Travels With Jane

International air sale on AA

If you live in South Florida and you travel internationally, you're often on American, which operates about 65 percent of the flights that leave from MIA. (At the very least, you always check their rates against those on other airlines!)

AA just announced a fare sale to all points international. You must book by March 10 and begin travel by mid-May (exact dates vary by destination.)

We don't guarantee these are the cheapest fares out there...for instance, Air France is offering a roundtrip fare to Paris that's the same as the AA fare. But if you've got the Caribbean, Europe and places beyond on  your dance card in the next couple of months, you'll want to check this out.

Today's deal: Hotels

BookIt.com has announced a megasale on resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica. They're billing it as a $69 sale, which means you pay $69 per person per night, double occupancy, on the included all-inclusive resorts. You must book by 11:59 p.m. Saturday. 

New York City deals

No. 1 request from South Florida readers:  How can I get a deal on a hotel in New York?

Here are two.

• Quikbook has a sale through Friday, with New York hotels starting around $105 per night, depending on dates of travel. Book before 5 p.m. Feb. 27.
• The Affinia Gardens hotel on East 64th Street is offering a Florida-resident special of $25 off, room upgrade if available and daily breakfast. You must stay at least three nights; value through Sept. 7. Use booking code FLA.

Have you rented a vacation home?

Hi. I"m looking for travelers who have rented homes or condos for vacation in recent years for a story I'm writing. If you've done this, or know someone who has, please be in touch! You can just post a comment here and I'll e-mail you.

Splurge? Why not

Like many of you, The Husband and I are poised in a balancing act. On the one hand, these are uncertain times, and spending money on nonessentials seems unwise. The counter argument: As we see friends grow older and ill, we are glomming onto the unhappy realization that health doesn't last forever. 

So we're pondering a splurge (translation, some fabulous trip.) And if you look at this from a standpoint of incredible experiences for right prices, well, there's no better time.

Here are two luxury cruise deals that have caught my attention:

• Silversea Cruises, known for its small ships, great service and cuisine, is offering 50 percent off on many of its 2009 voyages plus incentives like reduced airfare and $1,000 onboard spending credits. This means you could go snag a nine-day voyage in December from Mombasa to Mahe for $3,247 per person.
• The Yachts of Seabourn, a luxury firm also with a great reputation, has sweetened its offerings to 65 percent off regular fares, with a seven-day Mediterranean voyage starting at $2,999.

If that's not enough, South African Airways has extended its offer of a nine-day luxury package including economy air from New York, a safari and visit to Cape Town for $1,799 per person.

I'm not sure what we'll choose; we can't do it all. But we'd sure like to.

Do you Twitter?

I've just started. You can follow me as a I wander and ponder.

Are you a shutterbug? Enter our photo contest

Hi. It's that time of year again...launch of the Miami Herald Reader Travel Photo Contest. This year's prize is an Azamara cruise in Europe for two, plus airfare! (FYI, to enter you have to live in South Florida and you can't make the majority of your living as a photographer.)

Deals: Get away soon

Florida and Caribbean hotels are crying about low occupancies -- but if you look at the rates they're charging, you'll know why visitors are fewer than in years past. $400 plus per night for a hotel room? Not this year, guys.

Hotels that are charging reasonable rates are doing better. At the Courtyard by Marriott on Miami Beach, a nicely refurbed Art Deco hotel, the rate is $199 at a hotel that is right on the sand -- and this weekend, yes, they're full.

The good news is that more and more hotels are catching on and  offering rates and packages for locals that actually make sense. Check these out:

Florida: The Fontainebleau has been offering a $199 mid-week, $299 weekend rate for local residents all season. Now comes the Jupiter Beach Resort, which has a $249 rate for South Floridians that includes daily breakfast, a $25 resort credit, 25 percent off spa services and a self-guided tour of the Jupiter Lighthouse.

Bahamas: At the Four Seasons in Great Exuma, package minimums have dropped to two days in most cases and include a $100 per night resort credit -- which could pretty much wipe out your food costs. Winter rates are still high, but summer rates start at $275. (If you've never been to Great Exuma, it's a treat: uncrowded beaches, funky laid-back beer-and-Q scene at the Chat n' Chill, and the breezy luxury of a Four Seasons.)

Latin America: Here's one more that isn't so local, but it has to be booked soon. LAN Airlines is offering a roundtrip fare of $599 from Miami to Argentina, Chile and Peru and Miami to Peru for $298 through June 15. Children 12 and under travel free to Peru. Fares vary by date and availability; taxes are extra. Book by Feb. 28 for travel through June 15.

Laid off? Ask for a refund

At least if you're booked on JetBlue. The airline has announced it will offer refunds to passengers who booked trips and then found out they've been laid off.

Here's the deal: If you book a flight between Feb. 1 and June 1, and are laid off after Feb. 17, you're probably eligible. But you've got to notify JetBlue at least two weeks before travel...in writing, according to the Associated Press. 

If you have been laid off, it pays to ask about refund policies. Some other travel suppliers have announced similar policies.  

Are Jews safe abroad?

Not everywhere, says a well-traveled international lawyer -- and Jew -- who visited my office the other day.

Venezuela, France -- even Paris, the old "Eastern'' sections of Germany and Scandanavia are areas where, he says, Jews face anti-Semitism that can be downright unsafe. In contradiction to what you might expect, he says that safety is rarely an issue for Jews in Muslim countries or in western and southern Germany. 

I'll be following up with him in the weeks to come for an indepth story. But meanwhile, I'd like to get your take. Do you think these and other locations are unsafe for Jewish visitors? Have you, or someone you know, had experiences, positive or negative, based on religion or ethnicity?

Please share your experiences below, and ask your friends to do so. I may be in touch as part of my story research.