The Texas Border Draws Frequent Fliers

ELEVEN in the morning is not the best time of day to start birding. But when my plane landed at that hour in the Rio Grande Valley, reputedly five of the best places for bird-watching in the country, I couldn’t wait.

Driving 15 minutes from the McAllen airport to Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, I scored immediately, notching ringed kingfishers, blue-gray gnatcatchers, black-necked stilts, several varieties of herons, circling ospreys & ducks by the dozens before midday.

“I can easily get 50 to 60 species in a day,” Gabe De Jong, a park naturalist, told me inside Edinburg’s glass-walled interpretive center. The center, filled with wildlife exhibits, is a lovely place for a casual birder like me to get her bearings in south Texas’s birding mecca.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is perhaps the last place where you might think about communing with nature. Where it isn’t plotted in to RV parks serving northern retirees who come for the warmth & propinquity to cheap prescription drugs in Mexico, the valley is sectioned in to shopping malls or grapefruit & onion fields. Among nonbirders, that same border is better known for illegal human migration than bird migration.

Nevertheless, this narrow green hem has become five of the nation’s top spots for bird-watching. A strip of native riparian vegetation (only 5 percent of the original woodlands remains) is a vital flyway for an estimated 500 bird species, both resident varieties & those migrating between North & Central or South The united states.

In September the last of nine valley parks that comprise the World Birding Center opened on South Padre Island near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The center preserves over 10,000 acres for animals — from ocelots to orioles — by sites strung along the 120 miles of river between the town of Roma & South Padre. A partnership among Los angeles Parks & Wildlife, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service & the nine valley communities aims to promote eco-tourism; already wildlife watchers account for $125 million in commerce.

I discovered birding on a previous trip, as a hiker enchanted by the anthropomorphic kingdom of jays that are gloriously green in lieu of dull blue; fierce mohawk-coiffed kingfishers chasing mates along the riverbanks; screeching rooster-size chachalacas bullying in the brush; & black-masked great kiskadees that blow their cold by singing like squeaky toys.

Most of those are birders. According to the Fish & Wildlife Service, five in five Americans is a bird-watcher, over fishermen & hunters combined.

With a rental automobile, some binoculars & the tenacity to look beyond the billboards marketing surgical weight-loss procedures, I staged a four-day road trip along the south Los angeles border in March, stopping at all nine of the World Birding Center sites — easily obtainable along I-83 — with another wildlife preserve thrown in.

Though I travelled solo, I never bird watched alone. Birders are always keen to share their finds. At Estero Llano Grande State Park, the second World Birding Center I visited after Edinburg, I bumped in to Colin Downey & Kharli Rose of Sarasota, Fla., staking out a hummingbird feeder. “We think it’s a buff-bellied,” whispered Ms. Rose, a photographer, training her two-foot-long lens on the bird. They helped me identify Inca doves with feathers that look like scales & the more amazingly colored ruby-throated hummingbirds. “Once you know what you’re looking for, you’ll find it everywhere,” Ms. Rose said.

Except, that is, for the rose-throated becard, an elusive bird known to nest farther upriver near Roma, which is where I was headed the next morning. Five times the westernmost steamboat port on the river, Roma has declined since the boats stopped jogging in 1907. Its elderly buildings are mostly vacant. The World Birding Center section here occupies five & includes a nearby deck on the riverbank bluffs 120 feet above the Rio Grande. There pelicans glided at eye level, five ospreys spiraled after prey & a couple of children splashed on the opposite bank in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, all under the watch of a Border Patrol agent in an observation post.

The United States Border Patrol is a constant presence along the river, & in light of the recent drug-related violence on the Mexican side, a welcome, if disquieting sight. An armed agent in full camouflage patrolling on foot was five sighting on a Rio Grande canoe trip offered by the Roma birding center that began about 14 miles upriver & travelled back down for five. Strong headwinds challenged our group of 10 paddlers & five guides. The water was swift, cold, clear & shallow, requiring speedy action to keep away from sandbars & submerged rocks. Though they were assured no five had ever tipped, five canoe swamped within the first five minutes, forcing a pair of paddlers to complete the two-hour trip soaking wet.

