Live Talk: Planning an inexpensive, hassle free vacation

You'd never suspect it from the awesome abundance of grand antebellum mansions, but beguiling, history-rich Natchez, perched atop one of the Mississippi River's highest bluffs, is a veritable budget-travel haven, packed with cheapies and freebies. It's an unfortunate fact that Mississippi consistently ranks as one of the poorest states in the Union, but this also translates into major bargains in meals, lodging, and entertainment. Clean single rooms for $20 in spanking-new motels with pool and other first-rate amenities? Atmospheric doubles for $85 in historic B&Bs? Three-course dinners and a drink for $6? Once one of America's wealthiest towns, this tourist treasure trove is now one of the cheapest. Named for a local Indian tribe, Natchez (pop. 20,000) was founded in 1716, the oldest permanent settlement in the lower Mississippi River Valley. It took this crude village about a century to polish itself into the rich, gracious consort of King Cotton. Most people are surprised to learn that this bastion of everything Southern voted against secession. So did neighboring Vicksburg, but the similarities ended there. When the Union armies arrived, Natchez gave balls and soirees while rebellious and more strategically located Vicksburg was bombarded and besieged into submission. Southerners remain divided over the question of whether Natchez was traitorous or shrewd, but the legacy is indisputable. Thanks to flirting instead of fighting, she boasts over 500 antebellum structures. Isolation as well as poverty molded and shaped the Bluff City. When King Cotton was dethroned, the world simply stopped calling. The local aristocracy was, as the old saying goes, "too poor to paint and too proud to whitewash," and nothing was touched as this bruised Southern magnolia slipped into a genteel time bubble. The town might have dozed into oblivion if some enterprising garden-club ladies hadn't unearthed something unique to jazz up their Depression economy: history. In 1932 they prepared to publicly show their gardens, but bad weather forced them to open their homes instead. The "Natchez Pilgrimage" was therefore born by default and gave tourists a tantalizing glimpse of the Old South - for the price of a ticket, of course. Today there are spring and fall Pilgrimages, and 620,000 visitors make an annual deposit of $110 million into local coffers. Grand manses and ancient Indians Most of the 15 "town houses" and "villas" open to the public would be considered grand mansions elsewhere. Very few were actually plantations, but there are plenty evoking the romance of Gone with the Wind - and all of them, needless to say, are the fruits of slavery, built with the riches from horrible human toil. Each "charms" in its own way, but the budget-conscious visitor needs guidance, as all tours cost $6. For the most antebellum bang for your buck, try Monmouth (1818), Rosalie (1820), Dunleith (1856), and grandiose Stanton Hall (1857), occupying an entire city block. A special favorite is Longwood (1860), an enormous, unfinished octagonal folly that boggles the mind with its sheer ambition. For those who prefer the eighteenth century, there's the House on Ellicott's Hill (1798) and the Governor Holmes House (1794), one of a cluster of colonial gems in the downtown Spanish Quarter. Buy tickets at the house of your choice or through Natchez Pilgrimage Tours (Canal and State sts.; 601/446-6631 or 800/647-6742). Ticket minimums apply during Pilgrimage, when all touring must be arranged through Natchez Pilgrimage Tours. All tours last about half an hour. For a look at plantation life, visit Melrose (1 Melrose-Montebello Pkwy.; 601/442-7047), part of the Natchez National Historical Park. Built in the 1840s, it includes numerous outbuildings, cisterns, a slavery exhibit, formal gardens, and, of course, the Big House, where the TV miniseries North & South was filmed. Admission is $6. Older still is the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (400 Jefferson Davis Blvd.; 601/446-6502), whose highly sophisticated civilization peaked in the 1500s. Their chief was called the Great Sun and, like the Aztecs, they wore gaudy plumage, had a caste system, and occasionally practiced human sacrifice. In 1729, they avenged severe mistreatment from the French by killing some 250 settlers at Fort Rosalie, the site of modern Natchez. The French retaliated by eradicating the tribe. Today the village's ceremonial mounds have been restored and a typical dwelling and granary recreated. A visitor center, museum, and nature trail are all free. Blues, floozies, & Miss Scarlett A good place to get oriented is the new Visitor's Reception Center at the intersection of Highway 84 and Canal Street (800/647-6724, 601/446-6345). Although jarringly sterile in a town glorying in historic architecture, it offers interactive exhibits, historic displays, plenty of brochures, a gift shop, a bookstore, and a knowledgeable staff. The fine 20-minute documentary - the type that's free