there anywhere greener? New Zealand is so pristine, so mythic, that the makers of The Lord of the Rings transformed it into Middle Earth simply by adding a hobbit here, an orc there. The nation is so magisterial that folks call it "Godzone"- as in "God's own country." How could a spot this lovely be such a well-kept secret? Forget what you haven't heard about New Zealand. Among English-speaking countries, it's the safest, prettiest, and purest. And now that one Kiwi dollar is worth about 45¢ in U.S. money, if you stick to modest amenities, expenses can skim US$30 a day. Spotless B&Bs, run by preternaturally perky people, charge US$15 to US$20, and since meals cost around US$6, anyone can afford to dine like royalty. So even with airfare (US$900 is a good price from Los Angeles), two weeks here can run US$1,300 to US$1,500-less than explorations of many European capitals. The principal sights of New Zealand, a temperate country found two hours by air east of Australia, stretch along 1,000 miles on two narrow islands. Most Americans, confined to two-week vacations, must limit their visits to a few areas. That's easier said than done, considering the stunning range available-from the forbidding mountains and glaciers of the South Island to the geothermal oddities and harbor towns of the more populous North Island. I've spent a goodly amount of time in this godly country, and this is what I would choose. Auckland The first views of this jade paradise appear out of the blue South Pacific. From North America, everyone lands on the North Island, in Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city. About 30 percent of the country's 3.8 million citizens dwell here, but it's still a lovely, livable place. Cupping the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland is speared by the sleek SkyTower (1,075 feet tall) and thousands of masts, hence the nickname "City of Sails." New Zealand's washable plastic cash is fun to use but tough to spend-everything's so cheap. Among the attractions are the Auckland Museum (a nominal US$2), the America's Cup at the Maritime Museum (US$5), ferries to pleasant island suburbs (from US$3 round-trip at the harbor), and 45 minutes west in Piha and Karekare, blissfully wild rain forest and beaches (where The Piano was filmed). For 45¢, the Link bus loops through Auckland's best areas: the CBD (for Queen Street shopping and the fetching quay), Parnell (for galleries and bistros), Karangahape Road (or "K-Road," for budget eats), and Ponsonby (for yuppie restaurants)-but none of them are the reason you came. No one visits New Zealand for city life. People make the journey for one of earth's last great, untouched paradises-mossy rivers, primordial fern groves, air dense with clean oxygen. The sooner you leave Auckland, the more you'll see. Sleeping Auckland has the country's highest costs, but that's not saying much. The best-value lodging is ideally reached on wheels (a five-minute drive/ten-minute bus ride from downtown along Highway 1) on the Great South Road, which hosts a spate of family-run motels costing around US$35 per room, including Ritz Greenlane (149 Great South Rd., 09/523-5530), Oak Tree Lodge (104 Great South Rd., 09/524-2211), and Tudor Court Motor Lodge (108 Great South Rd., 09/523-1069). If you don't have a car, the central Aspen House B&B (62 Emily Pl., 09/379-6633, aspenhouse.co.nz) has basic rooms with shared baths on a lovely city park; US$21 single room, US$30 double room. Your most Spartan option is the new Auckland International YHA (1-35 Turner St., 09/302-8200, yhaakint@yha.org.nz): one of the quieter hostels, off the main shopping street; US$9 dorm, US$24 double with shared bath, US$31 double with private bath. But my top choice is Great Ponsonby B&B (30 Ponsonby Ter., 09/376-5989, ponsonbybnb.co.nz), a colorful, homelike favorite including gourmet breakfast; US$65 double rooms with kitchenettes. Eating Given the blissful exchange rate, little will stress your budget. Good choices are on Ponsonby Road, Parnell Road, High Street, and K-Road. You may wish to eat with Auckland's flourishing Asian community along Queen Street at K-Road, where a row of ten busy restaurants charge US$2-US$3.50 for authentic and flavorful Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine. Elsewhere in town, Di Mare (5/251 Parnell Rd., 09/300- 3260) is a seafood wonder tucked in a brick courtyard; its seafood chowder (US$4) is a meal in itself; fish of the day is US$6. The Bay of Islands In the Bay of Islands, a maritime getaway a four-hour drive north of Auckland, you'll find one of the world's last great paradises-a lingering Shangri-La-as well as the spot where Kiwi nationhood was born. About 1,000 years ago, Polynesian warriors called the Maori paddled across the Pacific to New Zealand, poetically dubbed the virgin land "Aotearoa" (or "land of the long white cloud"), and then proceeded to kill everything in sight, chiefly the giant flightless moa. The British didn't arrive until 1769; Captain Cook pegged a few Maori with a musket before fleeing to publicize his "discovery." Later, the Brits ravaged the ecosystem by adding farming-till then, the only native mammals were bats-and with 1840's Treaty of Waitangi, signed in the Bay of Islands, they coaxed the bickering Maori chiefs into the coalition that became modern New Zealand. These days, the Bay's 144 islands are home to scads of dolphins and ideal waterfront towns like Kerikeri, Opua, and Russell (within miles of each other off Highways 10 or 11), where a wanna-be yachtie can disappear into a sleepy cove with a glass of wine. The heart of the Bay of Islands is the Waitangi National Reserve, in Paihia, where the seminal treaty was signed. The site survives as a fragrant seaside spot containing some of the country's most historic structures (09/402-7437; free). One of them is a Maori marae (meeting house), built without nails and carved in the Polynesian style. There, visitors can receive an intimidating Maori powhiri (a fearsome traditional welcome) and storytelling show. It's one of the least-touristy samples of Maori traditions (Culture North, 09/401-9301; US$21) in a country where 14 percent of the population claims Maori lineage. A quick US$3 ferry from Paihia (on foot) or Opua (by car) brings you to the Russell Peninsula and its 6,000-acre conservation area for the elusive kiwi, the queer, nocturnal, flightless bird that