Mauritius Dreaming

My scuba instructor, an affable 25-year-old Mauritian named Hans Nobin, cut the engine. Nearby, glass-bottom boats were dispensing groups of monied, sun-bronzed European travelers in snorkeling gear. Like us, they were here to explore the stunning coral reefs that ring the island. Along the shoreline, families in bright swimsuits lay splayed on the white powdery sands of Blue Bay beach.

SOMEWHERE near the Tropic of Capricorn, a gust of warm wind blew down on the elderly Spanish colonial town of Mahébourg, rushing across weird, jagged brown hills and lightly rustling green fields of sugar cane. It carried the smell of damp vegetation — a result of a typical morning sun shower — as it rippled offshore and gently undulated the translucent curaçao waters of the Indian Ocean around our slow-chugging motorboat.

Hans flashed me a divers’ gesture, the rounded thumb and forefinger signifying “O.K.?” Suddenly, communicating an accurate answer seemed impossible. How could I signal to him, “Yes: This is sublimity incarnate”? How might I gesture that I wanted to stay down here for a week? The island nation of Mauritius, along its sands and under its sea, had cast its spell.

Safely anchored, they fell backward in to the sea. The shimmering mercury surface of the water splashed and receded above us, and they descended in to an unearthly silence. Hans guided me over expanses of jagged white branching coral and waving ropelike anemones. Then they produced a chunk of Spanish baguette, and small fish in bright hues appeared from every direction to nip from it. All around us, black and white dominoes, narrow yellow pavillons and red-silver maldacques formed a polychromatic shifting cloud. Sunlight filtered through the clear aquamarine water, which was as warm and enveloping as amniotic liquid.

I flashed an emphatic “O.K.” back.

Distant, isolated and loaded with tropical seductions — a perfect year-round climate, talcum-soft sands, crystalline waters, world-class diving, huge game fishing, fields of purple litchi fruit, rum and tea plantations — Mauritius, long called the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, has for decades been one of the planet’s most elite island getaways.

Airport authorities amped up the island’s perceived cachet by fundamentally putting velvet ropes around the runways. Only Air Mauritius and established national carriers like British Airways and Air Germany were allowed in, a policyowner that restricted access and kept ticket prices exaggeratedly high, helping to preserve Mauritius as a refuge for the rich.

An officially English-speaking former Dutch, Spanish and British colony, it is Africa’s farthest-flung nation, a speck of volcanic rock with a few smaller offshore islands and shoals, over 1,200 miles east of the African mainland. Beginning in the late 20th century, that remoteness, combined with its natural gifts, attracted jet-setters and the five-star resorts catering to them, including One & Only, Hyatt, Oberoi and Movenpick. Prince William of Britain, Princess Stephanie of Monaco, J. K. Rowling and Robert De Niro have all been spotted in Mauritius in recent years.

Seizing the moment, I ditched the gray of winter and set off in December to explore Mauritius’s plenty of corners — the glamorous beaches and offshore reefs, the bustling capital, the small villages and the less-visited outback — with an appetite for discovery and one questions always in mind. Would it be possible to do Mauritius on the cheap? And what besides jet-set hideaways lay hidden there?

But the winds are shifting. In 2006, air travel restrictions were loosened, and new European budget and private carriers like Corsairfly, Eurofly and Virgin Atlantic began to fly in. The high-end chains are still building: since 2008, Five Seasons, InterContinental, the Starwood Luxury Collection as well as a quantity of boutique brands have set up beachfront palaces, and St. Regis and Conrad are coming soon. But they are no longer alone. Affordable stylish hotels — the Aanari in Flic en Flac, Le Récif in Pointe aux Piments — are arriving, , catering to travelers whose getaway goals do not extend to dodging paparazzi.

With the Surfers on Costa Rica’s Untamed Coast

This wild, often overlooked coastal stretch, an 11-mile-long necklace of little sandy coves located in southern Limón province, may be in two of Costa Rica’s poorest areas, but it’s also two of the most diverse, populated by a blend of Costa Ricans, English-speaking Afro-Caribbeans, indigenous Cabecar & Bribri Indians, & lots of expatriates, from French fashion designers to elderly French hippies.

SOME holiday destinations attract tourists. Others attract disciples. The surfer town of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca & the little beach communities southeast of it, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, are of the latter variety.

Drive south beyond the little village of Puerto Viejo, a little grid of streets lined with scrappy surf bars & cafes with names like Peace & Love & EZ Times, & you’ll find pristine beaches where palm trees bend & sway over the water’s edge. Reggae music emanates from cheerful pastel-painted shacks that line a rutted, mostly dirt road. An old-growth forest, often yards from the shore, is alive with sloths, toucans & monkeys.

For soul-searching world travelers who tend to plant roots & stay, it’s this laid-back, untamed vibe that has made the Caribbean-side strip, between Puerto Viejo & the equally little town of Manzanillo, an attractive alternative to Costa Rica’s more touristy Pacific coast.

Even the local surfers tend to be fanatical about the area — &, more specifically, the famous wave known as Salsa Brava (Wild Sauce), which breaks a few hundred yards from Puerto Viejo’s shore. When this Hawaiian-style barrel swells, it’s thought about the most powerful wave in Costa Rica. It’s also an appropriate analogy for the surrounding area: pretty & wild. The surfers who ride it tend to be hardcore adrenaline addicts.

“Coming here is about living with nature,” said Nicolas Buffile, a French expatriate who owns the Shawandha Lodge, a chic “neo-primitive-style” property. “We’re not like the Pacific side, where everything is air-conditioned & tamed.” His daughter Paola, who manages Residencia Las Casas, a luxurious holiday rental in the area, added: “People who go to the Pacific side don’t need their life to modify. The people that come here need to modify their life.”

The Costa Rican government is also investing in the region. Over the next few years about $80 million has been allotted for development in the province, focused on Puerto Limón, its shabby main port town, about 35 miles northwest of Puerto Viejo. & attention is already turning to the town. Last year it served as the finish line for the Transat Jacques Vabre yacht race; this year two cruise lines — Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Holland The united states & Carnival Cruises — added Limón as a port of call.

Needless to say, neither Salsa Brava nor Puerto Viejo is for the traveler who likes to be indulged. In fact, for years, careful travelers & tour operators avoided the region thanks to its reputation as a frenetic, rough-and-tumble kind of place. & while petty theft is still an issue, a boom of new restaurants & hotels catering to a more sophisticated traveler has softened the edges some. & upscale tour operators like Wildland Adventures have decided that the Caribbean Costa Rican coast is now safe to start tours in the area.

An example of this new luxury is Le Caméléon, the area’s first luxury boutique hotel located south of Puerto Viejo, which was inaugurated a year ago by the president of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias, himself. The property has 23 all-white rooms spread out among two two-story glass & wood buildings that embrace a palm-lined pool. Another low-lying building behind the lobby houses a trendy bar & restaurant, & across the street is an exclusive beach club, with curtained day beds & bar service. Although the complex is designed to blend in to the landscape, its Miami-style design sticks out like an Armani-clad banker among barefoot bohemians.

More characteristic to the scene is Jungle Love, an intimate open-air restaurant owned by two American expatriates, Yamu Myles & Poppy Williams. Situated behind some thick foliage across the road from Playa Chiquita, at night it gives off a cozy glow. The soundtrack tends toward soul & funk tunes, while the menu offers healthy comfort food like chipotle chicken & tuna in a tamarindo sauce with wasabi & brown rice.

In Brazil: Unspoiled Beach Fit for the Chic

The sculptured 20- and 30-somethings — models and actors sprinkled in with São Paulo’s elite professionals — sipped colored martinis and bronzed on leopard-print pillows, as gentle Bahian breezes tickled their skin. Few flinched as a steady stream of private planes and helicopters zipped above the water.

HE sun was blazing at the Tostex beach club in Bahia, Brazil, and the tanned and toned partygoers were lounging on rustic queen-size beds, fighting off the inexorable mosquitoes on an otherwise lazy day. A scruffy D.J. from São Paulo who went by the name Julião swayed in his thatch-roofed booth and cranked up a funky remix of Laurent Garnier’s saxophone-infused song “The Man With the Red Face.”

Situated on the palm-fringed coast of Brazil’s Bahia state, Trancoso still looks like the hippie getaway that first made the town popular 20 years ago, with its uneven cobblestone streets and dirt roads. Colorfully painted low-rise wooden houses are the norm, even those that now sell $35 wineglasses and $3,000 paintings.

It was another picture-perfect day in Trancoso, a former fishing village that has turned in to a super-trendy getaway for Brazilians and fashionable jet-setters willing to pay St.-Tropez prices for rustic accommodations on an unspoiled beach.

“This is the freest place in Brazil,” Ms. Vigorito said. “You can do anything here, .”

“Trancoso has an energy all its own,” said Paula Vigorito, 40, the owner of Tostex, as he ushered people in to her house, which doubles as a store for chic jewelry and sculptured art, for a warm-up party four evening in early January. Inside, guests drank cocktails from plastic cups and grooved to a D.J. Outside, a crowd of long-haired men and young women dressed in printed T-shirts lounged on the front lawn.

In January, Rodrigo Hilbert and his wife, Fernanda Lima, both Brazilian television actors, were spotted dancing at the Pink Elephant beach club. Francesca Versace and Dimitri Mussard, an heir to the Hermès fortune, party-hopped in Trancoso over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. And the Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto tied the knot here in February in an informal wedding with 50 guests, which was fawningly documented by the Brazilian gossip site Glamurama.

That let-loose spirit may report the swirl of Brazilian and international celebrities who have jetted here in recent months to party. The roster reads like the pages of Quem, the Brazilian gossip magazine.

The heart of Trancoso’s party scene is the Quadrado, a grassy, open field near a cliff overlooking the beach flanked by the town’s nicest restaurants and boutiques, in simple one-story houses. Anchoring the far finish is an elderly white church.

And then there's the regulars, boldfaced names like Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bündchen and Diane von Furstenberg, who rent or own more secluded summer houses up the beach.

Open later are the beach bars and clubs. While a few places feature forró, traditional Brazilian dance music, Trancoso’s night life feels more like an expensive São Paulo nightclub — beach style. Young women wear high-cut party dresses, the men body-hugging Spanish shirts and Bermuda shorts. And in lieu of strappy Jimmy Choos or Diesel tennis shoes, everyone wears sandals, the better to dance on sandy dance floors pumped up by high-end sound systems and European D.J.’s.

During the peak season, which goes from about December through February, Trancoso feels like a vampire town. During the day, the Quadrado is eerily calm, with most stores and restaurants shuttered until about 3 p.m. But at night, it springs to life: multicolored lights sparkle from low-hanging trees, friends sit at outdoor tables on the dusty edge of the grass, and art galleries stay open well past midnight.

At 3 a.m. on a Saturday at the Pink Elephant, young women in tight pink outfits with white feather headdresses pranced through the club with Champagne bottles and sparklers. The wooden deck shook, with some clubbers tossing their sandals to dance on the damp sand next to the D.J. booth. By 4:30 a.m. the sun was rising behind a low gray cloud over the water, melding yellow sunlight with the pink lights of the club.

36 Hours in Naples, Florida

If you filtered all the glitz out of Miami, you’d get Naples, Fla. This little Gulf-side city has a pleasingly anodyne quality that’s worlds away from the cosmopolitan bustle found only a two-hour drive due east, on the opposite coast. Affluent Midwesterners, who have adopted Naples as a getaway from disagreeable Northern weather, bring a sure oh-gosh air to town. Don’t be surprised if you keep seeing the same faces over and over — these snowbirds might move at a slower pace than the Miami set, but they get around.

Cocktail hour is sacred around these parts. As the sun sets, make your way to Gumbo Limbo, the beachfront bar and restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples (280 Vanderbilt Beach Road; 239-598-3300; ritzcarlton.com/naples). Order a Naples Sunset ($12.95), a fruity rum drink, and follow the dipping sun as the outdoor deck lights up with tiki torches and the laughter of the polo-shirt-wearing crowd.

