THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604050047
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEVE HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
THE FOLKS at Midway Airlines, a relative newcomer to Norfolk International Airport, want you to get to know them better - twice as well, you might say - so they're offering a two-for-one deal.
Better hurry, though. The Spring Companion Sale is good through Wednesday for travel through June 30.
A free companion ticket is being offered to those purchasing a full-fare ticket to any destination served by Midway Airlines - 22 cities along the East Coast as well as Las Vegas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Cancun, Mexico. All flights connect through Raleigh-Durham.
The Durham-based regional carrier flies Fokker 100 turboprops out of Norfolk, Airbus A320 jets out of Raleigh.
The fine print: Ticket for the Spring Companion Sale must be purchased 14 days in advance. A round-trip purchase and a Saturday night stay are required. Seats are limited any may not be available on every flight, every day. There are travel blackout days.
Midway also offers air and hotel packages to Cancun, Las Vegas and destinations in Puerto Rico, Florida and the Northeast.
Info: your local travel agent or (800) 446-4392. CROWNING ADDITIONS
Kings Dominion (I-95, half hour north of Richmond) has reopened with new attractions: a freefall adventure, a state-of-the-art roller coaster and an ice-dancing show. Open weekends (except May 5) through May 26; open daily May 27-Sept. 2. Single-day admission: $28.95 (age 7-54); $19.95 (age 3-6 or under 48 inches tall); seniors 55 and older, $23.95. Season passes available. Info: (804) 876-5000. YOUNG-AT-HEART DEALS
Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels has opened its first resort-style U.S. hostel in Kissimmee, Fla., 5 miles from Disney World. The HI-Orlando/Kissimmee Resort, created out of a former motel, is on 2 1/2 landscaped lakeshore acres. It features a swimming pool and fountain, barbecue/picnic area, paddleboats, volleyball and more. A dorm bed costs $14 daily plus tax for Hostelling International members ($3 more for non-members); several private/family rooms are $38 daily ($47 for non-members). Membership dues are $25 a year per adult, $35 for families. Info: (407) 396-8282.
Nearly 30 hiking, cycling and backpacking packages in the United States, Canada, Europe, Israel and Costa Rica are described in the 1996 Discovery Tours catalog of HI-AYH. Among the trips offered, excluding airfare, are 23 days of cycling in California for $975; 15 days of hiking in Ireland for $810; and nine days in Menaggio, Italy, with all meals and six cooking lessons, for $500. Info: HI-AYH Programs Department, 733 15th St. NW, Suite 840, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 783-6161.
Contiki Holidays offers a one-week European Wonder getaway for 18-to-35-year-olds, from $865 per person/double, includes air, two nights' accommodations in London, Amsterdam and Paris, breakfast, two dinners, free time in each city, round-trip transport between London and the continent via Channel Tunnel, sightseeing. Info: (800) CONTIKI. GETTING NOSY
British Airways is giving first- and business-class passenger adhesive strips designed to stop snoring. Originally developed for the English rugby team, the strips are applied to the bridge of the nose and open nasal passages, increase air flow and improve breathing. GOING NATIVE
The American Indian way of life is the focus of tours by a company called Journeys Into American Indian Territory, which has been offering such trips for nine years. Eight trips are scheduled this year in which participants camp in traditional tepees or houses, study traditional beliefs, eat native foods, and otherwise experience tribal life.
Among topics (and locations) are Indian Country on Horseback (northern Arizona), a Celebration of Native Cultures, Traditions, Music and Dance (Massachusetts), Journey to Bear Butte (South Dakota), and Center of the Sacred Circle: Ancient Beliefs Meet the Modern World (Oklahoma).
Cost of the trips varies widely, ranging from $285 to $1,170, excluding transportation to the program site. Info: Journeys Into American Indian Territory, Box 929, Westhampton Beach, N.Y. 11978; (800) 458-2632. ANOTHER PLACE TO VISIT
I visited Croatia a couple of years ago. Afterward most people asked me not ``How was it?'' but ``Why?''
It was a wonderful experience, that's why. And for that reason I was delighted to see that the U.S. State Department recently revised its consul information sheet on Croatia to eliminate the warning against travel there, updating information on areas of instability, including western Slavonia and the Krajina region. Call (202) 647-5225.
The lifting of the warning was good news for Blue Heart Tours Inc., a Washington company that announced a few weeks earlier that it was introducing tours to Croatia. The 11-day ``Jewels of the Adriatic'' package includes air fare from New York on Czech Air, transportation, hotels, meals, cultural shows, guides and sightseeing in five cities, including Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Split. Prices start at $1,499. Info: (800) 882-0025. CHEERS, ETC.
FYI, the average retail cost of a bottle of beer in 10 major countries, as reported in the March 1996 issue of Business Traveler International:
Japan: $3.12
Singapore: $3.06.
Russia: $2.93.
United Kingdom: $2.16.
Australia: $1.52.
Hong Kong: $1.49.
Switzerland: $1.46.
United States: $1.29.
France: $1.10.
Germany: $0.91. GOLDEN TOUCH
Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts is celebrating its 50th anniversary by giving away two solid gold bars, valued at about $12,500 each, to a pair of lucky winners who register when they stay at any of the hotels in 27 cities in the Americas through Oct. 15. To enter without staying at one of the hotels, pick up an entry form at one of the hotels or send a 3-by-5 card with name, address, evening phone number and the following words: ``Inter-Continental Six Continents Club'' and ``North America'' to Inter-Continental Hotels, 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33131. You must be 21 or older to enter. Info or reservations: (800) 327-0200. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB