TOUR
MEKONG
Solo travellers can save 30 per cent on STA Travel's 10-Day Mekong River Cruise Experience in Cambodia and Vietnam. Sail for eight days from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City seeing Phnom Penh, Chnok Tru and more.
The price is $1679 a person. Valid for travel and sale until July 31. Phone 134 782. See statravel.com.
KANGAROO ISLAND
SeaLink's self-drive deal includes return ferry travel for you and your car from Cape Jervis to Kangaroo Island, four nights' accommodation for the price of three at Emu Bay Holiday Homes and a discount voucher booklet.
From $304 a person. Valid for travel May 15 – September 15. Phone 131 301. See sealink.com.au.
ISLAND
QUEENSLAND
Save up to $1000 a couple in a last-minute deal on the June 28 departure of AAT Kings' 13-day East Coast Islands and Rainforest Best Buys Guided Holiday.
Highlights include a cruise and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, a visit to Australia Zoo, time on the Sunshine Coast, exploring Fraser Island by 4WD and visiting Hamilton Island.
From $3975 a person, twin share. Phone 1300 228 546. See aatkings.com.
THAILAND
Centara Villas Samui is near Natien Beach and within easy access of Lamai and Chaweng beaches. The deal includes eight nights for the price of four at a reduced nightly rate in a Garden Villa, breakfast daily and transfers.
From $335 a person twin share. Sale till May 31. Travel September 1 – December 24. Phone 1300 883 887. See travelonline.com.
FAMILY
SINGAPORE
Cruise Express is offering family deals that include a discount up to 17 per cent on Ovation of the Seas' maiden voyage to Australia.
A family of four can sail from Singapore to Australia in a balcony cabin from $4108 for six nights, Singapore-Fremantle.
The cruise departs November 30. Phone 1300 764 509. See cruiseexpress.com.au.
NEW YORK
Under the Peninsula New York's Camp Peninsula Package, book a one-bedroom suite you get an adjoining room at half price, plus kids under 10 eat free and there are lots of great inclusions for the young ones.
Junior Executive Suites costs from $1767 a night. Under the deal, an adjoining Superior Room costs from $455. See newyork.peninsula.com.
CRUISE
SCANDINAVIA
Save $1000 a person on a new river cruise that goes from Germany to Denmark via Poland.
Travel for 13 nights on the 100-passenger MS Victor Hugo. The package includes return airfares between Australia and Europe and all meals with wine and beer at lunch and dinner on the boat.
$6499 a person twin share for departures: August 4, 2016 and August 3, 2017. Book by May 30. Phone 1300 813 391. See ditravel.com.au.
HAWAII
Adventure World's eight-day Hawaiian Seascapes holiday is now reduced by $265 a person. The cruise on the Safari Explorer departs from Moloka'i and returns to Kawaihae Harbour and includes adventure and cultural activities such as night-snorkelling with giant Pacific manta rays.
Includes onboard meals, select beverages and a massage.
Priced at $5180 a person if booked by May 31. Departures November 5 – December 31. See adventureworld.com.
HOTEL
AUSTRALIA
AccorHotels' "Wintervention" promotion gives free breakfast plus $25 off the best available daily rate at more than 120 participating hotels and resorts across the country. For instance, stay at The Reef House Resort Port Douglas, MGallery by Sofitel, from $199 per room per night including breakfast.
Valid for sale May 2 – September 30 and for stays June 1 – October 9. See accorhotels.com/winter.
QUEENSTOWN
This package includes four nights' accommodation at the five-star Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa in a Luxury Room, breakfast daily, late check out and transfers. Plus, you get a free Over The Top Golf experience, which includes a scenic helicopter ride to a golf tee at altitude to hit "eco balls" into the wilderness.
From $1159 a person, twin share. On sale till May 31 for travel till June 24. Phone 1800 044 066 and quote deal code 396 8131. See travel-associates.com.au.
GEBICKI TIP
The PoshPacker website has a spry collection of hostels, apartments, chic hotels and B&Bs that bring zip and panache to budget travel, especially in Europe and North America. See poshpacker.co.
THE BIG ISSUE
Reef madness
The Great Barrier Reef is back in the limelight as the hero of superstar naturalist Sir David Attenborough's most recent nature series.
However, Attenborough reported that an increase in the ocean's temperature and a rise in acidity – both attributable to climate change – have caused widespread coral bleaching, which damages and even kills the vibrant coral that are one of Australia's signature sights. Leading scientists estimate that 93 per cent of the reef has been bleached, most badly between Cooktown and the Torres Strait.
The question is: can we love the Reef back to good health? And given that human activity has played such a large part in the corals' degradation, should we even be there?
"Each tourist aids the conservation effort," says Colin McKenzie, head of the Association of Marine Park Tour Operators. About two million people visit the reef each year, and every visitor over four years old pays a $6.50 "reef tax" into a preservation fund administered by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
Passions of Paradise employs a handful of the 64,000 people employed in reef tourism. The Cairns-based, carbon-neutral tour operator says its "citizen science" program lets visitors participate in scientific programs such as Eye on the Reef, which monitors and assesses damage, and help eradicate the reef's other great enemy, the carnivorous Crown of Thorns starfish, which eats coral polyps.
"We operate in a World Heritage area so we continually strive to protect this amazing ecosystem and make sure our passengers go away as ambassadors armed with knowledge about what makes our reef so special," says Passions of Paradise CEO Scotty Garden.
Colin McKenzie adds that bleaching is minimal in the southerly parts of the 2300km reef system, and that travellers should not assume the reef is dead. "Type 1 and 2 bleaching is like sunburn, and we're already seeing some recovery in those corals," he said.
"After each bleaching event, the coral that survives bounces back and becomes a little more capable of handling the same stress in the future. I believe we may lose some species, and the biodiversity may change, but as long as we get the water quality right, it will bounce back. I have no doubt.
"What you see is a vibrant, living coral reef."
Belinda Jackson
EXPERT OPINION
Boutique on a budget: Tamara & James Lohan, founders of Mr & Mrs Smith
How can you be chic on the cheap, with a boutique stay that won't bust the bank?
Consider flying on a Tuesday or an evening past 6pm, flights tend to be much cheaper. It's astonishing how few people plan their trips in the off- or shoulder seasons, when the weather's still good but prices have taken a nosedive, and there are no crowds to fight through.
Join a club like Smith, which has have exclusive member deals all year around, but beware of too deep a discount from some flash sale sites – there's a reason why they are offering you a killer deal if it's in high season.
And plan ahead – most hotels and airlines publish their early-bird summer rates around January, so as soon as the Christmas tree's down, go online. See mrandmrssmith.com.