These are just a few of the 18 ideas for summer vacations for well under $800 in the latest issue of the TravelSmart newsletter.

For vacationing in your own city or a nearby urban center, the newsletter points out that many hotels have lower weekend rates when business travelers are gone, often with amenities like free breakfast or passes to local attractions. Just outside Chicago, for example, TravelSmart recommends the Carleton of Oak Park - at 1110 Pleasant St., which has 120 spacious old-fashioned rooms (all with kitchens) starting at $138, and 25 motor lodge rooms starting at $113. A free shuttle takes you to Oak Park attractions, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and Hemingway’s birthplace, or take the fast commuter train to downtown Chicago.

Another idea: Join a day trip run by a local cultural institution. Many libraries, museums, historic societies and houses of worship offer reasonably priced day-long bus trips to interesting historic sites or parks.

Some of TravelSmart’s ideas are tips, such as traveling in a group. You may be able to get a hotel discount for booking as few as five to 10 rooms for relatives and friends. Some hotels offer great deals for families, like Holiday Inn’s “Kids Eat Free” deal in which children 12 and under can order free from a kids’ menu with a paying adult, and the “Escape! Family Time Package” at certain Marriotts, which provide free meals for kids under 12, along with a free in-room pizza party.

The newsletter also says that it’s usually cheaper to stay in a B&B than a hotel, and that many inns are offering free gas or discounts through BedandBreakfast.com’s “Tanks A Lot” program.

Packages are also always cheaper than booking components of a trip individually. Look for deals from airlines and travel agents that include air, hotel, a rental car and possibly tickets to a theme park or other attraction.

Amtrak also has rail-and-hotel packages, according to TravelSmart.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) - Fewer hotels are offering free breakfasts, more are charging for late cancellation, and more are offering free in-room wireless Internet access. Ironically, though, the more you pay for your room, the less likely you are to get free Wi-Fi.

Those are some of the findings from a recent survey of 10,000 hotels conducted by Smith Travel Research for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Wireless Internet access is being offered by 91 percent of hotels, up 35 percent from four years ago, according to the survey.

Only 15 percent of hotels charge for Internet access, down from 18 percent in 2006 and 22 percent in 2004. But charges for Internet access were most common at more expensive properties, with three-fourths of luxury hotels and 91 percent of “upper upscale” hotels charging guests to access the Internet from their rooms.

Thirty-five percent of the hotels that responded to the survey also offer iPod docking stations in their rooms, and most of these hotels were also luxury and “upper upscale” properties.

Nearly three-fourths offer a computer in the lobby for guest use, though economy hotels are least likely to offer this service.

Fifty-nine percent offer a complimentary breakfast, down 9 percentage points from 2006.

47 percent have indoor swimming pools, and 58 percent have outdoor swimming pools.

43 percent said they have flat-screen TVs in guest rooms, and 57 percent said they upgraded bedding packages in the past year. Eighty-two percent offer a refrigerator in rooms, up from 68 percent in 2006.

The number of hotels offering vegetarian menus rose to 48 percent, up 16 percentage points, while the number offering “healthy menu” options rose to 66 percent, up 15 points.

Nearly a fourth of hotels participating in the survey said they offer “allergy-free rooms,” and about two-thirds said they use energy-efficient lighting. Nearly 40 percent said all of their rooms are nonsmoking.

In terms of rates, 67 percent of respondents offer weekend special rates, up 8 percentage points from 2006, while the percentage that charge for late cancellation rose 8 percentage points to 82 percent. Fifty-six percent said their properties allow pets, but 61 percent charge extra for the service. Free newspaper delivery to guest rooms dropped to 70 percent from 83 percent in 2006.

The survey is conducted every two years. More than 45,000 hotels throughout the U.S. were invited to participate in the survey by e-mail or fax. More than 10,000, or 23 percent, responded, according to Smith Travel Research and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

You can watch them on your computer or download to a Web-enabled phone or video iPod. Many are available for free at Apple’s iTunes store. Click on podcasts and then on the category “Society & Culture.” Scroll down the category list on the left to further limit your choices to the “Places & Travel” subcategory.

