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This week's travel deals

By Carol Sottili | The Washington Post

4:40 PM EDT, July 7, 2008

Biking in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The week's best travel bargains around the globe:

KICK BACK IN EUROPE

SEE PARIS AND SAVE: Save $600 per couple on a six-night trip to Paris with Club ABC Tours, departing Sept. 13. Price is now $1,670 per person double, including taxes and membership fee. Deal includes round-trip air from New York's JFK, accommodations at the centrally located four-star Hotel de Castiglione (within easy walking distance of the Champs-Elysees), buffet breakfasts and hotel transfers. Priced separately, package would cost at least $2,226. Info: 888-868-7722, www.clubabc.com.

SAIL THE ROMANTIC RHINE: Avalon Waterways is offering $250-per-couple discounts on its 2009 cruises. Prices vary. For example, an eight-night Romantic Rhine cruise between Basel, Switzerland, and Amsterdam now starts at $1,889 per person double (plus $98 port charges) for the Nov. 7 departure; cruise includes guided sightseeing in Strasbourg, France, and in Germany's Koblenz, Cologne and Heidelberg. The cruise line, which offers itineraries in China, Egypt, the Galapagos and throughout Europe, also has $600-per-couple discounts on air-inclusive 2009 cruises. Book by Aug. 31. Info: 877-380-1535, www.avalonwaterways.com.

SEE THE SIGHTS IN ROME: Viator.com has two-for-one deals for several popular day tours in Rome. Options include the 3 1/2-hour Wine Tasting Tour, offered on Mondays and Thursdays, now $93 for two; the four-hour Caravaggio Walking Tour, offered Tuesdays and Fridays, $77 for two; the three-hour Capitoline Museums and Origins of Rome Walking Tour on Sundays and Thursdays, $62 for two; and the three-hour Baroque Walking Tour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, $62 for two. Travel and purchase by July 31. Info: 866-648-5873, www.viator.com.

MORE GREAT DEALS FROM ALL OVER

WONDERS OF THE MIDDLE EAST: Gate 1 Travel is offering a discount of $200 per person on a nine-night Jordan and Egypt package. Price now starts at $2,199 per person double (plus $87 taxes) for select January-March departures. Deal includes flights from New York to Amman, Jordan, with return from Cairo; flight from Amman to Cairo; two nights' hotel in Amman; one night of lodging in Petra, Jordan; three nights' lodging in Cairo; three-night Nile River cruise aboard Le Serenade; 17 meals; transfers; and tour guide. Priced separately, air and hotels alone would cost about the same. Info: 800-682-3333, www.gate1travel.com.

CRUISE THE YANGTZE: Victoria Cruises is offering 50 percent discounts on its Yangtze River cruises during the Beijing Summer Olympics, Aug. 8-24. Price now starts at $338 per person double, including taxes, for a three-night cruise aboard the Victoria Rose from Chongqing to Yichang, departing Aug. 13; shore excursions are an extra $80 per person. Fourteen other three- and four-night departures are also included in the half-off promotion, with prices ranging from $389 to $438 per person double. To book, call 800-348-8084. Cruise info: www.victoriacruises.com.

GET LUCKY IN THE CARIBBEAN: Montpelier Plantation, an 18-room, family-owned resort on the Caribbean island of Nevis, is offering a Lucky 8s package to celebrate 8/8/2008. The $2,088-per-couple deal includes eight nights' lodging for the price of six, eight bottles of house wine, 80 minutes of massages, hotel taxes and service fees, a savings of more than $1,000. Available July 8-Aug. 15. Info: 869-469-3462, www.montpeliernevis.com.

TAKE A BREAK IN THE POCONOS: Split Rock Resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains has a Summertime Fun package for Sunday-Thursday stays through Aug. 28. Price starts at $393 per night for a family of four, including resort fee and taxes. The deal includes accommodations, beach passes, an activity program and daily breakfast and dinner. Also, each person gets a movie pass, a mini-golf pass, a bowling pass and a recreation pass. Package also includes a pizza lunch. Priced separately, package would cost at least $149 more per night. Info: 800-255-7625, www.splitrockresort.com.

NOTE: Deals sell out quickly and are not guaranteed to be available. Restrictions such as day of travel, blackout dates and advance-purchase requirements sometimes apply.