That’s round-trip, with all taxes and fees included, by the way.

American Airlines is offering this fare, knocking around between $330 and $340, with what looks like very wide availability through the end of the year. It’s not being advertised, and I don’t know when the sale will end.

And here’s one reason to go to Costa Rica. This is a video I took of the Rio Celeste, a powder-blue river in northern Costa Rica:

I’ve been looking for an excuse to post that. (I know. The resolution is poor. I shot the video at the wrong settings.)

At the Centre Sheraton in Montreal, this offer will get you a room for $119 CAD ($117 US) plus tax, compared to its lowest prepaid rate of $140, a discount of 15 percent. At some resorts, however, the prepaid rate and the sale rate are very close or exactly the same. And since the sale rate is also prepaid, there’s little or no advantage to it.

These rates are available only to guests who arrive on Thursday, Friday or Saturday at hotels and any day of the week at resorts. The maximum stay at these rates is seven days.

This is the kind of sale that seems to be coming up a lot lately, with limited discounts and limited buying periods for rates extending several months out. The hotel industry seems to see an improvement in bookings coming, and I think we’ll see attempts to reestablish some rate discipline before the end of the year.

The fares apply to travel between April 6 and May 26, 2010 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays only.  You must buy tickets before 11:59 p.m PDT, on Thursday, March 18, 2010. 

The sale doesn’t apply to all of Southwest’s destinations. Most Northeast airports, including Bradley, seem to be excluded. Fares don’t include taxes and fees. A round-trip from San Diego, for example, comes to $220, with everything included.

When comparing fares, remember that Southwest will let you check two bags at no additional cost.

Fares from JFK to Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Shannon and Manchester are available, on limited dates between July 1 and Aug. 22 for as low as $339 each way. On the Dublin route, for example, that comes out to $780 round trip when all the taxes and fees are added.

Fares between JFK and Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Vienna are as low as $349, each way. For Madrid, that comes out to $820 round trip with taxes and fees.

For many of the destinations the fare is $10 higher each way out of Boston. For Chicago, add another $10 to the Boston fares, each way, for Birmingham, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Paris.

The sale fares are available until 7 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 15. They’re not valid on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and appear to be selling out quickly on other days.

So far, this seems to be the best deal available for summer travel. Spring and fall fares are lower, of course. Generally, whatever the season, we’re not seeing fares to Europe quite as low as they were last year.

There was a separate line for first-class passengers that allowed them to walk right up to the screeners while hundreds of people waited in the general line.

Now, as I understand it, funding for the TSA and airport screening comes from three sources: the 9/11 security fee on each ticket, fees levied directly on airlines and direct taxpayer support. So I don’t see much of a case for giving first-class passengers preferential treatment. This is, after all, a government service.

The security fee of $2.50 per segment or a maximum of $10 per ticket is the same for all classes of ticket. As for direct taxpayer support, you could argue that first-class passengers usually (though not always) tend to pay more taxes. But this country has never apportioned its public services to favor those who pay more taxes. Rich people don’t get an extra vote, better highways, more garbage pickups or more protection from the armed services. It’s a nation, not a department store, and some things are supposed to be suffered equally.

So that leaves us with the airlines’ contribution. Certainly, the airlines would want first-class customers to have a better experience at security. And you might argue that their contribution to the cost of security screening might be grounds for making that happen.

But I don’t think that’s sufficient. All kinds of industries pay all kinds of taxes, but in no case should that buy privileges for some citizens over others. A fundamental principle of democracy — though admittedly not of capitalism — is that all citizens have basically the same rights.

So I, as a taxpayer,  don’t think first-class passengers should get to walk ahead of the rest of us at security. Even when (very occasionally) I’m the first-class passenger.

This is not an objection to the preferential treatment that premium-class travelers get from the airlines. They paid for that, and in our private sector you should get what you pay for. That’s the difference between a customer and a citizen.

I might be persuaded to make a distinction between special pass programs for frequent travelers and this system of shunting all first-class passengers to the front of the line. At least the frequent-traveler programs are supposed to be funded entirely by the fees paid by those travelers.

I’m not entirely convinced that the government should be engaged in selling express passes through security, but it would certainly be less objectionable as a separate and self-supporting system that does not interfere with the rights of the rest of us in our regular security line.

I liked the first song and video best, especially the scene with the chalk outline around the guitar, but this one is fun.

Bighorn sheep at The Living Desert.

The Living Desert in Palm Springs could charge the $12.50 admission for each of its three attractions: zoo, botanical gardens or model train display.