gives New Zealanders their nickname. Russell, the tiny port, is a peephole to the country's pioneer past, and the self-subsistence and isolation of early New Zealand rhymes with that of America's colonial towns like Plymouth. Pompallier, austere in its wharfside garden, was built in 1842 as a Catholic mission and was recently restored as a working Bible bookbindery (The Strand, 09/403-7861; US$2). Upstairs, the property's history is illuminated by (no kidding) displays of dried rats and the artifacts found in their nests. Sleeping My top choice is the Arcadia Lodge B&B (10 Florance Ave., Russell, 09/403-7756), an eccentric 1899 dowager built from the wood of old ships, with a prime view; US$50-US$100 per couple, depending on the season. Waterview Lodge B&B (14 Franklin St., Opua, 09/402-7595, waterviewlodge.com) has airy rooms, attentive owners, and private balconies; US$25-US$34 per single, US$51-US$64 per couple, depending on the season. The cheapest is Saltwater Lodge (14 Kings Rd., Paihia, 09/402- 7075, saltwaterlodge.co.nz), probably the nicest hostel in NZ; US$8 dorm, US$19 double room. Eating In Paihia, Marsden Road is lined with fresh seafood restaurants charging US$8-US$12 for gourmet-quality meals. The water is so clean, the shellfish is grit-free; try Only Seafood at No. 40 (09/402-6066). The road into Kerikeri is another useful avenue for dining options. Middle North Island On the whole, it comes across a bit like Dorothy's Oz-ideal and virtually immaculate. The first time I saw the impossibly perfect countryside a few hours south of Auckland (which doubled for homey Hobbiton in The Lord of the Rings), I was an impoverished backpacker, enchanted by how tidy and timely everything was in this country of neighborly hamlets and a squeaky-clean working class. New Zealand is admirably progressive: For a start, nuclear power is banned (even on visiting American ships), a hot issue is the safety of genetically engineered food, and the country is currently served by its second consecutive female prime minister. No longer a backpacker, I recently roamed this compact land the best way: by car. Few stoplights, nary a straightaway-it is driving at its best. Where else can you hear, as you ramble hilly two-lane ribbons of asphalt, the sort of heartwarming Main Street radio that didn't exist even in Frank Capra's day? "There's a lost brown dog down near the post office," announced one deejay near Otorohanga. "I think I know who owns it, but can you count your dogs anyway?" The heaving farmland of the middle North Island, sweet as it is, belies the tumult beneath the cows' hooves. Under the arching green hillocks of Waitomo, southwest of Hamilton, underground rivers thrill novice spelunkers. Outfitted with a wet suit and a headlamp, I dove into a three-hour extravaganza that had me leaping down waterfalls, bobbing above eels in an inner tube, and drifting under the neon pinpricks of Godzone's most famous insect, the glowworm (07/878-6219, blackwaterrafting.co.nz; US$32). The timid (or coiffed) can see the worms in street clothes on a crowded 45-minute version of the tour (07/878-8227, waitomocaves.co.nz; US$11). Nearby, the three- hour Ruakuri Walk, through mossy, verdant woods and yawning caves, is but one of the country's countless free walks-it instantly became one of my favorites in the world (Waitomo Information Centre and Museum, Caves Rd., 07/878-7640). Two hours east of Waitomo, in the active volcanic area of Rotorua, subterranean doings are more sinister. When I last rolled into town, a jolly gas-station attendant informed me that some foul emission from the bowels of the planet had once again set the city park alight. I asked him if, given his vocation, he was concerned. It says a lot about the affability of the Kiwis, and their love of the land, that the idea seemed to startle him. Unlike Yellowstone, eggy-smelling Rotorua isn't officially protected (although there are only three or four places like it in the world) but is carved into private attractions. The most colorful is, at US$7, also the cheapest: Wai-o-tapu's (17 miles south on Highway 5, 07/366-6333, geyserland.co.nz) easy path loops past burbling pools of puke-green arsenic, belching, boiling mud, and primrose sulphur aplenty. At 10:15 a.m. daily, the Lady Knox Geyser promptly erupts, induced by a dose of biodegradable detergent. Equally endearing are the silly (and so Kiwi) "farm shows," where milking and fleecing amuse children and coachloads of Japanese tourists. Farming's a big deal in Godzone: Sheep outnumber humans by nearly 12 to 1. Rainbow Springs' five daily shows are US$8.50, including admission to its zoo-where you can finally spot a real kiwi (Fairy Springs Rd., 07/347-9301). True bird-watchers should visit predator-free Mokoia Island, a mile into Lake Rotorua (07/348-7766; US$12, including US$7 island-entry fee, on the ScatCat ferry at the lakefront). Sleeping Rotorua has been a family vacationland since Victorian times, so there are scads of budget motels, most made of concrete to combat Mother Nature's eternal flatulence, and almost all with ground-fed hot springs on tap in each room. Outside of Christmastime, doubles are US$25-US$30 at most motels on Fenton Street, which leads south from the lake. One is as good as another, but Heritage Motor Inn (349 Fenton St., 07/347-7686) has notable-value one-bedroom suites, sleeping up to six, with private patio and pool for around US$55. Hot Rock Backpackers (1286 Arawa St., 07/348-8636, acb.co.nz/hot-rock; US$7.75 dorm, US$11 per person double) is the funky social option, right in town, and has several mineral pools. Eating Fat Dog (1161 Arawa St., 07/347-7586) is a scruffy joint made for woofing huge helpings of Moroccan beef salad or blue cheese fettuccine, US$3-US$5 with greens. Triple 1 Five (1115 Tutanekai, 07/347-1115) offers meatless options like ratatouille pasta, spinach crepes with mushroom, and veggie-and-cream-cheese phyllo logs, all US$6 feeding two. The South Island What powerful beauty grows here! Razor-backed mountains, placid alpine lakes-what's a visitor to do? Challenge it, of course. After all, the Southern Alps, which line the western half of the South Island (where only a quarter of New Zealanders live), is where Sir Edmund Hillary trained for Everest. Queenstown, snugly hammocked between mountains and Lake Wakatipu, is the seat of extreme sports in a country world famous for