in most visitor centers - is $2. A compact grid roughly seven by eight blocks, downtown Natchez is a breeze to explore on foot, with a few gentle rises interrupting an otherwise flat terrain. Start at Bluff Park, an inviting riverside green dotted with historical markers and benches overlooking the Mississippi. Pick up your complimentary copy of On the River, a monthly paper with an excellent walking tour and map centerfold. You'll soon get an architectural history lesson with superb examples of colonial, Greek Revival, Victorian, Second Empire, federal, and more. The tour brings you back to the park where you can rest your feet, maybe enjoy a river breeze, and digest all you've seen. There are carriage rides of the historic district that cover about two-and-a-half miles and take 30-35 minutes. They're fun and informative, but you'll have to consult your budget about the tab: $9 for adults and $4 for children. The carriages line up at the corner of Canal and State streets. Nestled against the bluffs below the city is Natchez-Under-the-Hill. In its early nineteenth-century heyday it was the most notorious spot on the river: three bawdy blocks of saloons, gambling houses, and bordellos. Shifts in the fiercely capricious river have erased all but Silver Street, whose shops, bars, and restaurants barely hint at the sin that was. Gambling has returned aboard the Lady Luck Casino, and the Mississippi, Delta, and American Queens call here on a regular basis. A superb way to get a handle on local lore is the exhibit of 1850s - 1940s photographs in Stratton Chapel Gallery (405 State St.; 601/442-4741). Rescued and restored by Dr. Thomas Gandy, the pictures put a telling face on Natchez lost; the suggested donation is $3. For Natchez's contribution to the world of decorative arts, visit the Historic Natchez Collection Showroom (Canal Street Depot; 601/442-2500), free of charge. Scheduled to open soon is the Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture, at the corner of Main and Wall streets. The "African-American Heritage" brochure (available at the visitor center) is a superb free guide to important black historic sites and events in Natchez. The French Huguenots introduced muscadine wine to the South almost 300 years ago, a tradition that is maintained at the family-owned Old South Winery (65 S. Concord Ave.; 601/445-9924). The vineyards produce 12 table wines that are as fine as the names are fun, including "Miss Scarlett's" light rose, a delicately sweet "Southern Belle" white, and a dry white named (for some reason) "Carlos." Tastings and winery tours are free. In recent years Natchez has made a concerted effort to become more than a repository of historic architecture. The three annual Pilgrimages remain the big shebangs, but there's plenty more worth exploring. The city has a mini-Mardi Gras parade in late winter, and a March powwow at the Grand Village of the Natchez draws Native Americans from all over the region (admission is $1 per person). The Natchez Blues Festival (admission $5 per day) is held in May in Memorial Park and draws bigger entertainers every year. June is the Steamboat Jubilee and Floozie Contest Under-the-Hill which includes a leg of the race between the Mississippi Queen and Delta Queen, and the Natchez Bicycle Classic. Neither charges admission. Natchez's biggest, busiest single weekend is in October with the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race, a colorful spectacle indeed with dozens of hot-air balloons soaring above this antebellum town. The three-day event costs about $5 each day for admission into Rosalie Bicentennial Gardens, where you can enjoy live music, regional food, the balloon "glow" when pilots turn on the gas jets at night, and a fireworks extravaganza over the river. In December, professionals reenact Civil War battles at Jefferson College (601/442-2901), just six miles east in Washington. The college is an official state historical site, with restored buildings dating to 1817 and a fine nature trail along St. Catherine's Creek. Admission is free but donations are accepted. Dixie dinin' & drinkin' Your wallet will love mealtime around here, with $5 lunch buffets and dinners for $7 (including beverage) available all over town (part of the city's "cheapest on earth" condition). And as poor as Mississippi may be in some areas, it's definitely rich in catfish; this state produces more of it than any other - meaning that the lowly, bewhiskered critter is also fresh and cheap. It has been reaching new levels of culinary respectability as adventurous chefs sauce and saute, but most locals prefer it fried. There's also plentiful Southern and New Orleans cooking whether you're hungry for grits, fried chicken, barbecue, gumbo, or fried oyster po-boys. If you're counting calories, Natchez is not your kinda town. A top dining value is Wharf Master's House (57 Silver St., Under-the-Hill; 601/445-6025), where rope railings line an outdoor dining deck with great views of the river, the twin bridges to Louisiana, and, if