Africa, to Me

A friend from Arizona--who at 75 still flits annually from European capital to European capital with the energy of a 40-year-old--is one of budget travel's shoestring supremos. Her entire life's been dedicated to the pursuit of travel happiness, but only on the tightest of budgets, with planning and skill. So when she told me that on her last vacation she stayed in central London at the height of the summer season for a rock-bottom £22 ($35.70) a night, with breakfast, and in a single room to boot, I knew I was on the brink of a momentous information breakthrough. I subsequently discovered my friend's secret weapon in her war against sky-high London hotel rates: university accommodations when students are on summer break. Hundreds of these academic bargains often go begging right in the heart of summer London, some in brand new buildings, others in charming period town houses, many including superb English breakfasts right down to sausages and kippers, some even offering valuable self-catering facilities for visitors preferring to eat in. For reasons puzzling if not inexplicable, they are absent from many travel guidebooks and usually booked only by groups using academic contacts, even though they are fully available to individuals of all ages. The exact name for these digs, in British parlance, is "halls of residence"--and they are attached to the 30-or-so colleges and schools of two giant English institutions: London University and City University. Instead of lying empty during long summer vacations, they're available to tourists from approximately mid- to late June until mid- to late September. Exact dates vary from hall to hall. (There are also rooms available during the long Easter holiday.) Big savings, superb locations, and wonderful choice are the attractions of staying in "halls." Obviously, they do not supply a hotel-style experience. They provide no frills. You won't find room service or fancy decor. The bedrooms, however, are certainly adequately furnished, or "kitted out" as the British say. And while you might not have your own bathroom (although many "halls" do now offer private facilities at a slightly higher rate--more about that later), walking a few paces down the corridor to shared facilities is a small price to pay for rock-bottom rates slap-bang in the middle of one of the world's most exciting capitals. A typical hall bedroom is small--but hey!--small can be beautiful, especially if the price is right. It's usually very basically furnished with a bed (linen supplied), closet, bedside table, desk and chair, easy chair, curtains and carpet. Private bathrooms, where available, are also compact and functional, usually with a stall shower, toilet, and sink. Older-style residences--such as Wellington Hall (built 1913) at King's College or the Edwardian Pembridge Gardens (Imperial College)--have larger, unusually shaped rooms with high ceilings. In these halls, private bathrooms vary in size too. One, at Pembridge Gardens, contains a bath big enough to soak a small army in! Between London and City Universities, there are actually thousands of budget beds on offer during summer. But beds this cheap in central London don't stay empty for long, and most of these halls take groups. It's imperative for individual travelers to reserve as soon as possible from the rest of the halls' stock. Also, because these are university residences, there are many more single rooms than twins available. So for shared accommodation, book early or be prepared to accept two single rooms instead. Here's what's available to you: Ramsay Hall, University College London, 20 Maple Street, London W1P 5GB; tel. 011-44/20-7387-4537; fax 20-7383-0843; e-mail ramsay.hall@ucl.ac.uk. The 462-room Ramsay Hall comprises four buildings-aptly named "Paris," "New York," "Rome," and "London." This modern residence is ideally situated for the West End and London's theaterland. Oxford and Regent Streets are a short walk away, as is the British Museum. Guests stay at Ramsay on a room-and-breakfast (mostly singles) or half-board basis. All rooms have sinks; baths and toilets are down the corridor. Bed linen and hand towels are provided. Prices: Room and breakfast for less than seven nights: £24.10. More than seven nights: £22. Individual rates on half-board basis under seven nights: £30. Over seven nights: £27.90. Summer availability in 2000: June 19 to mid-September. Nearest Underground stops: Goodge Street, Warren Street, Euston, Euston Square, Great Portland Street. Campbell House, University College London, Residence Manager, 5-10 Taviton Street, London WC1H OBX; tel. 011-44-20-7391-1479; fax 7388-0060. On an elegant, tree-lined street in the heart of Bloomsbury, this is a residence comprising 11 early Victorian, converted town houses. Accommodation is self-catering. Guests use the large, well-equipped kitchens. As at Ramsay, bathrooms are down the hall. Towels are not provided, but bed linen is. Prices: Single room under seven nights: £18.25. Over seven nights: £16.75. Twin room under seven nights: £34.50. Over seven nights: £32.50. Summer availability in 2000: June 19 to mid-September. Nearest Underground stops: Russell Square, Euston, Euston Square. Incidentally, Campbell House operates a useful "hospitality desk" in summer, manned by knowledgeable students and staff who'll point out some of the area's best bargain eateries. Campbell House has a good selection of twin rooms but no elevators. London School of Economics (LSE) Halls, Marketing Office, Bankside House, 24A Sumner Street, London SE1 9JA; tel. 011-44-20-7955-7575; fax 7955-7676; e-mail vacations@lse.ac.uk; Web site lse.ac.uk/vacations. Bargain accommodation is available in six buildings belonging to LSE. Bankside House is LSE's flagship residence, with significantly larger rooms than you'd expect in most halls and indeed some London hotels. Besides being modern and spacious, the vast majority of accommodations (singles, twins, triples) have private bathrooms. Walking down the mauve-carpeted hallways, you could be forgiven for thinking you're actually in a hotel. The contemporary bedroom furniture, attractive quilt covers, and cheerful curtains also wouldn't be out of place in a modern hotel. But it's Bankside's location that's really stunning. You're opposite the site of the breathtaking new "Tate Modern" art gallery. You're a two-minute walk from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. You're near some of London's best Thames-side treasures such as the Royal Festival Hall, Southwark Cathedral, and the HMS Belfast. Waterloo International Terminal, with Eurostar trains direct to Paris, Lille, and Brussels, is a fifteen-minute walk away. LSE's second major residence, Passfield Hall, is a row of late Georgian houses in Bloomsbury, especially popular with backpackers and young people. The standard bedrooms (singles, twins, or triples) are bathless - these are down the hall - but there are sinks in each room. Elsewhere, Carr-Saunders Hall is off Tottenham Court Road and minutes from the theater district and West End attractions. This 1960s/1970s building offers singles and twins (bathrooms down the corridor). Next, Rosebery Avenue Hall--near Sadler's Wells Theatre and bustling Camden Passage antiques market--is in Islington, one of London's most distinctive areas. It offers singles, twins, and triples, most with shared bathrooms but some twins with private facilities. The Myddleton Wing at Rosebery has units of four bedrooms sharing a bathroom, shower, and kitchenette. English breakfast is included, eaten in the dining room or on the garden patio. LSE's remaining two halls are Butlers Wharf and High Holborn Residence, offering self-catering flats with mostly single bedrooms for four to seven people. Butlers Wharf is near Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, and the Tower of London. The brand-new High Holborn Residence is sited in a prime location at the top of Drury Lane, opposite the Shaftesbury Theatre in the heart of the West End. Prices: Prices vary across the LSE range of halls. A bathless single at Carr-Saunders Hall, for example, is between £22 and £27 per night, while a single with private bathroom at Bankside costs £41 per night. Both include English breakfast. Summer availability in 2000: July 8 to the end of September. Nearest Underground stops: Waterloo, London Bridge, Blackfriars (Bankside); Euston, Euston Square, Russell Square (Passfield); Warren Street, Goodge Street (Carr-Saunders); Angel, Farringdon (Rosebery Avenue); Tower Hill, London Bridge (Butlers Wharf) and Holborn, Tottenham Court Road (High Holborn). And another thing-all rooms have card-operated telephones (£2 phone cards available from the front desk). King's College, Vacation Bureau, King's College London, 127 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NQ; tel. 011-44-20-7928- 3777; fax 011-44-20-7928-5777; e-mail vac.bureau@kcl.ac.uk. King's offers good-quality, inexpensive accommodation for individuals at four halls. You can stay, first, on a room-only basis in the modern Great Dover Street Apartments on the Thames's South Bank, 15 minutes' walk from London Bridge Station. Here, self-contained corridors have four to nine compact, functionally furnished (mostly single) bedrooms, each with an equally compact bathroom. There are kitchens in every corridor but over the summer, they're not equipped with utensils, cutlery, or crockery, although you may use the microwave, stove, toaster, and kettle. Each bedroom has a