You don't unpack and pack every day or two, a chore that accompanies many conventional bus tours. (Comstock)

There's a lot to be said for stay-put holidays -- one is the use of one hotel as a base from which you take day trips and shorter outings.

You don't unpack and pack every day or two, a chore that accompanies many conventional bus tours. You leave with a much better feel for the country or region, its people and the culture. You live at a slower pace, one that allows time to stroll, chat with someone working in their garden, pop into the local pub.

Organized stay-put trips are in the minority, so I was happy to come across two.

Village Life in Wales: Arranged by DH Tour of Burlington and Country Lane Tours of Wales, it runs Sept. 20-29. Home base is a hotel in the village of Betws y Coed. Excursions include travel on a narrow-gauge railway train, visits to a pottery studio, woolen mill and sheep farm, a bus tour to the Isle of Anglesey, and an outing to Bodnant Garden, which expert gardeners consider one of Britain's finest. The cost is $3,890 a person, double, including air fare. Phone 1-888-597-3519 or visit www.dhgrouptours.com.

The Canada Netherlands Friendship Association and Verstraete Travel & Cruises of Aurora: The tour, Aug. 20-Sept. 1, is based in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, twin city of Burlington. Included are a visit to a Canadian War Cemetery and a luncheon hosted by Apeldoorn's mayor at Palace Het Loo. Phone 1-800-565-9267 or visit www.verstraetetravel.com.

AIRLINE/AIRPORT UPDATES

Air Transat adds a second weekly flight from Toronto to Vienna June 24. Service will continue through Oct. 21, 2007. Transat Holidays is offering a wide range of packages, accommodations, escorted tours and car rentals in Vienna and Austria.

Air Canada has launched a new daily year-round non-stop service between between Deer Lake, Nfld., and Toronto and will begin two new, daily non-stop fights between St. John's and Deer Lake on June 30.

Vancouver International Airport has opened four new gates as part of the first phase of an expansion project. The terminal's central pavilion area, to be completed this month, features an aquarium and a stream.

ABOUT FOREIGN CURRENCY

A column on travellers cheques, ATMs and foreign currency prompted suggestions from a woman who travels frequently in Asia. Take U.S. dollar and pound sterling travellers cheques, either American Express or Thomas Cook. Banks charge only a nominal fee for cashing them. ATMs are often difficult to find, don't function properly or only operate during bank hours, so she also carries "wads'' of American dollars, which she finds even more useful than local currency. On a recent visit to Cambodia and Laos, even modest hotels posted room rates in U.S. dollars. She finds Lonely Planet travel guides a good source of information on currency.

WHAT'S NEW

Lake Muskoka: A tour of one of the area's summer homes is a feature of Muskoka Steamships's "cottage cruises.'' The all-day trips on the RMS Segwun leave Gravenhurst wharf at 9:30 a.m. and include lunch. Trip dates are July 15, and Aug. 10, 19 and 26. The Segwun's sister ship, Wenonah, will do cruises with a pirate theme every Sunday from July 1 to Aug. 26. Phone 1-866-687-6667 or visit www.muskokasteamships.com.

ZipWest Eco-Adventure Tours: It opens this month in Sooke, 45 minutes west of Victoria, B.C., providing a guided zipline tour. The site has two suspension bridges leading to eight zipline cables up to 21 metres off the ground and up to 305 metres long. Rates start at $59.99, and transportation to the site is available from downtown Victoria. Visit www.zipwest.ca.