The 1994 catalog of low-cost Discovery Tours of North America and Europe is now available from Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, the not-for-profit U.S. arm of the International Youth Hostel Federation. Among the offerings: a nine-day backpacking trip around Italy’s northern lakes and mountains between Como and Lugano (cost of $400 includes all meals and lodging in hostels and mountain huts); hiking and traveling by van through Denali National Park and the lesser known Wrangell St. Elias-the largest national park in the U.S.-and other Alaskan sites (21 days for $1,525, including all meals, lodging in hostels and camping); a week of bicycling northern England ($800) or New York’s Finger Lakes ($450). Air fare or other transport to or from trip starting points, passports, excess baggage charges and HI-AYH membership ($10 for youth 17 and under, $25 ages 18-54, $15 age 55 and over) are not included. For the free catalog, write: Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, Department 860, 733 15th St. NW, (no.)840, Washington, D.C. 20005; or call 202-783-6161.
– Worldtek Travel has introduced the National Collegiate Travel Club, enabling college students and their parents to obtain discounts on American Airlines, Hertz, Alamo Rent-A-Car, MCI Communications, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and People’s Bank. The club enables members to book available seats on American Airlines or American Eagle flights within 72 hours of departure between campus and home at excursion-fare rates; obtain 10 percent discounts on rental cars from Hertz and Alamo; get half-price rates at more than 2,500 hotels; and more. Cost of membership is $50 a year; members must be a full-time student. Call 800-440-6282.
– Special student airfares are available through Campus Connections, a national travel service that taps into databases for airline youth rates: special discounts on routes heavily traveled by students but underutilized by most travel agents. Available fares last month included Charlotte, N.C. to Boston one-way for $59; Cleveland to Chicago for $47 one-way; and Houston to New Orleans for $66. Many such fares require no Saturday night stay or advance purchase. Call 800-428-3235.
– The International Student Travel Card for 1994 includes for the first time: 10 to 30 percent discounts on standard rates at all Day Inns, Ramada Inns and Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodges in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; a 5 percent discount on international calls made through AT&T’s USA Direct Service all year; 5 percent off daily and weekly rates on Alamo Rent-A-Cars; a $10 rebate to parents of cardholders when they wire money through American Express MoneyGram from the U.S. to any of 65 countries. These benefits are in addition to access to special student air fares; discounts on admissions to museums and sightseeing worldwide; sickness and health insurance and more. Introduced by the non-profit Council on International Educational Exchange in 1968, the identity cards are available at more than 400 issuing offices on U.S. campuses, or at any Council Travel office. Call 800-GET-AN-ID.
Czech video, visits
Heritage Tours leads small groups throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia exclusively, with the assistance of Ivan Dubovicky, a professor of folklore at Charles University in Prague. Their Spring Heritage tour, April 25-May 9, starts off in Prague and takes in the East Bohemia Maypole Festival, Telc, Trebon, Hluboka Chateau, Blatna Castle, the Dvorak Museum and more. The cost of $2,195 per person, double occupancy, includes roundtrip air fare Chicago to Prague, lodging, two meals daily, motorcoach ground transport, sightseeing admissions and taxes. For those of Czech or Slovak extraction, add-ons are available to take travelers to their ancestral villages. Call 800-677-2227; ask for Marilyn at Heritage Tours.
A new video offers both a scenic tour and practical information on Prague. The scene moves from a skyline dotted with spires to the Basilica of St. George, Prazsky Castle and the National Gallery. The 13th Century Jewish synagogue, the shops of Golden Lane in the old town are explored; the voiceover provides historical background on the city. Hotels in a variety of price ranges are rated, plus there’s info on bus tours, weather and phone numbers such as the U.S. Embassy. The 38-minute tape costs $19.95 and is available from AB Productions, 9903 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 189, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212; call 310-391-1074.
Wright stuff
Two-hour “Night Lights on the Desert” tours of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and school at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz., will take place every Wednesday night in March and April beginning at 7 p.m. Built in the 1930s and expanded and modified until his death in 1959, Wright’s structure is examined in more depth than in the daily one-hour tours, as visitors can see more interior spaces, and a look at the sun cottage, the Wrights’ first desert residence. Desserts are served after the tour, which costs $25 per person. Follow the signs in northeast Scottsdale to Taliesin West, near 114th Street and Cactus Road. Call 602-860-2700.
Enchanted Italy
Chicago watercolorist James Wisnowski will accompany a nearly two-week watercolor workshop on the Italian Riviera and the medieval villa near Portofino that was the site of much of the recent film “Enchanted April.” Instruction is designed for all levels, and students will be working on the grounds of the villa, as well as locations such as Genoa and the five seaside towns of the Cinque Terre. The April 18-27 trip costs $2,600 including air fare from Chicago to Milan, lodging at the 4-star Hotel Park Suisse in Santa Margherita, all ground transport, all breakfasts, six dinners, painting instruction, and a tour of Milan. The workshop is open to students of all levels. Call 312-332-7027 or call Wisnowski at 312-327-5111.
German name game
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 60 million Americans have German forebears, and City Bridges, or “Staedte Bruecke,” of Hamburg, Germany, is organizing meetings in American cities this summer and fall in order for Americans of German descent to meet Germans with the same family name. The non-profit association is seeking interested Americans to be matched with their German namesakes, who will be visiting Chicago and other cities in Illinois from Aug. 10-15. Write: Staedte Bruecke/City Bridges, P.O. Box 760 444, 22054 Hamburg, Germany.