your timing is right, the sunset. Just $9.95 gives you a choice of fried, grilled, or blackened catfish served with hush puppies, fries, or candied yams and salad or coleslaw. Half a hickory-smoked barbecued chicken served with baked beans and potato salad is $9.95. There's an even better view aboard the Lady Luck Casino, which has all-you-can-eat buffets (lunch $6.95 and dinner Sunday through Wednesday $8.95) on the second deck overlooking both the river and Under-the-Hill. The food is all right - if limited - but you may luck out and get prime rib. The only drawback is gaming noise from the adjacent casino and the incessant telephone paging. Expect to be gently rocked if a big barge swings by. Arguably the best fried chicken is at the Carriage House Restaurant (401 High St.; 601/445-5151), tucked beneath live oaks behind majestic Stanton Hall. For $6.95 you get two pieces plus rice and gravy, veggie, and dessert or salad. The $6.95 daily specials include entree, rice or potatoes, veggie, salad, and beverage. Be careful - it's real easy to fill up on those delectable little buttered biscuits that keep flying to your table. There are fine sandwiches and good breakfasts at The Fare Cafe (109 N. Pearl St.; 601/442-5299), a cozy two-story eatery where Pat and Sissie make sure everything is fresh. Try the "Jimmy Carter" breakfast special: two eggs, choice of meat, cheese grits, and toast for $4.95, and wash it down with a 75[cents] cup of coffee. Cheddar burgers with potato salad or chips are $4.25, and the $4.95 giant lunch salads (chef, chicken, tuna, or taco) are a meal by themselves. If barbecue is your pleasure, hit the trough at the Pig Out Inn (116 S. Canal St.; 601/442-8050), where the motto is "Swine dining at its finest." This onetime auto showroom has walls adorned with nostalgic Dixie memorabilia and a mural listing "What I Love About the South." Dinner plates of chopped pork (or beef) for $7.95 include two side orders of coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, black bean and corn salad, or corn on the cob. The barbecue sandwich with two side orders and a drink is only $6. Find more spice at Fat Mama's Tamales (500 S. Canal St.; 601/442-4548), popular with both drinkers and diners. Who can resist a log cabin offering fire-and-ice pickles, "Knock You Naked" margaritas, and Snickers-bar pie? A guaranteed crowd pleaser is "Gringo" pie, $5 for three tamales topped with chili, cheese, onions, and jalapenos. "Natchez" nachos for $4.50 are filling and fun. There's indoor and patio dining, or you can, as they say, "haul it home." There's heat of a different kind at Biscuits & Blues (315 Main St.; 601/446-9922), which is "dedicated to the preservation of hot biscuits and cool blues." Try a po-boy (a New Orleans-style hero sandwich) with Cajun sausage ($5.95); smoked chicken, roast beef, or grilled catfish ($6.95); or shrimp or oysters ($7.95). You can also get half a smoked, rubbed chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and baked beans for $8.95. Call ahead to see if there are live blues performances on the weekend. Snoozin' Southern-style Natchez has a handful of high-end lodgings with rates grazing the $80 to $90 range, but the hotel competition here is considerable, and the bulk of the local rooms, in an abundance of middle-priced chains and lower-end local motels, are far below that. True, the pastel decor in many of these properties is hopelessly unimaginative, but at these prices, who cares? The upper end of the spectrum is the Natchez Days Inn (109 Hwy. 61 South; 800/524-4892, 601/445-8291) which resembles a Greek Revival plantation home. There's a swimming pool, book/gift shop, and 120 rooms with a plush annex about to open. Singles start at $46, doubles at $51, including a deluxe continental breakfast. The Huddle House restaurant next door is open 24 hours and serves reasonably priced down-home fare (601/445-0405). The brand-new Best Western (45 Sergeant Prentiss Dr.; 601/442-1691) is set well back from highway noise and offers a pool, cable TV with three HBO channels, and rooms with microwaves and refrigerators available upon request. Rooms with double beds start at $50 during the week, $69 on weekends, including continental breakfast (some king-size beds also available at these rates). The Natchez Inn (218 John R. Junkin Dr.; 601/442-0221) has 36 rooms, all with cable TV, and a swimming pool. The rooms are basic but so are the rates: $30 for a single and $35 double. The Scottish Inn (40 Sergeant Prentiss Dr.; 601/442-9141) and Relax Inn (40 Sergeant Prentiss Dr.; 601/446-9272) are back-to-back budget motels sharing owners and a swimming pool. The Scottish Inn's 48 cable-equipped rooms have been freshly repainted, and singles start at $27.95, doubles at $35. Singles at the Relax Inn begin at $25.95, doubles at $35 with two beds or $31 for a king-size bed. Rooms in both are tidy and simply decorated, but the staffs, while friendly, are not overly professional. Across the river in Vidalia, Louisiana, check out the Budget Inn (700 Carter St.; 318/336-4261), your best bet for doubles at $31/night or $160 weekly (singles begin at $28). It's strictly no-frills, folks, but Robin's (318/336-7387) friendly restaurant next door will cheer you up. In a separate category is the Lady Luck Hotel (645 Canal St.; 800/722-5825, 601/445-0605) with clean, attractive rooms as low as $19.95 - depending upon availability - from Sunday through Thursday; otherwise the standard per diem is $59-$69 weekdays and $79-$89 weekends. This is a real bargain, as the hotel offers many first-rate amenities including remote-control cable TV in rooms, a pool and Jacuzzi, lounge and restaurant, gift shop, and room service. Naturally, the management hopes you'll spend some time on the nearby Lady Luck Casino, but that choice is entirely yours. By the way, if you're in the mood to splurge a bit, Natchez's romantic B&Bs are a reasonably priced godsend. Rooms in historic homes going for $120-$220 per double elsewhere can be had here for as little as $85. There are over 30 to choose from, all charming, each unique (you can get a list from the local CVB).

Thundering herds of wildebeest, prides of lions, great masses of elephants and giraffes, chattering monkeys, and lumbering water buffalo--all of them viewed from the safety of an open-topped van. That's the portrait of Africa to which most of the travel industry limits itself; the overwhelming majority of Africa tours tend to be wildlife safaris. For viewing an altogether different aspect of that immense continent--the vitally important cultures, politics, and society of Africa--the travel programs are few and rarely available for less than $4,000 or $5,000 per person. Until now, that is. Just in the past several years, a handful of dedicated Africa tour operators have begun to offer travel programs to the cities (and therefore the actual life) of Africa, priced as low as $2,500, and occasionally, for a breathtaking $1,550, including round-trip airfare from the United States. Though these expenditures are far above the usual recommended levels of Budget Travel, they are at least explained by the high airfare cost for reaching most African capitals, and they are justified by the importance of the subject matter. "Ten years ago there was no one rocking the boat, no one saying these prices were way too high," says Ken Hieber, owner of 2Afrika (877/200-5610 or 201/533-1075, 2afrika.com) based in Jersey City, New Jersey. "Americans were not very educated about this part of the world, and they truly were being led by the nose. There was a terrible exploitation of the U.S. travel market when it came to cultural tours of Africa. But with the Internet came the ability to do comparison-shopping, and more and more tour operators realized that they could no longer justify ridiculously high rates." In the path of Nelson Mandela, and sophisticated Cape Town For the past seven years, South African-born Hieber has been selling low-cost cultural tours to South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, independent of his low-cost safaris to Tanzania and Kenya. His business is booming. "I was bent on creating great trips at affordable prices for the average working person, not the chichi rich tourist, and my tours have increased by 45 percent in recent years," says Hieber. "I tell people that I don't sell status; I sell Africa. The truth is that when people travel to Africa without all the pretense of a luxury tour, the local people react to them much better. They can relate to them, they respect them more, and they welcome them with great warmth." While new specials are regularly posted on 2Afrika's Web site, some of the company's recent deals have included a truly inspiring tour called "Madiba" (Nelson Mandela's clan name), which traces the footsteps of the famous anti-apartheid leader with a tour of his Robben Island prison cell off the coast of Cape Town, as well as Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria, the Cape of Good Hope, and several wine regions of the country. The tour includes airfare on South African Airways from New York or Atlanta, all hotels for eight nights in South Africa, all transportation, and some meals. Price: $2,695 (an optional three-day trip to Victoria Falls at the start of the tour is $475). Another 2Afrika special is a hard-to-believe bargain of a nine-day package to Cape Town, including airfare from New York or Atlanta and accommodations for six nights at one of the better hotels in the city, for all of $1550, surely a travel-pricing record. 