guts and glory. Cheap thrills come in every variety, from rafting in summer to skiing in winter. Commercial bungee jumps were originated here (nearly a million safe jumps ago) by A.J. Hackett, whose 440-foot plunge is one of the world's highest (US$74). Because I'm a fool, I took the nine-second free fall (easier 150-foot jumps cost US$58; 03/442-4007, ajhackett. com). On the same day, I also braved death-defying river jet boats, white-water rafts, a 'copter ride, and a mountain luge. Packages combine them (03/442-7318, combos.co.nz; from US$64 adult/US$42 child). Rushes don't come cheaper (or as safely) anywhere else in the world. Even tandem sky dives and paraglides cost half as much (about US$70-US$80) as back home, and the scenery is twice as lush. Companies vie for buzz junkies at the corner of Shotover and Camp streets; transportation is provided. Many Kiwis think Queenstown's adrenaline fixation isn't typical of the "real" New Zealand. They may have a point, and if you try to do it all, you'll break both body and budget. Happily, with so much wilderness, you needn't spend a cent. Kiwis love to share their land, so there will be few restrictions on your movements. Countless hikes, multiday "tramps," clear rivers for fly-fishing, and uncluttered swaths of public land mean anyone can improvise a cleansing, back-to-nature vacation with no more than a picnic lunch. Sleeping Queenstown Lodge (Sainsbury Rd., 03/442-7107, qlodge.co.nz) is a timber lakeview pleaser a three-minute drive from the action; US$12 bunk, US$36 hotel-style room for two to four. In town, Pinewood Lodge (48 Hamilton Rd., 03/442- 8273, pinewood.co.nz), as mismatched as someone's lake house, offers dorm beds for US$8, six-room shared bungalows at US$19 double (bed, kitchen) to US$30 double (with views, TV/VCR lounge). Resort Lodge (6 Henry St., 03/442-4970), a boutique hostel, has soundproof rooms with shared bath; US$10 dorm, US$25 private room. Eating Vudu Cafe (23 Beach St., 03/442-5357) serves tart chicken and cashew bowls (US$4.50) or veggies with spicy peanut sauce (US$5). Surreal (7 Rees St., 03/441- 8492), at US$7/entree, is US$5 cheaper than similar menus-try the sweet corn fritters, Persian beef with apricot sauce, and coconut pie. Thai Siam's (43 Beach St., 03/442-4815) 43 entrees cost just US$6 each, so it's packed. For those on the go, Planet 1 (Marine Parade and Church St., no phone) is a busy booth serving "Make Ya Go Like Hell" (spicy beef curry) and "This Squid's for You" (calamari and rice) for US$1.70-US$3.60. The spectacular five-hour drive south from Queenstown, which threads past ravishing mountain lakes, took me to the southernmost point of my life, in rural Mossburn. Like all profound personal milestones, the spot was just an ordinary fork in the road. My destination, the sublime Milford Sound, is one of the few places where you want bad weather on your vacation. Nearly 30 feet of rain a year feed thousands of cascades, and when they shoot down the near-vertical walls of the chasm, your knees will wobble. More southerly than all of Australia, more dramatic than the canyons of Manhattan-the only way to experience the unfathomable beauty of these waters (which host whales, dolphins, and sea lions) is by boat. Three-hour cruises on the Milford Wanderer, a family-friendly vessel, cost US$25, but local hotel options are slim, so splurge US$81 for a 17-hour overnight excursion, including bunk, meals, and kayaking among wild penguins, and wake up in the mists (03/442-7500, fiordlandtravel. co.nz). Companies sell one-day bus/boat tours from Queenstown from US$55, but on those, crowds foul the perfect peace. It pains me (for space reasons) to exclude Wellington, the world's most southerly capital, with its top-flight museums and San Franciscan vibe; arty Nelson and the turquoise inlets of Abel Tasman National Park; Christchurch, with its English panache and dulcet wine lands; and Franz Josef, where you can climb glaciers in your shorts. With such low costs, though, I'll be back. The steepest expense is my limited vacation time. There's no doubt about it. New Zealand is green. It's money-savin' green. Going to New Zealand Arriving Qantas (800/227-4500) and Air New Zealand (800/262-2468) fly to Auckland from Los Angeles. Companies such as Discover Wholesale Travel (888/768-8472) regularly offer US$900 round trips during New Zealand's mild winter (May to September). The best packages offer airfare and a car so you can roam; try Newmans (800/421-3326) for ten-day deals priced around US$1,200. Getting Around InterCity Coachlines (09/913-6100, intercitycoach.co.nz) sells seven days of travel from US$190. Sample prices on Tranz Scenic trains (04/498-3303, tranzscenic.co.nz): US$44 Auckland-Wellington and US$20 Auckland-Rotorua. Youth-oriented Kiwi Experience (09/366-9830, kiwiexperience.com) runs shuttles ranging from US$30 (one-day Bay of Islands trip) to US$500 (the entire country over a month).Car rentals cost about US$15/day from Apex (03/379-2647, apexrentals. co.nz), small camper vans around US$28 from Britz (09/275-9090, britz.com); the major companies (Avis, Budget, etc.) tend to be expensive. Cross the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands on the four-hour Interislander ferry (04/498-3303, tranzrailtravel.co.nz; US$24 on foot, US$84/car). Lodging In New Zealand's summer (November to February), book ahead. The AA New Zealand Accommodation Guide lists 1,088 pages of B&Bs, farmstays, and motels (free at aaguides.co.nz). Golden Chain motels (03/358-0821, goldenchain.co.nz) are nationwide and charge around US$30/room. Learning General New Zealand info: 310/395-7480, purenz.com; Bay of Islands: northland.org.nz; Auckland: aucklandnz.com; Rotorua: rotoruanz.com; Queenstown: queenstown- nz.co.nz; Maori life: Keri Hulme's The Bone People and Alan Duff's Once Were Warriors. When calling New Zealand numbers from North America, precede with 011-64 and drop the first zero.

