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Daily Deal—Cancún from $220

Welcome to the ReidGuides.com Daily Deal for March 22, 2005

Sure Cancún is not the real Mexico. It's an endless strip of giant hotels between a Bay and the Caribbean Sea--but is sure is tempting, with sugar-sand beaches lapped by azure Caribbean waters, a nightlife scene that parties 'til dawn, and easy access to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itzá and other thrilling side trips when you do want to sample a little Mexican flavor beyond the boundaries of your resort.

Which is why it's great news that Apple Vacations has just dropped the price of roundtrip airfare from New York to $439.99 and your companion flies free--which brings the total effective cost per person down to $220. If you're looking for a hotel to go with that airfare, they can put you up for seven nights at a price tag of $699 per person, air and hotel included. You have to book my March 29 to get this deal, and departures are limited to April 2, 3, 9, 10, and 30 and a half-dozen dates in May.

They're not the only ones selling Cancún on the cheap. BeachDestinations.com has a package featuring airfare and four nights at the Hilton Cancun Beach for $489 out of NYC, with plenty of other departure cities available.

Speaking of other cities, the cheapest rates to Cancun are, as usual, out of Miami these days, including the smack-your-forehead price of $268 for roundtrip airfare and 3 nights in the Club Verano Beat hotel being sold by Vacation Travel Mart for travel from May 9 all the way though December 20--though you have to book by March 31. Wanna stay in Mexico longer? Five nights'll run you $316, a full seven night rings in at just $365. Leaving from the Big Apple, the prices only go up by about $70 to $120, and as always there are lots of other US departure cities on tap.

Which brings me to Worry Free Vacations. If you live deep in the heart of Texas, listen yup, because this l'il company will send you from Dallas/Ft. Worth to spend three nights in the Barceleo Club Las Perlas for just $259.99--if you can leave April 7, that is, and book by midnight, Central Time on March 24. Even if you can't book by then or leave by then, there are great rates on other departure dates, chicer hotels available for a plumper price tag, as well as similar bargains from the company's other heartland gateways: that's Denver, Detroit, Vegas, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Orlando, St. Louis, and Tulsa.

To get direct links to all of these deals--and to brush up on a plethora of trip planning tools--visit our Website, www.reidsguides.com.

Until tomorrow’s deal, thanks for listening.