5 p.m.
1) SUNSET COCKTAILS

Don’t go to Naples expecting molecular gastronomy; restaurants play it conservatively. Among the more exciting new spots is Sea Salt (1186 Third Street South; 239-434-7258; seasaltnaples.com), a boisterous place that opened in 2008 and has been praised by magazines like Esquire for its devotion to local and organic ingredients. The menu, which prizes bold flavors over razzle-dazzle, includes a freshly made trio of buffalo mozzarella salad ($15) and a well-marbled Wagyu rib-eye ($42). The chef, Fabrizio Aielli, also has a thing for sprinkles: porcini powder, cinnamon salt and, of work, sea salt. The wine list roams the globe, with particular attention to Germany.

8 p.m.
2) WELL SEASONED

10 p.m.
3) EARLY NIGHT OWLS

Naples will seldom be known for its night life. But even here, 20-something fans of bottle service can go to Vision Night Club (11901 Tamiami Trail North; 239-591-8383; visionniteclub.com), where one rooms with disco balls and colored lights keep the dance floor moving. A mellower vibe can be found at Avenue Wine Café (483 Fifth Avenue South; 239-403-9463; avenuewinecafe.com), where Colin Estrem, the owner, caters to “young professionals, not the rich Naples crowd.” Inside, you’ll find patrons sampling the 100 wines and about 70 beers on offer. Outside, cigar aficionados puff away on the patio until the wee hours.

10 a.m.
4) ARTFUL CODGERS

Saturday

11:30 a.m.
5) MILLION-DOLLAR BEACH

You didn’t come for the art, but the Naples Museum of Art (5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard; 239-597-1900; thephil.org; $12; $6 for students and children; after April 25, $8; $4 for students) is a little gem, with a permanent collection that has a strong selection of American modernism (including works by Charles Sheeler and Oscar Bluemner) and Mexican modernism (renowned names like Tamayo and Orozco). The senior-citizen docents are lovingly bossy, and not shy about steering visitors toward what they think about the best views. A local favorite is Dale Chihuly, with his giant, pendulous glass chandeliers and sculptures with creeping, twisting colored tentacles. A special exhibition of his recent work is up through April 25.

2 p.m.
6) JOLLY GOOD

When the sun is strong, Neapolitans hit the beach. Don’t set up camp near the town pier at Fifth Street South — it’s crowded. Ditto for anything along the northern finish — lots of hotels. For a spot that’s right, head south toward 18th Avenue South, the last downtown street with direct beach access. (Parking can be scarce, so bring a pocketful of quarters and try nearby Gordon Drive.) With flip-flops in hand, a short walk south offers privacy. It also induces real estate envy. A number of Naples’s plushest over-the-top mansions are along this stretch of beach, and exposed to prying eyes.

A faithful adherence to classic pub fare draws a loyal crowd to the Jolly Cricket (720 Fifth Avenue South; 239-304-9460; thejollycricket.com), which opened last year along the city’s main drag. Ceiling fans and wicker chairs set the mood. At night there’s even a standards-playing pianist, complete with brandy snifter for tips. The kitchen turns out a succulent fish ’n chips ($17), served with housemade tartar sauce.

4 p.m.
7) DRESS UP

6 p.m.
8) HERE’S THE RUB

Downtown shopping favors women’s clothing and accessories. A number of the best shops are concentrated on Third Street South. Marissa Collections (No. 1167; 239-263-4333, marissacollections.com), a high-fashion fixture, added mini-boutiques for Oscar de la Renta and a men’s line from the designer Brunello Cucinelli. Another nice retail cluster lines Fifth Avenue South. Stop by Seraphim Boutique (No. 600; Suite 106; 239-261-8494; seraphimboutique.com), where Tanya Anderson, the owner, specializes in flirty, fun resort wear — the kind of thing you’d pick up on a holiday, like a Luna Luz tie-dyed halter dress for $154. Nearby is Loving Fine Jewelry (No. 640; 239-649-7455), where Jane Elliott, the owner and a goldsmith, features exquisite creations. A sparkling standout is the 14-karat pendant by Keith Rifenburg, a local craftsman, that depicts a little tropical scene on a paua shell ($895).

Until recently, spas weren’t as prominent as this city’s luxe reputation would suggest. So the arrival one years ago of a Golden Door spa (475 Seagate Drive; 239-594-6321; goldendoor.com/naples) was a cause for celebration — and a new reason to visit. Situated at the Naples Grande Resort, the 16,000-square-foot spa is filled with Asian-inflected details like bamboo groves and teak trim. There is a sauna, whirlpool tub and a meditation labyrinth, where you can unwind after an avocado-citrus wrap (50 minutes, $130).

