News for the Traveler

Vacationers looking for a tour that combines sightseeing with learning a language can have both in Guatemala with new Spanish "Immersion Courses" for beginners and intermediate students.

The trip includes two nights accomodations in Guatemala City at the El Conquistador Sheraton, Guatemala City sightseeing tour, roundtrip transfers between Guatemala City and Antigua and the airport, city sightseeing tour of Antigua, five or twelve nights' accommodations in Antigua at the Hotel Antigua, and one or two weeks at the Proyector Linguistico Spanish Center in Antigua. The courses are designed to improve conversational Spanish on a one-to-one student-teacher basis. Classes are conducted from 8 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Third Centry Tours, 2825 Oak Ave., Coconut Grove, Fla. 33133.

If you're willing to grab last minute openings, a firm named Stand Buys Ltd., offers airline seats at 15% to 60% below regular fares. This firm is in regular touch with charter-tour operators, who often have a handful of places left on forthcoming flights and rather than lose money on unsold accommodations, tour operators sell them to Stand Buys at cost. Access to these bargains cost $35 for a one-year subscription to a notification service that uses postcards and a telephone hot line. All accommodations are first come, first served.

The travel industry is waking up to the fact that the balance of population is shifting, and the number of people over 55 is steadily on the rise. "The Discount Guidefor Travelers over 55" (Dutton, $5.75, paper) offers tips on how to get travel discounts, as well as providing a city-by-city listing of all the discounts available, including hotels and restaurants, travel by car, plane, train and bus, sightseeing and cultural attractions. The guides includes the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.