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Travel & Experiences

Five dollar-friendly destinations: Places you can bank on

Iceland What do an Icelandic bank and an Icelandic streaker have in common? Both have frozen assets. This bit of financial humor is courtesy of the Daily Mail of London, except no one in Iceland is exactly guffawing. Its recent descent into the financial bog has it gasping for air., which means bargains for the savvy traveler. What you can find: In early December 2008, airfare from LAX to Reykjavik for $786 (combination of Delta and Iceland Air); the five-star Radisson SAS from $133. A round-trip ticket from LAX, plus six nights at the three-star CenterHotel Kopp starting at $988 (package on Travelocity.com), about $165 per person per day. Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland.

Iceland

What do an Icelandic bank and an Icelandic streaker have in common? Both have frozen assets.

This bit of financial humor is courtesy of the Daily Mail of London, except no one in Iceland is exactly guffawing. Its recent descent into the financial bog has it gasping for air., which means bargains for the savvy traveler.

What you can find: In early December 2008, airfare from LAX to Reykjavik for $786 (combination of Delta and Iceland Air); the five-star Radisson SAS from $133. A round-trip ticket from LAX, plus six nights at the three-star CenterHotel Kopp starting at $988 (package on Travelocity.com), about $165 per person per day.

Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland.  (Leon Neal, AFP/Getty Images)

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Barcelona's La Rambla

The Mediterranean

Yes, generally penny pinchers should avoid most of Western Europe, but that applies only if you’re staying on land and traveling around.

What you’ll find: Mediterranean cruise deals that mean you can stay on board while visiting such ports as Barcelona, Spain; Rome; Monte Carlo; the Canary Islands; or Mallorca, depending on the itinerary you choose. Some examples: Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas, departing March 20 and docking in Málaga, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; and the Canary Islands on a 10-day trip; beginning at $849 per person for an inside cabin, or $85 a day. (Lowest airfare I found: $918 round- trip from LAX to Barcelona on Delta, arriving a day before and departing two days after the cruise.) An 18-day repositioning cruise on Holland America’s Oosterdam, departing Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 14 and disembarking in Rome on April 1. From $1,319 per person, or about $75 a day. One-way airfare to Fort Lauderdale a day before embarkation: $200 on Delta, and from Rome to LAX: $881 on Air New Zealand and British Airways. (Cruise deals on Cruise.com, airfare through Sidestep.com.)

Barcelona’s La Rambla neighborhood.  (Sisqui Sanchez / For The Times)

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