small refrigerator. Or, opt for the similarly organized Stamford Street Apartments two minutes from Waterloo Station. Those who enjoy a more traditional environment (at even cheaper rates) choose the Edwardian Wellington Hall, which has bathless but generously sized singles and twins with sinks (bathrooms on each floor), and is a short walk from Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Houses of Parliament. For even more of a bargain but a bit further afield in north London, try the Hampstead Campus. This is the only hall in our selection outside London's Travel Zone 1. Even though it's in Travel Zone 2, we couldn't fail to mention it-because a sink-equipped single room here (breakfast not included, bathrooms down the hall) is an astounding o17 per night! Twins are £29. Prices: Ranging from £17 for a single (Hampstead Campus, room only) to £26/single and £40/twin at Wellington Hall (with English breakfast) to £30/£33 (single room only) at Great Dover Street/Stamford Street Apartments. Twins at Great Dover Street (a very limited number) are £47. Summer availability in 2000: June 19 to September 15 (Wellington Hall and Hampstead Campus); July 5 to September 15 (Great Dover and Stamford Streets Apartments). Nearest Undergrounds: London Bridge (Great Dover Street); Waterloo (Stamford Street); Westminster (Wellington); Hampstead (Hampstead). And another thing-Wellington Hall's oak-paneled dining room boasts a lofty ceiling and a wall of stunning stained-glass windows that you can admire over breakfast. Imperial College, Rooms Division, Conference Office, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Watts Way, Prince's Gardens, London SW7 1LU; tel. 011-44-20-7594-9507 or 7594-9511; fax 7594-9504 or 7594-9505; e-mail reservations@ic.ac.uk. Imperial College's excellent-value halls are in two of London's most popular areas. Tumble out of bed at Southside, Linstead, or Weeks Halls in Prince's Gardens, South Kensington, and within a few minutes' walk you're at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History and Science Museums, or the Royal Albert Hall. Add another ten minutes and you're at Knightsbridge's world-famous Harrods department store. If you fell in love with the movie Notting Hill, you'll be head-over-heels with the location of Imperial's other residence: Pembridge Gardens, Notting Hill. It's only two minutes from the colorful Portobello Road market and a stroll away from some of London's liveliest eateries and bars. For two weeks this September, and from Easter 2001, over 200 new superior bedrooms, most with private bathrooms, will be available at the refurbished Beit Hall adjacent to the Royal Albert Hall, venue for the world-famous summer concert series, the "Proms." Prices: At Southside, Linstead, and Weeks, rates are £35 (including English breakfast) for a standard bathless single with wash basin (£55 for a twin). At Pembridge Gardens, a standard single with sink is £35; a standard twin £55; a single with private bathroom £45.50, a twin with private bathroom £65--all including a continental breakfast in a basket in your room. Bed and English breakfast at Beit Hall in September will be £42 for a bathless single, £58 for a single with bathroom, and £76 for a twin with bathroom. Summer availability in 2000: July 3 to September 24 (Prince's Gardens and Pembridge Gardens); September 14-25 (Beit). Nearest Undergrounds: South Kensington (Prince's Gardens and Beit); Notting Hill Gate (Pembridge Gardens). And another thing-visitors at Imperial's halls may use the college sports center in Prince's Gardens. For a nominal "activity fee," the 25-meter swimming pool, Jacuzzi, squash courts, sauna, steam room, and fitness center beckon. Walter Sickert Hall, City University, Graham Street, London N1 8LA; tel 011- 44-20-7477-8822; fax 7477 8825; e-mail i.gibbard@city.ac.uk; Web site city.ac.uk/ems. Near the City of London and trendy Islington, with easy access to West End attractions, you'll find City University's recently opened Walter Sickert Hall. Carpeted corridors and marble-walled staircases (there's also an elevator) lead to 220 compact but immaculately clean, functional bedrooms, with private bathrooms, tea/coffee-making facilities and telephones. Rooms here are serviced daily. There are mainly single rooms with a very limited number of twins. Nine "executive" guest rooms are available throughout the year and even have televisions. You're five minutes' walk to the world-renowned Sadler's Wells Theatre and Camden Passage Saturday antiques market. Prices: Single £30, executive single £35; executive twin £50 (all-inclusive, with continental basket-breakfast in your room). Summer availability in 2000: June 22 to mid-September. Nearest Underground stop: Angel at Islington.