With theme park admissions soaring to over $50 a day per adult, and children under 10 paying over $40 (too bad for those 11-year-old "grown-ups"!), how can an Orlando-area vacation remain affordable to the average family? That's what local hoteliers, restaurateurs, shopkeepers, and impresarios have been asking since park tickets started heading seriously north not so long ago, even as the recession sent tourist arrivals south. The answer? Substantial recent cuts (for visitors in the know) in the cost of just about everything other than theme parks - airfares, hotels, meals, land transportation, and evening shows - many of them announced in recent months. On a visit to Orlando, we reviewed these discounts, and here's how they keep the total cost of an Orlando holiday in check: Discount rooms Orlando's Convention and Visitors Bureau has created a Web site that surveys dozens of price reductions offered by the area hotel industry and then lets you book a room directly on the same Web site. It's one-stop shopping for lodgings reductions of as much as 50 percent, resulting in rates as low as $29, $39, $49, $59, and $79 for rooms housing as many as four people at well-known properties that usually charge far more. Orlando has thus matched the one-call-does-it-all central reservations system of neighboring Kissimmee. Phone 800/333-5477 for a reduced-price room in Kissimmee; log on to orlandoinfo.com for discounted rooms in both Orlando and Kissimmee. That same Web site will enable you to buy a cut-rate package consisting of a room, a rental car, and theme-park admissions. This past January - to cite one example - a mere $833 bought four nights at the three-star Hyatt Orlando for a couple and two children, including four days' use of a Dollar rental car and a four-day Disney "Park Hopper Plus" admission ticket for all four family members. Savings: $544.96. Discount air tickets Now even easier to find, especially from East Coast cities, thanks to the new Web site of Delta Express (flydlx.com), launched in early 2001; it will also always offer on-going special promotions you won't find anywhere else. Take the recent "Kids Fly Free" deal: until mid-February, two adults purchasing an air-inclusive Delta Vacations (888/346-3220) package could get five nights at the Quality Inn Plaza right on International Drive, an Alamo compact rental car, plus airfare for themselves and free airfare for two children for a paltry $1,029.50. The same package after mid-February would run $1,277, still reasonable - though that savings of $248 proves that it's worth always checking this site for bargains before you leave home. New low-cost hotels Hotels boomed in the last year even as the U.S. economy started slowing. In the International Drive area, the new Ramada Inn International Drive (5858 International Dr., 888/527-8483, 407/351-4410, ramada.com), which replaced the old Best Inn in January 2002, has upgraded its 268 rooms to Ramada standards with hair-dryers, coffeemakers, ironing boards, and such - but it's keeping rates down, from $54 to $79, though here as elsewhere you should always check for coupons and other special offers. Not far off, a new Holiday Inn (800/881-3152, sixcontinentshotels.com/holiday inn) opened at 8214 Universal Boulevard with 150 rooms and 35 suites; rack rates start at $69. Another recent Holiday Inn similar in size and price has opened near the Florida Mall at 8820 South Orange Blossom Trail. In Kissimmee, the Econo Lodge Gateway Resort at 5335 Irlo Bronson Highway (a.k.a. US 192; 800/553-2666, 407/396-2121, www3.choicehotels.com) added 214 rooms to this town's glory road of budget lodging with doubles that go for $35.95 and up, while a new Knights Inn (800/418-8977, knightsinn. com) has 54 rooms starting at around $40. Also within the last couple of years, no less than four Howard Johnsons (800/446-4656, hojo.com) have been launched in the Kissimmee and Orlando area for a total of 997 new rooms, which can go as low as $39 to $49 a night. Two Villager Premiers (888/821-5738, villager.com) with 267 rooms starting around $44, also came online recently, along with three Travelodges (800/578-7878, travelodge.com) with 672 new rooms as low as $49, and a Sleep Inn at 1700 McCoy Road (407/855-4447, www3.choicehotels.com), not far from Orlando's airport with a double rack rate at $49.99 and up. Vacation home rentals Rentals remain the comfiest and most cost-effective option for families or groups traveling together, and several hundred such properties have been added in Central Florida (mostly in Kissimmee) in the past year. We're not talking about condos that feel like glorified hotel suites: these are real, honest-to-goodness houses with front and rear yards and - get this - your own private, heated, and screened-in swimming pool! For a spacious three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that can sleep up to eight, prices range between $89 and $150 per night. That's like getting four motel rooms for $25 to $37.50, only now you have your own big kitchen, washer/dryer, and pool! While several outfits such as Resort Quest International (877/588-5800, reso rtquest.com) and Holiday Homes of Orlando (800/288-2187, holiday homesorlando.com) offer fab deals, the newest kid on the block, Kissimmee's one-year-old Wyndham Palms (888/464-6353, wyndhampalms.net), offers all of the above and is raising the bar on amenities by being the only development to also provide a spiffy club house with pool tables, tennis courts, workout room, convenience store, even a small movie theater. There's also a big swimming pool and hot tub for folks too sociable to just hang out at home by themselves. Furnishings are also a notch or two above the usual rattan you find in other rentals; still, rates (from $149 per day, though specials and market conditions can bring it down as low as $89) are only slightly higher than what you'd pay for any other vacation home rental, making Wyndham Palms a truly superior value. A big new low-cost restaurant Truly the king of the many Asian all-you-can-eat joints that pepper Kissimmee's US 192 corridor is the impressive new Iron Chef Chinese Buffet (909 West Vine St./US 192, 407/870-5500), serving up over 150 fresh and tantalizing offerings on five gleaming steam tables in a tasteful, low-key setting with cheerful Oriental touches. The buffet dinner runs a mere $9.95 (kids 4-10 $4.25; lunch $5.25, kids' lunch $3.25), while the a la carte menu runs from an amazing $3.65 (almond chicken) to $10.95 (sizzling beef and scallops); soda refills are free.