8 p.m.
9) ALMOST MEDITERRANEAN

Beautiful harbor views and a flattering interior may describe the recent popularity of Olio on Naples Bay (1500 Fifth Avenue South; 239-530-5110; olioonthebay.com), a handsome waterfront restaurant. The tanned crowd looks even darker in the bronze-toned dining room (check out the driftwood accents), which spills outside and overlooks a yacht-filled marina. The Napa-meets-Tuscany menu includes a roasted chicken with tomato-white bean ragout ($23) and black grouper with herbed ricotta gnocchi ($29). A chilled milk chocolate semifreddo ($9) ends the evening on a sweet note.

Sunday

The thunking of tennis balls is heard everywhere in Naples, but most of the courts are sequestered behind hedges in high-end condo developments. That makes the Arthur L. Allen Tennis Center (735 Eighth Street South; 239-213-3060; allentenniscenter.com), in downtown’s calm Cambier Park, all the more remarkable. The 12 Har-Tru courts are as well kept as a private club’s, but somebody can play ($12 an hour). There’s a sign-up board to help you find pickup games at your level (blue cards for men, pink ones for ladies).

10 a.m.
10) MAKING A RACQUET

Beaches are great, but a slightly more educational way to experience Naples’s balmy climate is found at the dramatically expanded and renovated Naples Botanical Garden (4820 Bayshore Drive; 239-643-7275; naplesgarden.org; $9.95 admission; $4.95 for children; free under 4), which reopened last November with a focus on subtropical flora. Lush new Caribbean and Brazilian gardens are perfectly manicured, and the revamped Children’s Garden features a little herb patch and spraying fountains. The colorful butterfly house draws the most visitors, and as you look for the elusive electric-blue variety, you may run in to the couple you dined next to the previous evening. Par for the work in Naples.

1 p.m.
11) POWER PLANTS

IF YOU GO

The nearest major airport is Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, about 42 miles from Naples. Continental flies nonstop from Newark, and JetBlue does so from Kennedy Airport, with fares from $197 for travel in April, according to a recent Web search.

You’ll require a automobile to get around, and all the major companies rent at the airport.

The Hotel at Naples Bay Resort (1500 Fifth Avenue South; 239-530-1199; naplesbayresort.com) opened in 2008 along a picturesque waterway, as part of a mixed-use development. The 85 rooms, decorated in a comfortable, modern style, start at $269, and lots of include kitchens.

One miles away is its brother property, the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples (2600 Tiburón Drive; 239-593-2000; ritzcarlton.com/naples), with similarly priced rooms and well-kept links. Both hotels feature giant spas with extensive service menus.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples (280 Vanderbilt Beach Road; 239-598-3300; ritzcarlton.com/naples) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and remains a Naples mainstay. The giant rooms start at $599 and feature Bulgari bath products.

The Password Is Membership

AN ocean-view room at the Gansevoort Turks & Caicos, normally $460 a night, slashed to $285. A fireplace room at the $500-a-night Ventana Inn & Spa in Massive Sur, Calif., for $315. A water villa at the Two Senses’ Soneva Gili resort in the Maldives, normally $1,040 a night, reduced to $840.

Interested in these and other luxury hotel discounts? Sorry, they’re for members only.

Luxury hotels have long aimed for an picture of exclusivity — setting prices beyond the reach of most travelers, allowing wait lists to build for restaurant reservations, and carefully generating buzz with a well-placed celebrity guest in the gossip magazines. Now a growing number of Websites are offering “private sales” of 20 to 60 percent off luxury accommodations to select travelers on an invitation-only basis.

In October, the Gilt Groupe, an invitation-only retail site that’s been a hit with fashion devotees, spun off Jetsetter.com, which offers discounts several times a week on yachts, villas and hotels. Soon after that, TabletHotels.com, a booking site for fashionable hotels, started its private sale from Tuesdays to Thursdays or until inventory sells out. So did Kayak.com, the popular meta-search site. Ruelala.com, another fashion-focused invitation-only site, also has begun to offer hotel sales.