Devotees of adventure travel find more of it for less in Canada than anywhere else. With the U.S. dollar exchanged for about CAD$1.34, the outdoor bargains there are awesome, as we attempt to show in the following seven examples. (All prices are listed in U.S. dollars and are based on double occupancy.) Backpacking Newfoundland Nestled within Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in part because of its unique combination of quartzite rock and wetland terrain, the Long Range Mountains are among the few remnants of pristine wilderness within a three-hour flight of New York, Boston, or Chicago. In Gros Morne, there are no roads, no power lines, not even manicured trails with the requisite hiking maps and wooden signs that show you which way to go and the exact mileage to get there. The Long Range Traverse is a 22-mile, semicircular route where topographical maps and a compass are a necessity to find your way among the web of caribou paths. Thus, there's the need of a guide like local outfitter Gros Morne Adventures (800/685-4624, grosmorneadventures.com/). On their eight-day, seven-night trek through Gros Morne National Park, they'll take you into stunning fjords and up snowcapped peaks where the caribou and moose far outnumber backpackers. Most of the hiking is on bog-like ground where water is ubiquitous. Sure, you'll slip and slide in the muddy moss, but you can also dip your water bottle into a running creek the color of gin and not have to worry about filtration. Backpacking experience and decent physical condition are musts. Cost of the eight-day trip is $1040, including two nights' accommodations at a B&B, all meals, camping equipment, boat tour, airport shuttle, and park permit. Biking Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island will always be synonymous with that 11-year-old girl in braids that Lucy Maud Montgomery made famous in her 1908 book, Anne of Green Gables. Indeed, the Green Gables site and Lucy Maud Montgomery's home are the top two places visitors venture to as they make their pilgrimage to this banana-shaped island in eastern Canada. Yet, there's a smaller group of folks who return to PEI as often as possible to bike through the bucolic countryside. Local outfitter MacQueen's Island Tours (800/969-2822, macqueens.com/) will provide you with a bike, detailed routes, lodging at B&Bs, breakfasts daily, and emergency road repair on their six-day, five-night self-guided tour of the island. Daily route cards average a leisurely 30-35 miles a day but can be adjusted according to expertise. You'll start in the capital city of Charlottetown before heading southeast past seaside communities. Pedal around the Rossignol Estate Winery in Little Sands before heading to the fishing village of Murray Harbour. The latter part of the trip takes you inland past brilliant-green potato farmland to the riverside town of Montague. And since the routes are designed by locals, rest assured that most of the biking is on less-traveled country roads and converted railroad beds. Cost of the trip is $742 (single supplement $246.) Sea kayaking Quebec Writer Walt Whitman described the waters of Quebec's Saguenay Fjord as "dark as ink, exquisitely polished and sheeny under the August sun." Quebec Adventures (888/678-3232, quebecadv.com/) offers a five-day, four-night tour of Saguenay in which you'll be up close and personal with that same water as you kayak the length of the fjord. Two guides will lead you through this St. Lawrence estuary, a Marine Park in Canada, alongside walls of ash-colored rock that rise some 1,150 feet. An added bonus is that this sheltered cove is a rich feeding ground for whales. Humpbacks, smaller minkes, and the curious white beluga whales have all been spotted on past trips. Each night, you'll be sleeping at campsites along the shores that only a kayak can venture to. The put-in is located two-and-a-half-hours northeast of Quebec City. No previous kayaking experience is necessary. Cost of the trip is $795. Canoeing Ontario A mere three-hour drive north of Toronto, Algonquin Provincial Park provides paddlers with a seemingly endless connection of waterways snaking through forests of tall pines, birches, maples, and cedars. Voyageur Quest (800/794-9660, voyageurquest.com/), an Algonquin-based outfitter, offers a five-day, four-night guided paddle on a few of Algonquin's 1,500-plus lakes and rivers. You'll spend two nights camping and two nights at a rustic log cabin on this trip geared toward families. During the day, wilderness guides travel at a slow pace, teaching kids how to perfect their stroke and properly navigate their canoes. You'll stop at hidden shores to relax and swim or throw out a line to fish for brook and lake trout. Moving at such an unhurried speed, you'll very likely spot moose or hear the call of wolves. All dinners are cooked over an open fire, so kids can polish off the day by roasting marshmallows or making s'mores. Price of the trip is $466 for adults, $317 per child, including lodging, all meals, equipment, and guides. Round-trip transfer to Toronto costs an extra $97 per person. Fishing Saskatchewan With the added costs