Almost everyone wants to go somewhere over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and/or New Year's--and that's the problem. We've got some answers: 1. Book early. Like, now for Christmas and New Years. 2. It's standard travel advice: Be flexible. The lowest prices will be on flights very early or late in the day, and morning routes are best for avoiding delays. Flying on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day usually costs far less than on busy days before or after the holidays themselves. 3. Unless a connecting flight costs a lot less, go nonstop. If a connection is necessary, try to fly through a southern hub, such as Dallas, Charlotte, or Phoenix, where you can at least eliminate weather as a problem. A layover in Chicago, Detroit, or Minneapolis raises the probability of getting held up because of a storm. 4. Thinking about a resort getaway? The year's highest rates kick in over the Christmas/New Year's holidays at ski and beach resorts. Shifting your trip to before or after this period, even by a day or two, can reduce costs significantly. 5. Airport parking lots get filled up around the holidays, so use public transportation. If you must drive, consider a private parking lot near the airport: They'll shuttle you to and from the terminal, and they let you book in advance so you won't have to worry about finding a space. (Try carparknet.com, airportparkingreservations.com, airportdiscountparking.com, or parkingaccess.com.) People who live far from an airport and have an early flight might want to stay at an airport hotel the night before; some allow you to park your car at the hotel until you return (check parksleepfly.com). 6. Bringing presents on your flight? Don't wrap them. All luggage--gifts included--might be examined by security. Keep expensive or fragile items in your carry-on to cut down on the chances that they'll be damaged or stolen. There has been a serious rash of thefts recently. 7. Check out new check-in procedures. Many airlines' websites now make it possible for passengers to print out bar-coded boarding passes at home. There are also options at the airport. If you have luggage to check, use a curbside skycap; some airlines let them issue boarding passes as well. Inside the terminal, look for a self-service check-in kiosk, where you can quickly get your boarding pass and sometimes check your luggage. 8. Worried about long security lines? The Transportation Security Administration's website, tsa.gov, allows travelers to scope out how long waits are at about 450 U.S. airports. You search by airport, day of the week, and time of day. The problem is that the waits listed are averages and don't really reflect how long screening will take on, say, the day before Thanksgiving. To get around this glitch, look up an airport's wait times on what's usually the busiest travel period--Friday evenings--and assume that it'll take at least that long during the holidays. 9. Confirm your car reservation. Car-rental outfits figure on a no-show rate of 20 percent, allowing them to overbook. The result is that sometimes there are too many people and too few cars. To avoid being the one without wheels, try to arrive at the rental counter in late morning or early afternoon, when the lot is most likely to be full. Calling to confirm your reservation before you arrive lets them know that you won't be a no-show. Also, inquire ahead of time about express check-in programs so you can skip the lines. The fee to join might just beat the time you'd spend waiting. 10. Look into business hotels. Over the holidays, you'll find low rates at classy city and suburban hotels that normally depend on business travelers. Families should consider all-suite hotels or long-stay hotels, which have more room and good holiday prices.

I was finishing my $2 breakfast of saltfish and breadfruit at the beachfront cafe in Hillsborough, the sleepy port town that passes for Carriacou's main center of commerce, when the waitress asked how much longer I would be staying on the island. Just another hour or so, I told her, then I would be setting out for the next stop on my itinerary - Union Island. Its craggy, volcanic outline loomed on the near horizon, about a dozen miles to the north. "So then, you'll be taking the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to Union Island," she said. "No," I told her. "I'll be taking the mail boat." The waitress laughed. "Same thing," she smiled. "That's what we call the mail boat around here." I gazed down the beach toward the town dock where two sinewy crew members were busily loading all manner of cargo-sacks of rice, cases of soft drinks, boxes of canned goods and clothes - into the hold of a 35-foot wooden sloop. The sailboat wasn't much to look at, and it certainly offered no cruise-ship amenities - no teak deck chairs, no casino, no steel drum band on the aft deck - but it was eminently seaworthy. And the price was right. For about $6 it would deliver me to Union Island, a rollicking, two-hour ride into the precious necklace of islands that is St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This is one of the world's most fabled cruising grounds, a dreamy destination where sleek sailboats rent for $5,000-plus a week and ritzy, private-island resorts charge upward of $300 per person a night. But for travelers willing to take the time to do a bit of planning and forego only a few of the niceties - how much is nightly turn-down service really worth, anyway? - a vacation in paradise beckons for only a fraction of those prices. Using a network of inter-island ferries and mailboats, the transportation cost for a week of island-hopping from Grenada to St. Vincent, allowing you to stop at numerous idyllic outposts in between, is about $75. Along the way is waterfront lodging for less than $30 a night, fresh fish dinners with all the trimmings for $5, and stretches of deserted beach that are free for the walking. Your companions on this seaborne sojourn? Except for a few intrepid tourists, most passengers on the ferries and mailboats are locals-businessmen on leisurely commutes, students on holiday, big extended families heading for reunions on neighboring islands. The atmosphere is laid-back, the mood gracious and convivial. Yes, the seas can occasionally kick up and make you glad you packed the Dramamine. But it's typically smooth sailing, and certain perks enhance the authenticity of this mode of travel. On the leg between Union Island and Bequia, for instance, I shared a foredeck bench with two brothers who were returning to their native island after several weeks of work on a freighter. When we arrived on Bequia they insisted that I join them in the family car for a quick tour of