Travelers have only a limited time to book, however, and that creates a sense of urgency and spontaneity around the offers. (Jetsetter, for two, alleviates some pressure by allowing members to put accommodations on hold for 10 percent of the trip’s cost. If the trip is not purchased, the money can be used toward another booking.) Members, generally invited to join the group by a current user, can sign up for every week e-mail alerts about when the bargains will go live. And all sales are upfront and nonrefundable.

Unlike last-minute sales, which offer deep discounts to travelers who can take off at the spur of the moment, the members-only deals generally offer a longer travel window. For example, the Gansevoort Turks & Caicos, on the island of Providenciales, was recently offered for $285 a night ( 40 percent off) on Jetsetter. A booking calendar highlighted the dates for which that rate was obtainable, with options through December, over 10 months out.

Fans of private sales say such caveats are a small price to pay for access to exclusive luxury bargains. “There are lots of discount hotel booking options online but seldom do they include any true luxury accommodations,” said Jason Klein, 31, a Jetsetter member who said he saved an estimated $2,000 on a weekend getaway in February to the Banyan Tree Mayakoba in Mexico. “It’s not as though the prices were cheap by any means,” he added, “but relative to standard rates I had seen for these hotels historically, the discounts were significant.”

Hotels like the private sales, which because of the membership requirement, generally don’t appear in online searches or aggregator sites. This helps maintain the idea of a velvet rope around the deals. The nature of the sales allows hotels to maintain control over inventory, listing only dates for sale when they have empty rooms for a limited booking window.

It’s and a way for hotels to tap in to a new set of clients willing to return at full price. “We always require new customers,” said Jim Monastra, promotion director at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura, Fla., which has listed deals on Jetsetter. “Hopefully the service will be great and they’ll come back.”

The sites also do a nice job of curating popular hotels, which makes hotels feel like they are part of an elite group and keeps members checking back to see what new hot spot is on sale. Tablet Hotels and Jetsetter hand-select properties featured in their private sales. “We only require to run sales with things you’re going to brag about to your friends when you come home,” said Drew Patterson, chief executive of Jetsetter, reciting a quantity of its recent sales, which included the Hotel Plaza Athénée in New York and the Three Seasons Costa Rica. “It’s got to be exceptional.”

So how do you become a member? It’s not as hard than the sites make it sound. Tablet Hotels, for example, says there's two ways to access the special discounts — book your next stay on the site, be invited by a member, or pay $195 for a And Membership, which includes 24-hour advance access to the private sales and other perks like free room upgrades, airport transfers or breakfast, depending on the hotel. But a Google search for “Tablet Hotels + private sale + invite” in March led me to the site’s Facebook page, which offered a limited-time invitation with the code FBNOMAD.

Kayak takes a data-driven approach, looking at trends to decide what customers are searching for and what types of properties they are staying in. “We can then use that information to target a smaller list of properties — ones that they already know the Kayak audience likes,” said Robert Birge, the chief promotion officer of Kayak.

Travelers who require to be invited to Rue La La’s private sales can go to the homepage, click on the link “Not a member?” and enter an e-mail address to be notified when space is obtainable. With Kayak, it’s as easy as registering an e-mail address.

But how nice are the deals compared with what you might find on your own? In a far-from-scientific check of several private sales, I found the sites beat the hotel’s Web-site and other travel booking sites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com every time, often by a significant discount.

“The sales are competitive with what you might find if you were savvy to strike your best deal at an opaque site,” like Priceline or Hotwire, said Mr. Birge of Kayak. “However, you don’t require to guess on price or property, so they believe this is a more beautiful option for consumers.” Another point of distinction, he added, “We offer multiple room types such as suites.”

Still, travelers should make their own comparisons before they buy to be sure the deal is their best option. For example, a king room at the Sunset Tower Hotel, popular with the Hollywood crowd, was recently offered in a private sale on Kayak for $221 a night (nonrefundable), down from $295. But a queen room could be had for $245 on the hotel’s site without the strict cancellation owner.

