When planning a trip to explore the theme parks, you may wonder how it’s possible to cram all the rides and attractions in to one visit.  Add in restaurants, shows and shops and the whole thing starts to seem a little overwhelming.  After a recent trip to Orlando, one of the best pieces of advice we can give is to take advantage of the VIP tours that parks offer.  Our VIP tour of Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure was extraordinary!

We arrived at guest services and received a warm welcome from Robert, our tour guide for the day.  After offering us complimentary refreshments and presenting us with our VIP badges, we immediately set out to tour Islands of Adventure.  As we walked, Robert would share interesting stories, exclusive information, and little-known facts about the park.  Perhaps the best benefit of our VIP badges was the ability to skip the lines at any ride.  Cutting out the long lines freed up so much time in our day to enjoy more of the park including the great gift shops, photo stops, and restaurants.  The VIP tour enabled us to pass through each world with ease without feeling as if we’d missed out on anything.   After a few hours touring Islands of Adventure, Robert shifted our tour over to Universal Studios where we were granted back-stage access and meet and greets with some great characters.

The VIP tour at Universal Orlando truly enabled us to explore every aspect of both parks without ever having to take out a map.  Without wasting time in long lines, it allowed us to maximize our time there and enjoy everything we wanted to see and do.  Our tour guide was knowledgeable, entertaining, and very attentive of our needs.   It’s a fun and efficient way to explore all a park has to offer!

Universal Orlando offers several great VIP tour options that are well worth the money.  The basic package starts at $150 per person (not including park admission) and grants you a 5-hour tour of one park.  One tour guide will escort you and your party in a tour group with others of up to 12 people max.  You can also choose that same option but explore both parks in one day for only $185 per person (approx.  7 hours).   An 8-hour private tour (exclusively your party of up to 12 and the tour guide) of one park is $2,000 per group or add in the second park for an additional $500.  For the ultimate experience, book a 2-day, 2-park private tour for $3,750 per group.

Holland America has put on sale a seven-day Alaska cruise, according to the Washington Post. Rate is from $499 per person double, down from $949. Taxes of $108 are additional. The cruise departs from Seward (Anchorage) May 16. Also in the article, Universal Orlando Resort has extended its Military Salute program, which offers active and retired military personnel a free seven-day base ticket to both of its Florida theme parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The pass, which is also valid at select Universal CityWalk clubs and venues, is good through March 26.

According to Sophie Butler, hotel rates in European cities are down 12 per cent compared with this time last year. Barcelona, Lisbon and Dublin are among the cities that have had the biggest drop in hotel prices (up to an 18 per cent fall compared with last January), with average double room rates at about £70 per night. Amsterdam and Madrid are about 12 per cent lower and Paris hotels are five per cent down. Learn more in her article in today’s Telegraph.

Also of interest, European ski destinations are offering dramatic savings on ski packages. According to Peter Hardy in the Daily Mail, you can find amazing discounts in Austria, Slovenia, Italy, and of course Switzerland. An example, stay in Kranjska Gora in Slovenia at the Hotel Lek, a comfortable four-star in a good position for easy access to the slopes: One week half-board from February 20 with Gatwick, Stansted and regional flights to Salzburg was £525, now £345.

In the USA, you can find a room at $82-$112 per night for a Washington, D.C. hotel stay. The Churchill Hotel offers travelers a haven of old-world refinement amidst the modern-day bustle of the nation’s capital. From the inviting ambiance of its finely appointed lobby to the gracious appointment of its over-sized guest rooms to the personal attentiveness of its professionally trained staff every aspect of the hotel has been carefully arranged to meet the requirements of the most discriminating guests.

Hilary Nangle at the Boston Globe on discount vacations in Bermuda reveals that by visiting between November and March, when temperatures are usually in the 60s, Bermuda is uncrowded and affordable. Be sure to visit Best Travel Deals to vote on the best Bermuda hotel deals.

Every day, New York Habitat offers a special South of France vacation rental apartment on Twitter. Follow New York Habitat on Twitter to see the latest discount. All Twitter discounts are valid for 7 days from the time of their posting on Twitter. One of their most recent offerings was a Studio in French Riviera.

Haven’t planned a Valentines Day Vacation yet? Annabelle Thorpe details her top 20 hideaways that are still available on Valentine’s Day, with picks from cute cottages to luxury hotels, in her Sunday article in The Observer. Bubrovnik, Istanbul, and Prague top her list, and includes some truly great package deals in places like Austria, Yorkshire, and rural Dorset.

Break for spring on Oahu, with Aston hotels from $91. The budget-friendly Aston Hotels & Resorts is offering a number of attractive springtime specials at its Oahu sites. Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel, just across the road from Waikiki Beach, is the least expensive of this group. Or enter to win a hotel stay: Shape Magazine is offering a Hawaii vacation sweepstakes for a two-night stay at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Enter to win here.