What's the Deal?

The week's best travel deals around the globe, by land, sea and air.

LAND

• Book a round-trip, direct train ride aboard Amtrak from D.C.'s Union Station to Chicago for travel Sept. 8 to Oct. 2 and pay just $77.40 round trip. Regular fares are $186. Reserve online at www.amtrak.com -- click on "Rail Sale."

• The four-star Miramonte Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, Calif., has a reduced rate of $69 a night through Sept. 30 -- $30 off the regular starting rate. The Tuscan-style, garden-filled resort has 215 guest rooms with terraces. And if you pay for an hour-long spa treatment (from $120), you'll get a voucher for a free night's stay to use by the end of the year. Book by July 14. Info: 800-237-2926, www.miramonteresort.com.

• The 25 percent single supplement is waived on package deals at Mexico's Ceiba del Mar Spa Resort on the Mayan Riviera. A three-night deal that includes an ocean-view room, en-suite breakfast, dinners, spa treatments and airport transfers is $999 (plus 12 percent tax and a 5-percent service charge), for a savings for singles of $340. Rates are good for travel through Dec. 20. Info: 877-545-6221, www.ceibadelmar.com.

SEA

• Book a 2005 European cruise now and save $500 a couple through Globus River Cruises. A 12-day cruise along the Danube from Prague to Budapest -- on the Avalon Waterways-owned MS Artistry, MS Symphony or MS Poetry -- starts at $1,835 per person double with the discount. That includes airfare and hotel stays at the beginning and end of the trip; port charges are $63 more. Book by Sept. 30. Info: 800-221-0090, www.globusjourneys.com.

• Start winter on a warm note with a four-night cruise from Miami to the Bahamas aboard Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. The Dec. 13 sailing starts at $291 per person double, including taxes and fees. That's $20 cheaper than a three-night cruise to the Bahamas around the same time. Info: 866-562-7625, www.royalcaribbean.com.

• Knock $1,000 off select luxury European cruises with Radisson Seven Seas. Regular fares for the Oct. 11 sailing from Istanbul to Venice aboard the Radisson Diamond start at $3,326 per person double (plus port and security fees of $210) and include a two-category room upgrade. Instead of getting the discount, this deal alternately permits you to fly for free from Dulles; priced separately, flights to Istanbul and from Venice are $694 total. Info: 877-505-5370, www.rssc.com.

AIR

• On your next jaunt west, take a free layover in Las Vegas for up to five days by booking through Bestfares.com. Travel by Sept. 14. Sample round-trip prices from BWI: $179 to Albuquerque and $188 to San Francisco. Booked elsewhere, Albuquerque direct costs $222; with the Vegas layover it's $334. San Francisco is $190 direct and $317 with the layover. (Note: Bestfares.com charges a $59.90 annual membership fee.) Info: 800-880-1234, www.bestfares.com.

• Southwest has Internet-only fares of $78 to $198 round trip for travel booked by Aug. 5 and used Aug. 16 through Oct. 29. Sample round-trip fares from BWI, plus taxes and other fees, include $184 to Tulsa and Seattle and $175 to St. Louis. Book at www.iflyswa.com.

• Fly from Los Angeles to Honolulu anytime from August until the end of the year on Hawaiian Air for as low as $279 round trip, including airport taxes and fees. Book by today. Flights from D.C. to L.A. start at $180. Info: 800-367-8058, www.hawaiianair.com.

PACKAGES

• The cost of airfare is cut in half for a companion traveler on a 10-day trip to Egypt through Insight Vacations. The escorted tour of Cairo, Aswan and Luxor includes lodging, a Nile River cruise, English-speaking guides, most meals and transfers. The package is good Nov. 5 through March 31, 2005; land-only price is $1,199 per person double. Insight Vacations charges $850 for one round-trip ticket to Cairo from Dulles; the companion ticket thus is $425. Booked elsewhere, flights start at $1,010. Packages must be booked and paid fully by Aug. 30. Info: 888-680-1241, www.insightvacations.com.

-- Elissa Leibowitz

Prices were verified and available on Thursday afternoon when the Travel section went to press. However, 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.

Bargain of the Week

Spend six nights in Paris with airfare, lodging and breakfast starting at $499 per person double through France Vacations. The package is good Nov. 1 to Dec. 12 and includes round-trip air from Dulles to Paris, six nights at a two-star hotel with a private bath, breakfast and city tax. Airport taxes of around $90 are extra. Priced separately, lodging alone would cost about $443. Info: 800-332-5332, www.francevacations.net.