2Afrika also offers a few add-on excursions, including two on the famed Blue Train, an air-conditioned journey through the countryside that is part luxury hotel and part gourmet restaurant. Trips are available from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls with prices starting at $995 per person (based on double occupancy) for a deluxe compartment for four nights. Ashanti drummers, the Ivory Coast, and the legacy of slavery Based in New Milford, Connecticut, Africa Desk (800/284-8796 or 860/354-9341, africadesk.com) is another highly reliable source for low-cost Africa tours. Founded in 1981 by Christine Tyson, a divorced mother of two with $86 in her pocket, Africa Desk is also noted for its specially designed "Postcards" trips, soft-adventure travel packages for women that attract American females from all walks of life. Postcards trips focus on "women-sensitive issues" that relate to the women of Africa (and other parts of the world), and often include visits with schoolchildren, teachers, and music and dance groups. Most of the company's packages include fully escorted tours, but it can also arrange specially designed trips for independent travelers. Africa Desk has devised a number of cultural tour packages to various countries. Its "Ghana Cultural Tour" is a nine-day adventure through that West African nation, which starts in Accra with tours of the National Museum, Makola Market, Kwame Memorial, and the W.E.B. DuBois Center for Pan-African Studies. It then goes on to the heart of the Ashanti Region, once the seat of an empire that stretched from the Ivory Coast to Togo, and includes visits with Ashanti drummers and market ladies who sell intricate kente cloth fabrics. The last leg involves a tour of the bustling town of Cape Coast, with visits to the African Historical Museum and a tour of the fifteenth-century slave dungeons inside Elmina Castle. Including airfare from New York, hotel accommodation for seven nights, ground transportation, and meals, prices for the tour start at $2,589 per person. The "Ivory Coast Cultural Tour," also offered by Africa Desk, is another rewarding package. Starting off in Abidjan, the nine-day trip includes escorted tours to the Cocody Market, National Museum, and religious sites. It then goes on to Grand Bassam, the former capital and a popular beach resort area, and Tiagba, a river village that juts out of the water on wooden pilings. Including airfare from New York, hotel accommodations for seven nights, ground transportation, and meals, prices start at $2,219 per person, double occupancy. For a taste of French-African flavor, the seven-day "Senegal Cultural Tour" begins in Dakar at the deluxe French-owned Sofitel Hotel and includes tours of the city, arts and crafts markets, and government buildings. It then moves on to one of the most compelling places in all of Africa-Goree Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now a mellow beach town dotted with colonial architecture, Gorée Island was one of the most infamous slave trading centers in West Africa during the eighteenth century, and most of its historic structures relating to the slave trade have been turned into museums. Including airfare from New York, hotel for five nights, and meals, the price of the tour is $2,239 per person. A tour of "roots" in the Gambia or Benin In 1989, Spector Travel of Boston (800/879-2374 or 617/351-0111, africa@spectortravel.com, spectortravel.com) began experimenting with even lower-cost Africa excursions, and it now offers several interesting tours. Its seven-day "Roots and Culture Tour" to Senegal and the Gambia starts with a tour of Dakar and Goree Island and continues on to Banjul with visits to a Gambian orphan village, health center, and primary school where tour members present gifts of books and school supplies to the children. Including airfare from New York, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, admission fees, and daily breakfast, the price starts at $1,699 per person (based on double occupancy). Spector's Saturday-to-Saturday "Roots and Culture Tour" to Benin offers another fascinating slice of West Africa. Starting with a city tour of Cotonou, it continues with a full-day excursion to Ouidah, the voodoo center of the country and a port city from which thousands of slaves were shipped to Haiti, Brazil, and the United States. In addition, there are visits to the Sacred Forest, the Portuguese Museum, python temple, and slave memorials. Including airfare from New York, first-class hotels for five nights, ground transportation, admission fees, and breakfast daily, the cost is $1,699 per person (based on double occupancy). For the adventurous: Roughing it For travelers with no qualms about roughing it a little, two outstanding adventure tour operators are wonderfully inexpensive to use. In Emeryville, California, Adventure Center (800/228-8747 or 510/654-1879, adventurecenter.com) offers over 100 "participatory camping" tours to Africa, and recently its tours have been booked solid. "We've seen grassroots cultural tours to Africa really taking off," says Trevor Saxty, Adventure Center's sales manager. "We focus on giving people an authentic African experience without insulating them too much from the reality of the continent. I always tell prospective clients the truth--if you don't mind getting a little dusty and helping out to pitch a tent, you will have a fantastic time. But I also tell them that Africa is not as unmanageable or difficult as most people think it is." Part of a larger company