of guide service, floatplane flights, and fancy meals, fly-fishing in the northern lakes of Canada has become as prohibitively expensive as yachting in the Caribbean. Cost averages $400 to $500 per day. That's why we're telling you to dispense with the guide and cook your own meals. George Lake Camp Outfitting (406/644-2297, georgelake.net/) will fly you and your buddies 81 miles north of the airport in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, on a floatplane to your final destination of George Lake. You'll be staying at one of their cabins on a sand beach smack-dab in the middle of a 4,000-acre lake and its slew of uninhabited coves, bays, and islands. There's no need for a guide in these waters. All you have to do is grab one of their 14-foot aluminum boats and soon you'll be reeling in trophy-size northern pike that can reach lengths of 50 inches. There's also lake trout, or if you want to try your luck hooking walleye, take a short trail to an adjacent lake. The five-day, four-night cost for accommodations, flights, and use of boats is $750. You're in charge of food and tackle. Horseback riding Alberta One of the best ways to savor the rugged beauty of the Canadian Rockies is snug in a saddle atop a horse. GORPtravel (877/440-4677, gorptravel.com/) features a five-day, four-night trip in Banff National Park, where you'll ride 10 to 15 miles a day and then spend the night at rustic lodges, one of which has been in operation for more than 60 years. Each of the lodges has hot water for showers, and hearty meals. The ride starts at Martin Stables outside the town of Banff, about an 80-mile drive west of Calgary, Alberta. From here, you'll trot along the glacial-fed waters of Bow River and Healy Creek to the Sundance Lodge. Deep in the heart of the Rockies, you'll continue on the historic Strom Pack Trail, all within view of the majestic Sundance Range. Elevations rise to 8,100 feet as you make your way to your next accommodation, Halfway Lodge. Cost of the five-day trip, including meals, lodging, horses, and guides, starts at only $690. Multisport in British Columbia A little more than an hour's drive from Lake Louise in Alberta is British Columbia's far less frequented Kootenay National Park. Not yet as big a name in America as Banff or Jasper, Kootenay has that same Canadian Rocky splendor: hanging glaciers, the limestone Marble Canyon, soaring 11,000-foot summits, and natural mineral pools at Radium Hot Springs. It's not surprising that this majestic backdrop was once home to fur traders and Native Americans. Kootenay Wilderness Tours (877/659-7665, kootenaywildernesstours.ca/) has taken advantage of the region's history to provide activities that utilize aspects of Native American culture to hopefully feed both body and mind. On their six-day, five-night Rocky Mountain Basic Trip, guests will learn traditional wilderness skills while horseback riding; white-water rafting; fishing for cutthroat, rainbow, and bull trout in the streams; or visiting the largest hot springs in the Canadian national parks system. Depending on your interests, you design an itinerary with the guides. You'll be spending the nights not in a tepee but in cabins at a new, secluded mountain lodge just outside of the park. The drive from Calgary is approximately two-and-a-half hours. Budget Travel readers get a $200 reduction in cost, down to $654. Also ask about their other trips, including Backpacking Is Wild and the Spirit Walker.

By now we've all heard about the amazing deals on Europe's low-fare carriers. Industry leader Ryanair even goes so far as to occasionally offer seats for free (passengers pay only the flight taxes and service charges, generally $25 and up each way). At this point there are around 60 upstarts crisscrossing the Continent, many with names that don't exactly instill confidence in the average American, such as Geneva-based Flybaboo. Combine that with the recent failures of JetGreen, Duo, JetMagic, Volareweb.com, and V Bird, and many travelers are uneasy about booking with a low-fare carrier, no matter how cheap it comes. Info by Internet: The airlines keep costs down almost any way they can, and that means passengers usually need to research options and book tickets over the Internet. With so many routes and carriers that use multiple (or no) hubs, simply finding out which airline flies where can be difficult. A handful of search engines, including searchlowestfares.com, wegolo.com, skyscanner.net, applefares.com, and openjet.com, come in handy, allowing you to plug in a desired connection and see what, if anything, is possible. Using skyscanner.net, for example, we requested a fare from Düsseldorf to Budapest with a week's advance purchase and were presented with a $60 one-way direct flight from Air Berlin. It's a good idea to punch in options on two or three of the search engines, however, because none are perfect, and some don't come close to being thorough (applefares.com and openjet.com only search seven carriers). Also, check out attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/europe, which has a map of the Continent with routes and links to carriers, as well as a