The average cost of a hotel room in Manhattan typically tops $200, which is why a corporate apartment can turn out to be a bargain, especially for long-term visitors and families. A Hospitality Company maintains 150 properties around the city with rates starting at $99. On East 49th Street in Midtown, AHC has opened a “bed & breakfast building” with 36 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Rates range from $175-$275, based on double occupancy. Look inside the refrigerator for the makings of a continental breakfast. Other bonuses: Local calls are free and the tax rate for B&Bs is 8 1/4 percent, compared with 13 1/4 percent at hotels. There’s no sales tax on stays of seven nights or more. Maid service is extra. (800-987-1235 or at www.hospitalitycompany.com)
FOR WOMEN
Susan Eckert was at the forefront of the women-only travel trend when she founded Rainbow Adventures in Evanston 17 years ago. She relocated to Montana in 1994 and recently renamed the company AdventureWomen. She runs about 25 trips a year for women over 30, developing itineraries based on “my fantasies, the places I want to go.” One trip that sounds particularly intriguing is a horseback riding trek across the lava fields of Iceland Aug. 6-16. Women must be experienced in English trail riding for this journey, which involves five to eight hours a day of saddle time. Accommodations are in mountain huts and farm guest houses. The package price of $3,895 includes all meals and airfare from Boston to Reykjavik. (800-804-8686 or at www.adventurewomen.com) . . . A new entry in the women-only travel market is Senior Women’s Travel, geared to women 50 and up who want to explore the food, shopping and culture of a place in groups or 10 or less. “Even if you’ve been to Paris or London or Venice a hundred times, I have a different view of it,” says founder Mary Ann Zimmerman, a widow who found that traveling solo presented distinct disadvantages. She’s planning fall tours to Paris, London and Venice that include cooking classes and her treasured shopping haunts, like the shop on Rue St. Honore in Paris that sells fabulous handbags for $50. Dates aren’t set yet and prices aren’t firm, but for about $2,500-$2,900 you’ll get seven nights of hotels, admissions and most meals, but not air fare. (212-838-4740)
ROAD EUROPE
Planning a leisurely visit to Europe this year? Renault Eurodrive offers tax-free car rentals to travelers leasing a car for 17 days to six months. Drivers are treated to a new Renault, unlimited mileage and full insurance. Rates for a Renault Twingo — a car that truly qualifies as cute — picked up and returned in France start at $499 for 17 days. Pay with a MasterCard and get up to five extra days free. (800-221-1052)
PHILLY FREE
Philadelphia brings out the “free” in freedom during Welcome America!, its Fourth of July celebration. More than 50 free events are scheduled between June 25 and July 4, including five displays of fireworks, concerts and outdoor screenings of movies with a Philadelphia connection. (800-770-5883)
Tour prices generally are per person, based on double occupancy.