But you have to pay only once for all three. It’s a pretty good deal and a nice way to round out a trip to swinging Palm Springs.

Besides, it’s only $11 per person with the discount for seniors, AAA members and military personnel. Admission is $7.50 for children 12 and under, and free for children 3 and younger.

My daughter and I spent most of the day at The Living Desert yesterday. It reminded me of another desert zoo, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, another favorite of mine.

The Living Desert focuses on desert wildlife, including javelina, bighorn sheep and other animals that inhabit the Mojave Desert, as well as African species. They’re kept in big, natural enclosures among the botanical gardens.

The  gardens are extensive, including areas with local plant life and others themed to different regions of the world. The palm garden is amazing, with a vast variety of palm trees from around the world.

We were surprised to find an elaborate model train display, which covers and acre and includes models of historic sites. Whatever. It’s great. The petting zoo, with some very friendly goats, is also fun for kids.

Of course, there are ways to spend more money. There’s a $2 charge for admission to the butterfly and hummingbird exhibit (worth it) and a $6 charge for the trolley (didn’t need it.)

It has happened to me, many times. Usually, if it’s temporary, I just deal with the disappointment. But there are times when it’s appropriate to complain, and even to ask for some kind of compensation.

My daughter and I recently stayed at a very nice resort near Palm Springs where we got a very nice Priceline deal, but there was a separate $27 per night resort fee. We were prepared for this — resort fees are common at the resort level on Priceline and bidders should expect them. (I think Priceline should force resorts to include the fees in the price, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, we paid the resort fee and settled into our room, then decided to head over to the spa. Except there was a hand-written sign on the door of the spa saying it was closed. We tried to go back the next day at 4:30 p.m. and it was closed again — and the sign said it would be closed the whole next day, when we were leaving.

I complained at the front desk and the clerk said the spa was on limited hours because it wasn’t very busy. But she agreed to refund our resort fee. That seemed fair to me, as the resort fee is supposed to cover use of the spa and a few other amenities, most of which we weren’t going to use.

Now, I wouldn’t expect a refund or discount in every situation where I don’t get exactly what I want. My husband and I recently stayed in a hotel where the hot tub broke minutes after we arrived. Things happen.

But when a hotel advertises an amenity, charges separately for it and then chooses not to make it available, I’ll take my money back.

And if you’re booking a hotel directly (as opposed to making blind bids on Pricline) it never hurts to call ahead to make sure the amenities you want will be available and to check on the hours.

View from Diamond Head.

$5.50 – $6 Climb Diamond Head. Admission is $1 per person and you can take the bus for $2.25 each way or pay $5 to park a car. Then you have to climb rather a lot (though I’ve seen grandmothers do it, and small children in flip-flops) for a spectacular view of Honolulu.

$4 Go floating at Waikiki. Buy a $3 air mattress or inflatable tube from any ABC store (they’re everywhere) and the store will inflate it for you for less than $1. Then head over to Waikiki Beach and get your float on. (If you don’t require artificial flotation, this experience is free.)

$4 Chill beachside at the Hilton. Last I knew, the pineapple juice refills were free at the Hilton Hawaiian Village poolside bar, with a great view of the beach. Sometimes there’s live music, too. 

$12 – $25 Snorkel at Hanauma Bay. Entrance to the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, which offers excellent and gentle snorkeling suitable for beginners,  is $7.50 and the bus fare is $2.25 each way. Snorkel gear will cost you about another $12, if you rent it there. If you don’t want to take the public bus, Hanauma Bay Snorkel Adventure will pick you up at any Waikiki hotel and provide gear for $17, not including the $7.50 admission fee.

$0 Waikiki isn’t just about the beach. Head a few blocks back to the Ali Wai Canal, an excellent place for a stroll at dusk, when the kayaks and sculls are out on the water.

If you’re flexible about travel dates, there are round-trip fares from Bradley as low as $128, coming out to $168 with taxes and fees, from Delta, Midwest and American. Many other cities around the Northeast have similar fares.

This little fare skirmish may be related to the fact that Southwest recently began service to Milwaukee. And if you plan on checking a bag on your trip, you might be better off on Southwest. Its fares, as low as $219 from Bradley with all taxes and fees included, allows you to check two bags free.

The fares are not available every day. In fact, they seem kind of wildly scattered, so you’ll want to do a flexible search on Kayak or another metasearch site. They do seem to be available, though, well into the rest of the year.