the tiny island, which still bears a hint of its Scottish heritage and is one of the last outposts of whaling in the Caribbean. It turned into a four-hour excursion in which the brothers showed me their favorite hangouts, including a "secret beach," a sweet crescent of sand reached only by a narrow footpath that snaked around a hillside. We eventually wound up at their grandmother's house, where she greeted our arrival with a mid-afternoon repast of curried chicken and yams, then sent me off with a sackful of hot-out-of-the-oven coconut bread. The actual Royal Caribbean Cruise Line passengers can strap on the feed bags and have all they want of those midnight buffets and lavish suit-and-tie dinners. I'll gladly settle for the amenities that come when you island-hop like a local. Setting out from Grenada - a dash of spice The best place to begin an island-hopping vacation in the lower Windward Islands is Grenada, the lush "Isle of Spice" that anchors the southern end of the chain. Here is the Caribbean in microcosm - from volcanic peaks and sprawling rain forests to white, sandy beaches and coral reefs ripe for snorkeling. It's a little bit French, a little bit British, yet wholly a culture unto itself and, thankfully, one that has largely escaped the sort of cookie-cutter tourism that has turned too much of the Caribbean into a mishmash of overpriced resorts and generic, umbrella-drink restaurants. While Grand Anse, the two-mile strand that ranks as one of the Caribbean's beast beaches, is a lovely place to while away a sunny afternoon that stretches into an evening of music under the palm trees, the hotels along its shoreline charge prices approaching the stratospheric. No matter. Just a ten-minute walk west leads to Morne Rouge, a pocket-size bay with a shimmering sliver of sand - call it Grand Anse Lite - and enticements all its own. Consider the Gem Holiday Beach Resort (473/444-4224, fax 473/444-1189, e-mail: gem@caribsurf.com), a 20-unit, family-owned and - operated beachfront hotel where, for $65 a night ($20 more in season) I settle into a two-room efficiency suite with a full kitchen, a broad balcony overlooking the bay, and a blessedly icy A/C system. Elsewhere on Morne Rouge, or within walking distance of Grand Anse, there's the Grand View Inn ($60 a night in low season; 473/444-4984, fax 473/444-1512, www.grenadagrandview.com) and the Blue Orchid Hotel ($55 a night in low season; 473/444-0999, fax 473/444-1846, www.blueorchidhotel.com). One tip for securing an even lower price - ask for the "Caricom" rate, which is about 10 to 15 percent below the posted rate. It is typically reserved for islanders - members of the Caribbean community - but many hoteliers will extend it to foreigners, too. "We cater to families so we tend to be a lot more relaxed than the brand-name hotels," says manager Julia Moore, whose mother built the Gem Holiday Beach Resort in 1987. Moore always makes it a point to buy arriving guests a drink at the bar of the hotel's Sur Le Mer restaurant, an open-air affair no more than ten paces from the sea. This is more than just the usual "welcome drink" gimmick, since it typically turns into another drink or two and then a plate of appetizers arrives - papaya, pineapple, cheese - while Moore offers insider tips on the best way to see her native island. I follow Moore's suggestion to arrive early - by 7 a.m. - at the market that's the bustling heart and soul of St. George's. Founded in 1700 by French settlers, the city is perched around one of the Caribbean's most charming harbors, and the market, with its warrens of plywood vendor stalls and canvas tents, occupies a football-field-size habitat atop a hill in the center of town. Six days a week (the market is closed on Sundays) farmers and fishermen arrive before dawn to spread out their wares - mounds of mangoes and bananas, vast piles of snapper and mackerel. There are also the ubiquitous "spice ladies," who are often relentless in their pursuit of customers. Dickering is part of the deal here. For about $10, you can buy enough nutmeg, cinammon, cloves, and other spices to last a lifetime. And aromatic spice necklaces, strung on fishing line, are about $3 after the bargaining is done. Breakfast, at one of the many unnamed cafes, is coffee with fish 'n bake (chunks of salted cod in a crispy hot muffin) for about $2. But for a sit-down meal, one can hardly do better than Deyna's (on Melville Street along the Esplanade, 473/440-6795) where Diana Hercules, one of the island's finest traditional chefs, holds court starting with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., through a busy lunch, and serving dinner until 10 p.m. Her "sampler dinner" of Grenadan specialties, which changes daily and can feature anything from marinated kingfish and callalloo soup to curried lambi (conch) and rice, peas, and chicken, runs about $7. Like most Caribbean islands, there are no real deals when it comes to renting cars on Grenada. Expect to pay at least $50 a day for a four-cylinder stick-shift compact with an air-conditioner that may not work. But Grenada is wonderfully served by a public transportation system consisting of countless white or red Mitsubishi minibuses that are constantly on the prowl. If you are walking down the street and hear a beep behind you, it means a minibus driver is advertising that he has room. Hop in and the fare is one East Caribbean dollar (about 40 cents) no matter where you are going around St. George's. For an extra buck or two, drivers will sometimes alter their established routes to deliver you directly to your hotel or to a restaurant (private cabs can be expensive and fares should be negotiated in advance). Outside of St. George's, minibus rates are based on an inscrutable scale that I never managed to figure out. All I know is that I spent an entire day traveling via minibuses, going from one end of Grenada to the other and back - through the rain forest preserve of Grand Etang National Park to the lovely beach at Bathway on the island's north tip - and it cost me about $9. Fly like an Osprey: Carriacou Grenada is actually a three-island nation that also includes Carriacou and Petit Martinique, about 25 miles to the north. Carriacou, (pronounced "Care-a-koo") offers more lodging and restaurants than Petit Martinique and is popular with day-trippers from Grenada who come to enjoy empty beaches. Shuttling twice daily