Small Group Summer Tours with GAP Adventures, Discounted by a Fifth

Every once in a while, a press release will come across my screen announcing $100, $200, $500 savings off the original price of this or that tour or cruise. I immediately hit delete. Though the discounts sound impressive, inevitably they're for products that were so outrageously and egregiously overpriced to begin with that even with this chunk of change gone, they're still to pricey for any mere mortal to afford.

When a discount is announced for a product that's already well-priced, I sit up and take notice. Case in point: GAP Adventure tours summer sale, which will drop the rates of their already sensibly-priced tours by a good 20% to 25%. Yowza!

As is often the case with these promotions, the travel being discounted is last-minute (you must book and depart before July 31) and alas, the discount is not retroactive. If you've already put money down on one of their early summer, small group adventures, you won't be seeing a refund. (Take solace from the fact that you likely paid less for your airfare than those booking at the last minute will).

Here are some of the deals you might snag:

• Costa Rica: 16 days for $1039: Saturday and Monday departures through June and July. Price includes some meals, a boat tours, excursions (including horseback riding) and 7 different destinations within the country. An 8-day budget tour of Costa Rica is also being discounted to just $399.
• South Africa: A "World Cup" overland tour, 8 days for just $630, departing June 15
• Turkey: An 8-day tour, discounted to $719, Saturday departures in July

Those are just three of the many, many options available.  For full information, go to www.gapadventures.com. The discounted is in bold letters on the front of the site, along with discounts on Arctic sailings.


(Photo: A monkey in Monteverde, Costa Rica taken by Arturo Sotillo)