called Far & Wide, Adventure Center tours attract people of all ages and backgrounds, from bored executives and graduate students to honeymooners and retirees. The top cost of its trips (not including airfare to Africa) is $80 per day, with some as low as $40 a day. All have experienced trip leaders, require members to bring a sleeping bag, include some but not all meals, and involve groups of 8 to 24 people. Carefully note again that airfare to and from the destination is not included in the tour prices. The 4 1/2-week "Tribal Lands of West Africa Tour," which begins in Accra, includes the slave castles of Ghana, the ancient capital of the Ashanti, fetish markets in Togo, the ancient slave-market city of Ouidah in Benin, Hausa villages of Nigeria, and beautiful beach towns in Cameroon. Cost: $1,810. And the 18-day/12-night "Journey to Timbuctoo," with transportation via bus, boat, and dugout canoe, includes stops in Dakar, Djenne, and Dogon villages before a trip down the Niger River to legendary, mysterious Timbuktu itself, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. Cost: $1,500. Africa by bicycle Based in Seattle, the International Bicycle Fund (206/767-0848, ibike.org/ibike) is still another down-to-earth alternative. A nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable tourism and cross-cultural encounters, the IBF has a "Bicycle Africa Program" run by former Peace Corps volunteer David Mozer, who has over 25 years' experience traveling throughout Africa. Described as soft-adventure tours that average about 40 miles a day, the program runs about 12 trips a year to 16 nations. "Most of our clients are well traveled, well read, and rather independent people," says Mozer. "Many have traveled on their own to other exotic places, but when it comes to Africa they think they would be more comfortable in a group." On all of our trips, our goals are to give an overview of the diversity and complexity of African culture, to be environmentally friendly, and to have a positive impact on the local economy. We buy local foods, hire local guides, and use small lodgings." Mozer's clients range in age from 17 to 70, but most are in their 40s and 50s. Most are novice bikers, and the average group size is seven to ten people. The small hotels and private homes where they stay may not be elegant, but they are safe, clean, and African to the core. Breakfasts and dinners are included; airfare is extra. Among a far broader selection, IBF's tours include the 14-day/13-night "Guinea: West Africa People-to-People," which consists of rides through the Futa Jalo mountains and the Guinea coast, and several rural lifestyle and cultural programs with the Manike, Peuhl, and Soussou peoples of the West African coast. Cost: $990. The 13-day/12-night "Uganda: Pearl of Africa" tour includes rides through Entebbe, Kampala, the Rift Valley, Kibale National Forest, rural villages, cultural centers, and visits to museums. Cost: $990. In over 20 years of leading bike tours to the most remote parts of Africa, Mozer claims he has never had a bad experience, nor has he had one bike stolen. "The reaction we get from locals is amazing," he says. "When we ride into small towns, people come running out to meet us. They offer us drinks and bananas and they invite us into their homes. I remember an old man once in a small village who said to me, 'You're not like the other tourists who drive by in those big buses. Seeing you ride into my little village makes my heart big.'" Custom-designed group tours to Africa Finally, a seasoned South African-born travel specialist who offers affordable custom-planned group trips to his home continent: Norman Pieters, the owner of Karell's African Dream Vacations (800/327-0373 or 305/446-7766, karell.com). Based in Coral Gables, Florida, Pieters' company has been selling tours to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana for 18 years. "When it comes to travel to Africa, what I've seen in recent years is that people's travel budgets do not always reflect their financial standing. Many people who can afford to spend a lot prefer not to, and are concerned about getting good value for their money," says Pieters. For a fee of $250, he will custom design a tour and hunt for bargains. But first, he puts his clients to work. "For most people, Africa is a great unknown, and they often view it as a country rather than the enormous continent that it is," says Pieters. "So I give them homework to do. They must read up on the different places and decide what their priorities are. Do they want a cultural or simply a big-game nature experience? Once I know those answers, I can scrimp to put together a terrific but affordable trip." Pieters recently designed a 14-day escorted tour for American teenagers that took in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Sun City, Kruger National Park, Zimbabwe, and Victoria Falls. His price was $3,000 per person and included airfare from the U.S., all transportation in Africa, first-rate hotels, and all meals.