Before you download a show, look for the little icon of a TV set next to the name to figure out whether it’s a video or an audio-only podcast.

You’ll find everything from official videocasts from Disneyland about new attractions at the California theme park, to programs from travel guru Rick Steves with titles like “Hiking the Cinque Terre” and “Highlights of Prague.”

Other shows include two travel series from ON Networks. “Beautiful Places” offers profiles of national parks like Yosemite in California, Arches in Utah and Rocky Mountain in Colorado. “City by City” is a video travel guide to urban sightseeing, shopping, restaurants and accommodations, with the first season focusing on European cities: Dublin, Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague, Madrid, Milan, Vienna, Berlin and Zurich.

Another travel video offering on iTunes is the Alaska HDTV series. One episode, called “SanitySaver,” has no narration. It’s just footage of scenes like a mother and baby bear by the water, a small boat making its way through choppy steel-gray seas, and a bird’s-eye view of a glacier, showing the irregular ice-blue spikes found on the surface. Even if you can’t swing a trip to 49th state, spending a few minutes daydreaming about the place while watching the video might just be the next best thing to being there.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - If you’re traveling in Vermont this summer, you might want to register for a gas-giveaway contest.

The state is giving away $100 gas cards each week in hopes of encouraging people to visit.

The summer promotion, dubbed “Vermont Fuels Your Vacation,” runs through Sept. 30. The cards are redeemable at participating gas stations.

Established in 2006, the promotion drew an average of 240 entries per week last summer. Several Vermont inns and lodging properties are also offering fuel-saving packages and gas card promotions in hopes of drumming up summer business.

This summer we’re giving you vacation options that are closer to home. We’re calling them “Midwest quick trips.” We’ve got Columbia, Mo., covered, and this Sunday we’ll be going to Kansas City and Independence, Mo.  

I’ll keep our other destinations a secret for now.

Where do you go for your “Midwest quick trip?” 

We’re going there to visit my mother-in-law later in the week.

We’re planning on going to Corkscrew Swamp (my husband loves swamps) and possibly Everglades City, (did I mention my husband really loves swamps?) but after that, the activity list is up for grabs.

The seventh annual Spring Alpaca Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 8, at Starlight Ranch, just south of Hannibal on Highway 61.
The festival is put on by five alpaca farms from Missouri. The festival is free, but promoters ask that visitors RSVP by calling 1-417-887-1245, or e-mailing info@ozarkalpacas.com.
Alpacas are relatives of llamas and produce a luxurious fleece that is used to produce textile products such as sweaters and scarves.
The festival will include seminars, food and music, as well as more than 80 alpacas owned by the state’s breeders.

But if you’re looking to get further away, head south to Nashville.
TENNESSEE
Opry bargains
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville is offering bargains for families who want to vacation closer to home.
One adult and one child, 17 and under, can play nine holes of golf together at the resort’s course for $50. The program is available from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 31.
The “family-fun package” starts at $294 a person, and includes room, General Jackson Showboat featuring the Peking Acrobats and a Grand Ole Opry performance.
Through Aug. 29, free pool parties will be held every Friday night featuring live music from the resort’s Poolapalooza Concert Series.
Call 1-888-999-6779.

And if you’re really looking to get away, as in out of the country, here’s a trip idea.
TURKS AND CAICOS
Women only
The Tuscany on Grace Bay in Providenciales has tailored a summer package for women who believe that the occasional absence of men makes for an enjoyable vacation.
The five-night “Best Friends Forever Getaway” is for women only and features three-bedroom, three-bathroom oceanfront accommodations for a maximum of six people.
The package includes a sunset cruise, one massage per person, a snorkel and lunch tour on private Iguana Island and a tennis lesson with a pro.
The package is priced at $6,636, and is valid from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31. Call 1-866-359-6466.

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