Add SmarTours to the List of Budget Champions that Offer Exotic, Air-Included Tours

When I look nowadays for air-and-land bargains, I usually go to Gate 1 Travel ( www.gate1travel.com ), Virgin Vacations ( www.virgin-vacations.com ), Go-today.com ( www.go-today.com ), Travel Themes And Dreams ( www.travelthemesanddreams.com ), Vacmart ( www.vacmart.com ), and a very few others -- because these are the companies attempting to make faraway travel accessible to the cost-conscious tourist. I am now adding to that list the several-year-old SmarTours (tel. 800/337-7773; www.smartours.com ), which is up there with the best of them. Its latest budget-priced wonder is a one-week, air-and-land package to India for only $1,199 per person (for the departures of September 1 and September 8) and $1,299 for the departure of September 22.

For those extremely modest sum (because we're talking India, remember), you receive round-trip air transportation between either New York or Chicago (yes, Chicago!) and New Delhi, six nights of accommodations in New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, with full buffet breakfast daily, all transfers, a farewell dinner, and escorted sightseeing (including all entrance fees) to all the iconic sights of that exotic and important nation: the Gandhi Memorial, Red Fort, Pink City, Amber Fort, and, of course, the Taj Mahal.

The $1,199 and $1,299 price is available only for bookings made prior to June 30 (and full payment is expected long before departure). Give it a thought.