Sooner or later, everyone coming to central New York sees cars with bumper stickers that read: "Ithaca is Gorges." Nature is the highlight of this budget-friendly, bucolic college town, whose vineyards and rolling hills resemble those of northern California. But beyond its natural wonders, this student-filled home of renowned Cornell University is full of cultural vibrancy and excitement. And no, I'm not partial just because I attended college here. An Ithaca view An hour by car from Syracuse, New York, Ithaca occupies the southern tip of 40-mile-long Cayuga Lake-one of New York's celebrated Finger Lakes, shaped by the imprint of the Great Spirit's digits, according to Native American lore. It's hard to break free of the beauty that surrounds you. This is prime waterfall country, and 150 of these natural wonders grace the area. The man-made attractions and the turbulent life of a great university are centered on a high-altitude campus crowning the hill east of Ithaca's modest downtown. Your first stop should be Day Hall, home to the Information and Referral Center (corner of East Ave. and Tower Rd., 607/254-4636, info.cornell.edu), which supplies vital free maps and lists of events. Student-led tours of the spacious 745-acre grounds depart daily at 1 p.m. (and more frequently in spring and summer) from the Day Hall lobby. While you're there, pick up a free Cornell Chronicle for its calendar of mostly gratis shows and seminars (also presented on the Web at news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/Chronicle.html) or access CUinfo (cuinfo.cornell.edu). Still another good event-filled publication distributed hereabouts is the Cornell Daily Sun. From Day Hall, a short stroll leads to the stone clock tower and the Arts Quad-the heart of Cornell. In my undergraduate years, as it is today, the Quad was an outdoor living room, a grassy spot for Frisbees and Hacky Sacks. Watch for bulletin-board notices of various a cappella performances-the all-male Hangovers are a standout. The Quad is a curious mishmash of architectural styles-from neoclassical to modern-and multiple libraries: the Carl A. Kroch Library, built completely underground (home to a signed copy of the Gettysburg Address and various outstanding, free, temporary exhibits); the Romanesque-style Uris Library topped by McGraw Tower-you can climb the 161 steps to view chimesmasters playing three times daily (schedule: 607/255-5350); and the A.D. White Library (within the Uris Library) with its wingback chairs and filigreed catwalks. The promenade behind Uris provides panoramic views of the valley below and is a highly romantic spot for watching the sunset. Across University Avenue from the Johnson Museum (see below), descend the steps and follow the forest trail. The roar of water announces the Suspension Bridge, which sways at a heartstopping elevation of 138 feet and leads to the mostly residential North Campus. If you're lucky enough to be there on a starry Friday night, you'll find that the Fuertes Observatory is open and active between nine and midnight (607/255-3557; free). I once saw Saturn through its powerful microscope, which befits an astronomy department where the late, great Carl Sagan taught. Lectures, screenings, concerts The campus itself is a dynamic scene of free, open lectures ("Politeness in the Iliad"), free exhibits ("Images of Brazilian Workers"), and nominally priced ($2 to $6) screenings of art films and documentaries at Cornell Cinema. Dozens of these weekly opportunities, open to students, visitors, and residents of Ithaca alike, are listed in the Chronicle. There are countless exhibits in associated museums, like the free-of-charge, I.M. Pei-designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, which is located at the corner of Central and University Avenues, just west of the Arts Quad and down Libe Slope (607/255-6464). Open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the museum boasts an extensive collection of Asian antiquities, while also offering stunning panoramas of the Ithaca area from its fifth-floor windows. As for the performing arts, we penny-pinching undergrads enjoyed concerts as colorful as those presented by the Indonesian Gamelan orchestra at little or no cost, thanks to the Department of Music's concert program. Another option is nearby Ithaca College's James J. Whalen Center for Music. We paid less than $10 for important plays and musicals at I.C.'s Dillingham Center for the Performing Arts, and Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. You can enjoy the same opportunities at the same low prices. Off-Campus Cornellians without cars reach downtown in about 45 minutes via the leisurely Cascadilla Gorge Trail (pick it up next to the Schwartz Center), which meanders alongside a chain of cascades. The very center of the city is a pedestrian mall known as the Commons. On weekends, it seems like everyone is there, window-shopping or pausing at boutiques, restaurants, and galleries. The Sagan Planet Walk, both a scale model of the solar system and a memorial to the astronomer, begins at the Commons and ends at the Sciencenter (601 First St., 607/272-0600, sciencenter.org; $3.50 children 3 to 12, $4 seniors, $4.50 adults), where you can also study leafcutter ants or a man-size combination lock. North of town, the Paleontological Research Institution (1259 Trumansburg Rd., 607/273-6623; free), housed in a former orphanage, features one of the largest fossil collections in the nation. Within eight miles of downtown, the topography of three state parks taught me more about the movements of Ice Age glaciers than any geology class could. Take Route 89 to Taughannock Falls (607/387-6739), whose vertical drop of 215 feet surpasses that of Niagara's (only about 170 feet). Cascades froth into a basin at Buttermilk Falls (Route 13 south, 607/273-5761). And don't miss Robert H. Treman State Park (607/273-3440), on Route 327. Although Lower Treman's swimming hole is a warm-weather draw, Upper Treman possesses more grandeur, as footpaths wind across stone bridges and between towering chasms. During the spring thaw, the trails beside the falls are the perfect vantage point for observing the surging waters. (Park admission is $5 to $6 per vehicle.) Finally, Ithaca serves as a base for exploring the Cayuga Wine Trail (cayugawinetrail.com), whose 13 vineyards offer tastings and tours for nominal prices. One winery, Six Mile Creek Vineyard (1551 Slaterville Rd., 607/272-9463), is within the city limits. Pillows and provisions Low-cost lodgings for visitors are abundant within a short drive from the campus. At the foot of CU's West Campus, the no-frills Hillside Inn (518 Stewart Ave., 607/273-6864) offers doubles from $55, while at the Embassy Inn (1083 Dryden Rd., 607/272-3721), queens are $55 and up, and a room with two double beds starts at $59. The Elmshade Guest House (402 S. Albany St., 607/273-1707) is three blocks from the Commons and has doubles with shared bath for $60, with private bath for $70. For units with kitchen facilities, the Grayhaven Motel (657 Elmira Rd., 607/272-6434, grayhavenmotel.com) near Buttermilk Falls charges $38 to $110 per unit from December through March, and $65 to $150 April through November. Cheap eats? They're mainly at the ethnic restaurants of "Collegetown" along College Avenue, Eddy Street, and Dryden Road at the south side of the campus. For a special treat, try the Terrace Restaurant of the Statler Hotel off Campus Road, part of Cornell's renowned School of Hotel Administration. On weeknights, students do the cooking and serving, and entrees are as little as $4.25 to $6.75; reserve at 607/254-2500. Getting there and getting around Helpful Web sites:visitithaca.com, cornell.edu, cayugalake.com, and ithacatimes.com.

Distinguishing between indoors and outdoors is ingrained in Japanese culture, and wearing shoes into someone's house is tantamount to spitting on their living room floor. To avoid getting off on the wrong foot, here are some guidelines. Japanese homes and guesthouses usually have a foyer, called a genkan, specifically meant for changing in and out of shoes. Footwear that slips on and off easily is best. Leave your worn, holey socks at home to spare yourself embarrassment. In the genkan, take off one shoe and step with that foot into the main part of the house. Then remove your other shoe, never letting your bare feet touch the genkan floor. It's polite to align your shoes neatly off to one side, with toes facing outward. Guests are often offered slippers to wear around the house, although they're not required. In Japanese homes, the toilet--which is almost always separate from the bathroom--usually has its own set of slippers. Leave your regular slippers at the door and put on the special toilet ones. Switch slippers again when you exit the bathroom, or you will simultaneously amuse and horrify your hosts. Some homes and restaurants have rooms with traditional rice-straw flooring, known as tatami. Guests should remove their shoes or slippers and sit directly on the floor in tatami-mat rooms, which are furnished with low tables and cushions. Think of tatami as plush, white carpeting that you would only dare touch with stockings or bare feet. Many temples, shrines, historical buildings, and even museums require visitors to take off their shoes before they enter. If you see a basket filled with ugly plastic slippers near the entrance, that's your cue--which for many big-footed Westerners may mean flopping around with their heels hanging off the backs. When you dine out, what you do with your shoes depends largely on the type of restaurant. If there are Western-style tables and chairs, keep your shoes on. At traditional Japanese restaurants with tatami-mat floors, shoes are not allowed. The rules confuse many outsiders, so be patient. When all else fails, just follow the lead of locals or simply ask someone.