Discount Fares from NYC, Toronto

Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com) which is well-known for its travel recommendations, is venturing into the discount airfare arena. Current deals include several from New York City--for example, to Paris return for only $561, provided you fly out on Dec. 5 and return on Dec. 12. Similarly, rates are low between New York and LAX (Los Angeles) on certain dates. Leaving New York on Jan. 10 and returning on Jan. 24 will cost you only $278.

I liked Trip Advisor when it started because you could post whatever you wanted to in terms of reviews of hotels. That is no longer the case, now you have to follow their own template, which is a lot of work. This makes me suspicious of the reviews on the site--are there really that many people who do all this work for free? How many of them are paid by other sources? Still, I do look particularly at hotel reviews but I take them with a grain of salt.

If rail travel appeals more than flying and you want to get out of Toronto this weekend, Via Rail (www.viarail.ca) has some unusually low prices on many routes, provided you book by the end of the day today. One way to Ottawa or Montreal is as low as $27--some other conditions apply too.