regularly updated list of deals. Don't assume that the low-fare carriers always have the lowest fares, however. One study compiled by England's consumer council for air travelers (caa.co.uk/auc) found several instances in which flights on British Airways were actually cheaper than similar routes on Ryanair. No frills? That's for sure: In general, you can forget about assigned seating, complimentary beverages or meals, and decent legroom. Some of the airlines, such as Ryanair, take the no-frills label to the extreme--the carrier was sued recently because it charged a handicapped passenger for wheelchair service. In another cost-cutting move (or profit-making, depending on how you look at it), there typically are strict baggage policies: Germanwings, for example, allows one checked bag per passenger, and charges $8 per kilo over the 20-kilogram (44-pound) limit. What's more, if you're not on a direct flight, your luggage may not be checked through to your final destination, leaving you with the responsibility of picking up bags and rechecking at stopovers. It's also necessary to look closely at the airport situation. The upstarts tend to use smaller, secondary airports that are far from the city center. Ryanair frequently flies out of London Stansted, which is 25 miles farther from the city than Heathrow. The many low-fare carriers that fly into a German airport called Frankfurt-Hahn rarely make a point of telling customers that it's 75 miles, or two hours by bus, away from Frankfurt. On the positive side, the smaller gateways are less crowded, with quicker check-ins and shorter walks to the gate. And a few secondary airports are actually closer to the city than their larger counterparts. You've got to crunch the numbers, adding in taxis and other costs, and factor in convenience before making plans. Risks and Red Flags: Europe's airline industry is even more volatile than ours, and there's no telling who's going to go belly-up next. Just like back home, it's smart to not book too far in advance, though upstarts such as EasyJet, Ryanair, Germanwings, and BMIbaby aren't expected to disappear anytime soon. Laws vary from country to country, so generalizing about what happens when a carrier goes under and stops flying is impossible. Tickets are supercheap to begin with, and consumers shouldn't expect much, if any, compensation. (Sometimes other airlines will step up and honor their former competitors' tickets, but they're not always required to do so.) And flight delays are even more aggravating on low-fare airlines. Nearly all of Europe's major airlines have voluntarily agreed to provide food and accommodations to passengers if there are extended delays or cancellations, as part of the EU's Passenger Service Commitment. The upstarts have yet to sign on, so they're under no such obligation.

"Machines receive preventive maintenance; why not people? Why should we wait until illness strikes us down before we attend to our health?" With those words, a wise old doctor once explained to me why he had turned at the end of his career to the practice of "holistic" medicine. An eminently sensible approach to life, with which almost no one can disagree, holistic methods of strengthening the body to fend off future illness have attracted the attention of millions of Americans, and created a thriving vacation industry of "holistic health farms" and "holistic health resorts." None of these institutions, to my knowledge, disavows traditional approaches to medicine. "Holistic physicians" will readily prescribe an antibiotic for infection, or even perform surgery if it is needed. But the same physicians believe in supplementing the standard therapies with alternative ones: better nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and relaxation. People, they claim, should actively pursue "wellness" before they become sick, a process -- essentially -- of self-education and modifying lifestyles. The decision to vacation at a "wellness spa" -- holistic centers where guests receive "preventive health workups" and seek to adapt to a healthier mode -- is an obvious first step. Heartwood Institute On 200 acres in the mountains of northern California, five hours by car north of San Francisco, this is the classic "holistic retreat," and astonishingly cheap: it charges $100 a day in single rooms, $85 a day per person in doubles, $75 on a campsite, including three organic vegetarian meals a day and use of sauna, hot tub, and pool. Accommodations are mainly bunkhouses with small, simple rooms, not far from a "community center" and restaurant in a picturesque log lodge with outside dining deck. When guests arrive to pursue a one-week or two-week "wellness retreat," trained counselors aid them to choose from a variety of therapies in massage and bodywork, nutrition and exercise, at nominal extra costs. The institute's credo? That illness results from imbalances in the body's normal state; that balance can be restored, as it often is in Asian medicine, by alternative therapies such as acupressure or Ayurveda, lifestyle changes, modified nutrition, herbal preparations, Polarity therapy, and still other treatments. Throughout