between Grenada and Carriacou is the Osprey Express Ltd., a sleek, modern ferry that serves the first leg in the island-hopping trek to St. Vincent. It boasts an air-conditioned main cabin with seating for about 60, along with a snack bar. Most passengers, however, opt for the deck, at least in balmy weather. The 90-minute voyage (about $30) skims Grenada's west coast, dipping close to the fishing village of Gouyave (its street party on the final weekend of each month is one of the Caribbean's liveliest) and past "Leapers Hill" in Sauteurs. It was here, in 1651, that the last band of Carib Indians on Grenada - some 40 of them - jumped to their deaths on the rocks below rather than submit to French rule. The Osprey also cuts a careful path around "Kick 'Em Jenny," an underwater volcano that sits between Grenada and Carriacou and still kicks up on occasion. Once delivered by the Osprey to the main dock in downtown Hillsborough (population, about 700), it's only a three-minute walk to Ade's Dream (Main Street, 473/443-7317, fax 473/443-8435, e-mail: adesdea@caribsurf.com), a two-story, 23-unit guesthouse with exceptionally clean, air-conditioned double rooms starting at about $40 a night. It's owned by the enterprising Adele Mills, a friendly seventy-something islander who also owns the adjacent supermarket, as well as Seawave restaurant across the street, where a dinner of chicken 'n chips is about $4. Nearby, the Sand Island Cafe does wonders with the traditional saltfish-and-cakes breakfast, soaking the fish in coconut milk and adding carrots and cabbage (with side dishes of grapefruit, bananas, papaya, and coffee, it comes to about $5). For such a small island and one that takes some degree of forethought to reach, Carriacou serves up a surprising number of worthy accommodations. The most notable new venture is the Green Roof Inn (473/443-6399, www.greenroofinn.com), which offers five rooms in an immaculately tended home on a bluff at the north end of Hillsborough Bay. It's the loving project of a Swedish couple, Jonas Gezelius and Asa Johansson, who have appointed it with Danish/Scandinavian furniture and given special attention to sprucing up an otherwise scrubby landscape. There's a small terrace restaurant and prices for a double room range $40 to $70 per night with breakfast. Just up the road-there's really only one road on Carriacou - sits John's Unique Resort (473/443-8345, e-mail: junique@caribsurf.com), with 17 rooms. Shrouded in bougainvillea and featuring a restaurant, John's rates run $20 to $55 per night. So what's there to do on Carriacou? The beaches are the big thing. And the most easily accessible strand is Paradise Beach, which runs for a good mile or so just south of the island's airport. Indeed, things are so slow on Carriacou that the main road also doubles as the airport's runway (a barricade blocks automobile traffic when planes are approaching). The Hardwood Bar & Restaurant, on Paradise Beach, is a good place to sip a Carib beer or, for the brave, sample the local form of distilled punishment: Jack Iron rum. Bottled on Carriacou and weighing in at almost 160 proof, Jack Iron is so close to pure alcohol that ice cubes sink straight to the bottom. It is carefully measured out in small beakers and sipped over the course of a very long afternoon. If you want to make friends quickly in a Carriacou bar, then simply order a small flask of Jack Iron - an entire quart costs only $7, but that can kill you-and invite other patrons to join you in polishing it off. The owner of the Hardwood Bar & Restaurant, Joseph Edmunds, also runs a water taxi from the beach in front of his establishment. For about $4 a head, he'll haul visitors out to Sandy Cay, about a mile offshore. It's an idyllic beachy spit - barely a half-mile long, no houses, no nothing, not even a tiki bar - featured on countless postcards. No trip to Carriacou is complete until you've spent a few hours playing Robinson Crusoe on its shore. Onward to Union Island "She's a good ship, mon. Just close your eyes to the way she look." So says Troy Gellizeau, captain of the mailboat Jasper, as he takes my fare (about $6) for the passage from Carriacou to Union Island. At first appraisal, the Jasper does not inspire confidence. The mast, cut years ago from a cedar tree, is bound with bailing wire. The bamboo boom, splitting from the assault of sea and sun, is lashed with duct tape. And we, the half-dozen or so passengers, are forced to sit on the deck, since cargo consumes every square inch of cabin space. Other than hiring a charter plane ($200) or a water taxi ($80), hitching a ride on the Jasper, which also serves as the twice-weekly mail boat, is the most expedient way to continue northward through the Grenadines. And, for anyone willing to endure a passage that is not guaranteed to be dry - it rains almost daily and waves of even middling size send spray over the bow - the Jasper is a compelling throwback to an era when most interisland travel took place on small sailing vessels. Flying fish skip the waves ahead of us and, about halfway to Union Island, three dolphins appear in our wake, marking our course for a mile or so, leaping to our happy whoops and hollers. Once we arrive at the port of Ashton on Union Island, Gelliceau, a 25-year-old descendant of Portuguese sailors who ventured to these islands more than 200 years ago and married African slaves, transforms into a willing unpaid guide, shepherding us through customs and immigration, then hiring a cab at a deep discount to take us to our lodgings. Union Island has long been a favorite stopover of yachties who tie up to replenish their stores, but the island's hotels were out of range for budget travelers. That changed with the opening in 2000 of St. Joseph's House and Cottage (784/458-8405, www.unionisland.com), which gives vacationers a chance to sample Union Island without breaking the bank. The lodgings are on the grounds of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and were the brainchild of Father Andrew Roache, who started the guesthouse to help sustain his church. The suites, which rent for $40 a night, are decorated with bright fabrics, wicker furniture, and come with private bathrooms. There's no air-conditioning, but the ceiling fans work just fine, and the guesthouse sits atop a hill where there almost always seems to be an easterly breeze. The view from the balcony is