Tour Prices for Spring, Summer Guaranteed

Responding to many mature travelers’ concerns over the value of the American dollar overseas and the practice of paying a supplement on announced tour prices, Interhostel has announced it will guarantee its published tour prices for spring and summer.

Interhostel, an international study/travel program for adults over 50, in its eighth year, said any decline in the dollar against European currencies will not affect its program costs, which are all-inclusive with air fares, lodging and meals.

The price of Interhostel’s spring and summer tours remain at $1,095 or $1,195 for a two-week program. The variation in price depends on location. Prices are from New York and do not include transportation from Los Angeles.

Upcoming programs include two-week trips to Lisbon, Bamberg (West Germany) and Munich; Athens; Toledo, Spain; Stockholm and Jonikoping, Denmark; Stockholm; Lugano, Switzerland; Bristol, England; Innsbruck, Austria; Orleans, France, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Interhostel groups share a love of learning and exploration of the culture and history of a country or area in a deeper, more personal way than the ordinary tour offers.

Small Groups

Each Interhostel group attends seminars, lectures and field trips to learn more about the traditions, motivations, beliefs and artistic and scientific contributions of the various countries and their people.

Accommodations and meals are often in dormitory-style rooms and college dining facilities within Europe. Group sizes are kept small to promote friendships and personal interaction between participants and their foreign contemporaries.

Many popular destinations sell out early.

For more information and a free catalogue, write to Interhostel, University of New Hampshire, 6 Garrison Ave., Durham, N.H. 03824, or call (603) 862-1147 before 1 p.m. Pacific time.

Corliss Tours, which last year introduced its hub-and-spoke concept, Stay-Put Tours, reports a huge success with many repeat bookings.

The idea of the tour is to choose a single destination as the hub city, staying in the same centrally located hotel for seven nights, and branching out into the nearby area on day trips. Operated at a more leisurely pace than the standard motor-coach tour, passengers need to pack and unpack only once.

Each Stay-Put Tour has at least one full day of leisure. All tours are escorted by a Corliss Tours professional and all begin on a Saturday and end the following Saturday so that two or more tours can be combined to offer a two-, three- or four-week vacation.

Tours are being repeated to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Toronto and Montreal. New this year are the destinations of Orlando, Fla., and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Tour prices are $699 to $935 per person, double occupancy, depending on destination. Rates include hotel accommodations for seven nights, some special meals, comprehensive sightseeing with admissions and local guides at some points of interest and baggage handling. For more information and a brochure, contact Corliss Tours, 696 W. Foothill Blvd., Monrovia, Calif. 91016, phone (818) 359-5358 or (800) 448-5717.

Senior Travel Center in San Marcos is offering a Bridge Tournament at Sea on April 16 on the Bermuda Star.

Leaving from San Diego, the seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise visits Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

Tour price begins at $985 per person and includes all cruise activities, plus plenty of bridge, Dan Regan, senior travel center manager, says. For more information, call (619) 489-1705.

Air/rail tours of the Rockies, designed with the mature traveler in mind, are set for June 8-13 and Sept. 7-12 by Los Coyotes Travel of Buena Park.

Priced at $599 per person, double occupancy, the six-day tours include air fare from Los Angeles to Denver and return from Salt Lake City. In addition to sightseeing in both cities, there is the dramatic 571-mile daylight ride between the two cities on Amtrak’s California Zephyr. For more information, call (714) 670-1184 or (800) 346-4317.

Grand Circle Travel, which bills itself as the nation’s leading direct marketer of travel for people over 50, is sponsoring get-togethers to introduce its 1988 Swiss vacations: Feb. 16--San Diego, Radisson Hotel, 1433 Camino Del Rio, 10 a.m. to noon; Feb. 17--Long Beach, Holiday Inn, Long Beach Airport, 2640 Lakewood Blvd., 10 a.m. to noon; Feb. 18--Sherman Oaks, Valley Hilton, 15433 Ventura Blvd., 10 a.m. to noon. Refreshments, door prizes, film on Switzerland and travel catalogues. For more information, call toll-free (800) 248-3737.

More than 1 million American GIs were involved in the Battle of the Bulge, the horrendous conflict against the Nazis that immortalized dozens of little villages such as Bucholz Woods, Elsenborn Ridge, Stavelot, Trois Ponts, Malmedy, Bastogne, Clervaux, St. Vith and others.

In December, a large contingent of ex-GIs who fought in this epic battle will return to be honored by two independent citizen associations in Luxembourg and Belgium. The public is invited to join this special escorted tour. It figures to be a memorable trip, rekindling thoughts of 1944 when snow and bitter cold exacted terrible casualties among the American Forces.

The tour will leave from New York on Dec. 4 and return Dec. 11 at a cost of $1,249 per person. A detailed descriptive brochure is available by calling (800) 523-7287 or (215) 254-6600, or by writing to Galaxy Tours, P.O. Box 234, Wayne, Pa. 19087.