Motorcoach tours with a difference
Discover the “back roads” of England and Italy, or try a Vermont ski trip or a Deerhurst package
England’s Back Roads Touring Co., offered in Canada for more than 10 years by Burlington-based Dhtour, is all about “getting behind the tourist façade” with smallgroup coach tours carrying a maximum of 16 passengers. In a deal available exclusively through Dhtour, any Back Roads tour booked and paid for by Jan. 31, for travel March through October, comes with a 7.5 per cent discount, worth between $100 per person for the four-day Heart of England itinerary, to $375 per person for the 14-day Italian Indulgence. All the Back Roads products can be seen at www.dhgrouptours.com under Motorcoach Tours and Back Roads. Dhtour can also be reached at 1888-597-3519. PORTER’S VERMONT Porter Airlines, now offering twice weekly service to Burlington, Vt., has teamed up with four Vermont ski resorts to offer special deals for the winter months. At Stowe, ski ’n stay packages include accommodation, lift tickets and discounted rates on car rentals, and lead in at $389 per person for a three night stay. At Jay Peak, packages start at $132 per person, per night, plus kids 14 and under stay and ski free, and there’s child care for kids ages two to seven. Smugglers’ Notch, home to three mountains plus The FunZone indoor family recreation centre, start at $447 per person for three nights and include mountainside lodging, lift tickets and passes for cross-country and snowshoe trails. And Sugarbush packages start at $134 per person, per night, at the Sugarbush Inn. See www.flyporter.com. WINTER WARM-UP AT DEERHURST
Deerhurst Resort’s Winter WarmUp, available through March 8, comes with a $50 dining credit, per night, with package rates starting at $179 per room, based on double occupancy with up to two kids18-andunder staying for free. The Huntsville resort is known for its long list of winter activities, from skating and cross-country skiing (with downhill skiing facilities nearby), to snowshoeing, all available with the Winter Warm-up deal for two adults and up to three kids. See www.deerhurstresort.com. BEST BUY OF THE WEEK Sunquest has extended its Mediterranean promotion, offering free airfare to second passengers when the first one books a Med cruise, with air, by Jan.11, for travel Jan. 28 - May 31. The second passenger pays for just the cruise (and any postcruise land component, if applicable). With this deal, Sunquest’s 15day Fantastic Mediterranean Odyssey starts at $2,199 for the first passenger and $1,449 for the second. See www.sunquest.ca. Kathryn Folliott is a Toronto-based freelance writer. Prices quoted are subject to change and availability.