the year, more intensive workshops are then scheduled at Heartwood in the full range of therapies under study by holistic practitioners: massage and yoga, "bodywork" and neuro-muscular therapy, "energy balancing" and hydrotherapy -- all, of course, for tuition charges (though fairly reasonable ones) not imposed upon people participating in a simple retreat. For information, contact Heartwood Institute, 220 Harmony Lane, Garberville, CA 95542 (phone 707/923-5000, fax 707/923-5010, e-mail hello@heartwoodinstitute.com, also see their Web site at heartwoodinstitute.com). Harbin Hot Springs On 1,700 wooded acres in a valley of northern California, 2 1/2 hours by car from San Francisco, Harbin Hot Springs is a basic (rooms without private bath but comfortable) retreat and workshop center. Guests enjoy daily dips in natural, warm mineral-water pools (one of 112 degrees Fahrenheit, open all night and all year), staying in dormitories, unpretentious private lodgings, or even on campsites. In addition to soaking (without speaking, a requirement) in the celebrated hot springs, hiking, sunbathing, and enjoying -- according to one staff member -- a "meditative atmosphere," guests sign up for one of numerous courses in exotic massage -- Swedish, shiatsu, acupressure, watsu (water shiatsu) -- at rates as low as $25 per bout of instruction. Room rates per person are $170 a week on campsites, $245 a week in dorms, $385 a week in rooms ($385 a week for two persons), to which you add $20 a day for two vegetarian meals. For information, contact Harbin Hot Springs, P.O. Box 782, Middletown, CA 95461 (phone 707/987-2477 or 800/622-2477, fax 707/987-0616, e-mail reception@harbin.org and see their Web site at harbin.org). The Hippocrates Health Institute Rarely do vacations offer the opportunity for total body renewal. But spending a week at the Hippocrates Health Institute located in West Palm Beach, Florida that is what you'll leave with: a new sense of your self and your well-being. Depending on what type of accommodation you opt for, the total cost of the program is between $1,800 and $3,900. Accommodations vary greatly: hacienda luxury suites, including marble roman baths and Jacuzzis to southwestern-styled stucco cottages to basic rooms are all available. You can chose from a single, double or quad. Included in the price tag is lodging, meals, juices, a 24-hour wheat grass bar, blood test and evaluation, live cell microscope evaluation, diapulse electromagnetic therapy, health and nutritional counseling with a physician, group therapy with a psychoanalyst, weekly massage, colonic therapy, lectures, food demos, exercise classes and equipment, full use of the sauna, ozonated swimming pool and cold plunge pool as well as the Jacuzzi, and a complete health manual that includes an explanation of the Hippocrates program. The center of the Institute is the Life-Change Program devoted to healing the body through a change in diet: adopting a vegetarian diet made up of primarily raw foods. All meals at the Institute are vegan, organic and enzyme-rich, keeping true to their slogan of "let food be our medicine." For more details, contact The Hippocrates Health Institute at 1443 Palmdale Court, West Palm Beach, FL 33411 (phone 561/471/8876 or 800/842/2125 for reservations only, fax 561/471/9464, e-mail info@hippocratesinst.com or log onto hippocratesinst.com). Hawaiian Wellness Holiday There are few locations more dreamlike to take a holistic holiday than Poipu Beach on the garden island of Kauai in Hawaii. Programs are tailored to fit your interests and fitness level, and include yoga, "energy vortex, cooking classes, excursions to sacred sites, among many more. Prices range from $2,135-$2,605 for a single room in a condominium per week, and $3,280-$3,775 per person in a double room (depending on the accommodations and preferred view), with healthy, nutritious meals included. To request more information and a free brochure, write Hawaiian Wellness Holiday/ Hawaiian Metaphysical Vacation, P.O. Box 279, Koloa, Kauai, HI 96756 (phone 808/332-9244, fax 808/332-9374, e-mail drgradydeal@verizon.net). Royal Court Hotel and Natural Health Resort And finally, on a hillside high overlooking Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Royal Court Hotel is an unusually pleasant, sunny and blissfully quiet health resort of about twenty rooms, of which I've inspected each one. Its owners, Dr. and Mrs. Anthony and Dorothy Vendryes, are both dedicated to the holistic health approach, although Dr. Vendryes also practices traditional medicine at a nearby hospital. Meals are low-fat vegetarian; exercise equipment is abundant; activities include daily yoga and other exercises, as well as trips to the beach, hikes and health workshops. Royal Court packages run $1100 for a week in off-season (late-April through mid-September), otherwise $2,080, for seven nights' accommodations, all meals, classes, and complimentary massage. For more information call 876/952-4531. For reasons of space, I have obviously compressed the theories of "holistic health" into almost absurdly simple form. For a more complete exposition, log on to ahha.org.