magnificent - a sweeping panorama of turquoise waters and nearby Palm Island and Petit St. Vincent (private enclaves with pricey digs). In addition, guests can raid the church's sprawling kitchen. Two other affordable options exist on Union Island. Lambi's Restaurant (784/458-8549), a favorite watering hole for sailors, also runs an inn where basic rooms go for about $55 a night. And Sydney's Guesthouse (784/458-8320), near the airport, offers a deal for guests who also want to visit the nearby Tobago Cays, the cluster of deserted islands a few miles east that are home to what is arguably the best snorkeling and diving in the Caribbean. For an additional $65 above the nightly rate of $35, Sydney will take guests there in his boat for a half-day excursion. That's about half the price of competing trips. Bequia Beckons The ferry Baracuda, which makes a thrice-weekly route through the southern Grenadines, leaves the Union Island dock promptly at 7 a.m., whistle blaring. It's a sturdy, steel-hulled ship with room for a dozen or so cars on the aft deck and, when fully booked, a couple hundred passengers. This is the milk run, and after a brief stop on Mayreau, then another on Canuoan, we arrive at Port Elizabeth, on Bequia's Admiralty Bay, two hours later. The fare: $9. Bequia is the Caribbean as imagined by the Brothers Grimm. A storybook island of pastel cottages and gingerbread-trim houses, it boasts one of the loveliest main drags in all the Caribbean, a quiet street with a flower-filled median that becomes a pedestrian-only pathway as it stretches along Admiralty Bay. The largest of the Grenadines, Bequia is still quite small - less than seven square miles - and with a rental car it can be roamed in its entirety in a day. But it's easy enough to hoof it from one side of the island to the other, and cheap taxis and minibuses are available for the haul back. My room at the Frangipani Hotel (784/458-3255, www.frangipanibequia.net) was just as quaint as the rest of Bequia - a four-poster with a "mozzy" (mosquito) net, hardwood floors, and from my balcony, a view of the bay not 30 feet away. There's no air-conditioning and the bathroom is down the hall, but at $40 a night there is little room for complaining. There's no shortage of affordable lodging on Bequia, rimming the bay and ascending into the nearby hills. Canadians Glen and Trudy Wallace opened Deja View Apartments (707/897-6537, e-mail: dejaview2@sprint.ca), with a hillside vista of the bay, two years ago. The apartments, with complete kitchens, rent for $80 a night and can sleep four people. Off-season rates are $400 a week. A bit closer to the water, the Village Apartments (784/458-3883, e-mail: tvabqsvg@caribsurf.com) offers package deals, including tax-inclusive lodging for two for three nights, plus one day's car rental, for $147. When it's time to eat, the Green Boley Restaurant, on the beach about 200 yards west of the Frangipani, serves up chicken roti with all the trimmings for $4. Dawn's Creole Cafe, on the beach in Lower Bay, makes a mean goat water - the Caribbean version of Irish stew - for $4 and serves a full breakfast for less than $5. Under the volcano: St. Vincent The last leg of the trip puts me on the Bequia Express (784/458-3472), one of two ferries making several runs a day on the nine-mile passage from Bequia to St. Vincent (about $6). Compared to the torpor of the outlying islands, Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is positively kinetic. There are occasional traffic jams and newly-sprouted shopping malls, but all in all there is an underlying Caribbean sense of "No problem, mon." From the ferry dock, it's a $3 cab ride (or a ten-minute walk) to the Heron Hotel (784/457-1631, e-mail: innsvg@caribsurf.com), which with its $60 double rooms has long been a favorite of budget travelers. It's certainly convenient - right next to the main taxi stand and just a block from Kingstown's pride, the new three-story public market. For cheap eats, one has to venture no further than the market, where take-out joints like Cammie's (784/451-2932) serve massive plates of fish, beans, rice, and plantains for $3. Those looking for a quiet escape would do well to head south to Indian Bay Beach where the Coconut Beach Inn (784/457-4900, e-mail: coconutbeach@cariaccess.com) offers its ten rooms starting at $45 a night. The rooms, though small, are air-conditioned and nicely appointed, with a tiny beach just outside. It looks across the 100-yard wide channel to Young Island, a private retreat where the nightly tariff reaches $250. The inn also has a fine little restaurant where the Chinese chef melds his cooking background with Caribbean specialties to create dishes like a spicy red snapper in black bean sauce with rice for $8. At nearly 18 miles long and 11 miles wide, St. Vincent is a big island - residents of the outlying Grenadines refer to it as "The Mainland" - and to fully explore it could easily take the better part of a week. But for one great day, rent a car and head up the windward coast. The highway snakes above black-sand beaches and past vast stands of towering palm trees-miles and miles of them - that, along with the broad fields of sugar cane and banana, are testament to the island's rich volcanic soil. If you're lucky, the clouds will break and you'll be granted a view of the beast itself - 4,000-foot-high La Soufriere, an active volcano that last erupted in 1979 and still offers the occasional rumblings. Pull off the road, sit back, and enjoy. From St. Vincent, return to Grenada on a 40-minute flight by small plane ($85). British West Indies Airlines and Air Jamaica fly between Grenada and the U.S. The how-to's of ferry-hopping Ferry service in the Caribbean, though reliable, is subject to occasional changes in schedule. It's wise to contact the ferry office to double-check the schedule and avoid getting stuck on an island. The Osprey, which makes daily runs between Grenada and Carriacou, posts its schedule on the Web site www.grenadaexplorer.com and can be contacted by e-mail at osprey@grenadaexplorer.com. The mail boat Jasper typically leaves Carriacou for Union Island on Monday and Thursday, anywhere from 10 A.M. to 1 P.M. Call Ade's Dream guesthouse (473/443-7317) to check its schedule. Check schedules for the Baracuda by calling 784/456-5180. For more information on the Bequia Express, call 784/458-3472 or visit www.grenadines.net.