Austria Travel Guide

Before you start your search for the lowest airfare, you may want to consider booking your flight as part of a travel package. Package tours are not the same thing as escorted tours. Package tours are simply a way to buy the airfare, accommodations, and other elements of your trip (such as car rentals, airport transfers, and sometimes even activities) at the same time and often at discounted prices -- kind of like one-stop shopping. Packages are sold in bulk to tour operators -- who resell them to the public at a cost that usually undercuts standard rates.

One good source of package deals is the airlines themselves.

British Airways' Holidays (tel. 800/AIRWAYS; www.britishairways.com) offerings tend to incorporate the scenery and architecture of Austria with similar attractions across the border in Germany and Switzerland. BA can arrange a stopover in London en route for an additional fee, and allows extra time in either Vienna or Zurich before or after any tour for no additional charge.

Other attractive options are provided by American Express Travel (tel. 800/297-2977; www.americanexpress.com), and an unusual, upscale (and very expensive) tour operator, Abercrombie and Kent (tel. 800/554-7016; www.abercrombiekent.com), known for its carriage-trade rail excursions through eastern Europe and the Swiss and Austrian Alps.

The oldest travel agency in Britain, Cox & Kings, Gordon House, 10 Greencoat Place, London SW1P 1PH (tel. 020/7873-5000; www.coxandkings.co.uk), specializes in unusual, if pricey, holidays. Offerings in Austria include organized tours through the country's many regions of natural beauty and tours of historic or aesthetic interest. Also available are opera tours to Salzburg and Vienna.

Other companies featuring offbeat adventure travel include HF Holidays, Imperial House, Edgware Road, Colindale, London NW9 5AL (tel. 020/8905-9558; www.hfholidays.co.uk). It offers a range of 1- to 2-week packages to Austria. Sherpa Expeditions, 131 A Heston Rd., Hounslow, Middlesex TW5 0RF (tel. 020/8577-2717; www.sherpaexpeditions.com), offers treks through off-the-beaten-track regions of Europe, especially the Alps.

The best deals for families are often package tours put together by some of the giants of the British travel industry. Well positioned among them is Thomson's Holiday Tours. Through its cost-conscious subsidiary, Skytours, Hampstead Road, Greater London House, London NW1 7SD (tel. 0870/165-0079; www.thomson-holidays.com), offers land, rail, self-driving, and air packages to continental Europe. To qualify, clients must book airfare and hotel accommodations lasting 2 weeks or more. Book as far in advance as possible.

Travel packages are also listed in the travel section of your local Sunday newspaper. Or check ads in the national travel magazines such as Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, and Condé Nast Traveler.

Package tours can vary by leaps and bounds. Some offer a better class of hotels than others. Some offer the same hotels for lower prices. Some offer flights on scheduled airlines, while others book charters. Some limit your choice of accommodations and travel days. You are often required to make a large payment upfront. On the plus side, packages can save you money, offering group prices but allowing for independent travel. Some even let you add on a few guided excursions or escorted day trips (also at prices lower than if you booked them yourself) without booking an entirely escorted tour.

Before you invest in a package tour, get some answers. Ask about the accommodations choices and prices for each. Then look up the hotels' reviews in a Frommer's guide and check their rates online for your specific dates of travel online. You'll also want to find out what type of room you get. If you need a certain type of room, ask for it; don't take whatever is thrown your way. Request a nonsmoking room, a quiet room, a room with a view, or whatever you fancy.

Finally, look for hidden expenses. Ask whether airport departure fees and taxes, for example, are included in the total cost.