A Warm Bed for Only 50 Cents in Netherlands

Sunday is “sleep cheap” night in Dutch youth hostels this winter. The Dutch Youth Hostel Assn. (NJHC) is offering a special bed-and-breakfast deal for about 50 cents at 12 of its facilities. To get the special rate, you must spend the night and dine at the same hostel the night before or after the bargain Sunday, and you must contact the hostel directly.

The hostels offering 50-cent Sundays through March 28 are: Waddencentrum Ameland in Ameland, telephone 011-31-519-555-353; De Grote Beer, Apeldoorn, tel. 011-31-55-355-3118; Alteveer, Arnhem, tel. 011-31-26-442-0114; De Kleine Haar, Gorssel, tel. 011-31-573-431-615; Oer’t Hout, Grou, tel. 011-31-566-621-528; Slot Assumburg, Heemskerk, tel. 011-31-251-232-288; Doevenbree, Nijverdal, tel. 011-31-548-612-252; Terschelling, Terschelling, tel. 011-31-562-442-338; Panorama, Texel, tel. 011-31-222-315-441; City Hostel Rotterdam, tel. 011-31-104-365-763.

City Hostel Stadsdoelen in Amsterdam, tel. 011-31-20-624-6832, offers this special from Feb. 21 to March 14 (without dinner). City Hostel Den Haag, The Hague, tel. 011-31-70-315-7888, will start Jan. 10 and continue to Feb. 28.

For general information on the Dutch Youth Hostel Assn. (NJHC), write to Taco Ruighaver, Prof. Tulpstraat 2, 1018 HA Amsterdam, Holland. For more information on Holland on the Internet visit: https://www.goholland.com.

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Young skiers heading for Europe this winter may want to use the Busabout bus service. Busabout is backpacker-style, hop-on-hop-off coach service. The company’s special Snow Zone route operates every four days until March 28, going from Paris to Heidelberg, Munich, Hofgarten, Innsbruck, Lucerne, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Geneva, Chamonix and Albertville before returning to Paris. Ticket holders can also take a bus between Paris and London (departures every two days) for free.

A two-week Snow Zone ticket is $239, or $215 with a recognized youth or teacher ID card, such as an International Student Identity Card or a Go25 Youth Card. A one-month pass is $289 ($265 for cardholders); an unlimited pass is $349 ($315 for cardholders).

Discount ski packages and three-night packages for Hofgarten, Austria, and Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, can be booked on board the bus. The Hofgarten package (rooms shared by three to four) starts at $75. The three-night Lauterbrunnen package offers four-to-a-room accommodation starting at $60. Both include ski lift transfers.

Busabout services are sold through Council Travel, tel. (800) 2COUNCIL, Internet https://www.counciltravel.com, and STA Travel, tel. (800) 777-0112, Internet https:// www.sta-travel.com. Or contact Busabout at 26/28 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey, England TW9 1SK, tel. 011-44-181-784-2815, fax 011-44-181-784-2824, Internet https://www.busabout.com.

Another Euro-skiing option: Contiki Holidays caters to travelers 18 to 35. Its seven- and 14-day Austrian ski and snowboard packages begin at $355, including transport from London. Call (800) CONTIKI or, on the Web, visit https://www.contiki.com.