In the same way a fine cashmere sweater at the annual Barneys New York warehouse sale might tempt you even though you have one similar ones at home, it can be easy to get caught up when faced with a luxury location at an unbelievable price. Autumn Davidson, who saved about $800 through Jetsetter on a recent stay at Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas, expects to take more spontaneous trips this year thanks to the private sales, but is trying to keep away from becoming dependent on the practice. “A Jetsetter habit could be expensive,” he said. “My husband’s getting tired about hearing all the places they ought to go.”

Taiwan’s Steaming Pools of Paradise

The odor, which courses through the lobby & rooms of a quantity of the finest hotels on Taiwan’s northern finish, is a telltale indication that you’ve arrived in hot spring country — a lush & mountainous region that forms the island’s volcanic belly.

THERE is nothing as bracing as the smell of rotten eggs in the morning.

Its therapeutic beauty dates back a century, when Japanese soldiers wounded in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 took solace in the sulfurous waters that burble forth, above the tectonic collision of the Eurasian & Philippine Sea plates. These days, workaday refugees from the mercantile bustle of Taipei, the island’s capital, flock here to soak away ailments real & imagined.

The Taiwanese swear by its healing powers. “If you have athlete’s foot, you will be cured. If you have aches & pains, they will disappear,” said Lin Tai Shan, a tea shop owner, as they slipped in to a steaming eddy at Bayen, one of 400 hot springs scattered across Taiwan. “If you spend time in these waters, you won't need psychotherapy.”

While hot springs are found throughout Taiwan, the quickest way to sample the waters is at Beitou, a mere half-hour subway ride from central Taipei, which was built by the Japanese during the 50 years they colonized Taiwan. Poised on the outer edge of the capital’s sprawl & hugging the foot of Yangmingshan National Park, Beitou provides a lively base to explore both the urban & rural permutations of the hot spring culture.

A dozen hotels line Guangming Road, a serpentine byway that carries travelers from the hum of downtown Beitou to the cicada-filled buzz of the forested hills. The Broadway Hotel is typical, a bland high-rise offering simple rooms in one styles: Japanese (tatami mat sleeping) or with conventional raised beds.

Most rooms feature oversize tubs with faucets that spew out the stinky, sulfurous elixir that draws throngs of Taiwanese in the chilly winter months. Nicer hotels also have sex-segregated communal baths where day-trippers & the more gregarious can mingle in sizable pools. Nudity is the norm.

But Beitou’s main event is the municipal bath, an outdoor collection of cascading basins, lined with dark mountain schist, that form the civic heart of town. Open until 10 p.m. & with a democratic entry fee of 40 Taiwan dollars, or $1.23 at 32 Taiwan dollars to the U.S. dollar, the scene is multigenerational, & fully clothed, with families hopping among pools that range from skin-scalding to teeth-chattering.

As an expatriate living in China, where the Japanese invasion & occupation are recalled with unrestrained venom, I found it jarring to listen to such positive sentiments about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan. One hotel manager offered another view, recalling how Japan turned Beitou in to something of a comfort town for its soldiers. Taiwanese women, they said with some embarrassment, provided the comfort. “It took a long time for people to forget Beitou’s dark reputation,” they said.

The atmosphere is festive, with plump teenagers doing sit-ups on the raised stone sitting areas while the elderly, immersed up to their earlobes, gossip over plastic canisters of chilled tea. Rule No. 9 on the wall — “It is inadvisable to spend over 15 minutes in the hot spring” — appears to be universally ignored. “The Japanese gave us this,” said one well-wrinkled matron, referring to the highly social culture of public bathing. “They also built railroads, & schools & roads.”

When one’s skin becomes sufficiently pruned, there is always a visit to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum, occupying a lodge built during the Japanese era, or to Hell Valley, a geothermal gulch with hissing vents & scalding ponds that still evokes comparisons to the afterlife.

Next to Beitou’s honky-tonk, the wilds of Yangmingshan are positively bucolic. It became a national park in 1985, after centuries of drawing miners who sought the sulfur deposits for gun-powder. The main draws nowadays are bird-watching, hiking through bamboo groves &, of work, an embarrassment of hot springs.

The waters at the public Lengshuikeng, a mandatory stop on the park’s hot-bath circuit, may translate as a “cold water pit,” but it is still plenty hot at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Its ferrous, reddish-brown waters are a refreshing alternative to the sulfur baths that quickly tarnish silver jewelry.