HONG KONG

Celebrate Chinese-style: Air-hotel package to welcome the year of the dog

The Real Deal: Roundtrip airfare and five nights from $799 per person

When: Depart Jan. 24 - 26, 2006

Gateways: Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle; New York City, Houston, Miami, Chicago (add $120); additional cities available

Details: Airport-hotel transfers, hotel taxes, one-day metro pass, a half-day city tour and a parade ticket for Jan. 29 are included. Additional airport taxes and fuel surcharges total $190 per person

Book By: Jan. 5, 2006

Contact: Go Today, 800-227-3235, go-today.com

Accommodations are at the BP International House on Kowloon Side, a 10-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Island. Upgrades are available to four different hotels for an additional $50 to $200 per person.

IRELAND

Ring in 2006 like Irish royalty: Castle and hotel packages for Claire County, Dublin, and Galway

The Real Deal: Three nights at the Dromoland Castle eight miles from the Shannon airport in Claire County, three nights at the Jury's Ballbridge in Dublin, three-day automatic economy car rental in Dublin, a cocktail reception, dinner and entertainment nightly, and a New Year's Eve black-tie dinner dance with fireworks from $2,765 per person(dooleyvacations.com).

For those not looking to fork over princely sums, Dooley has an alternate New Year's Eve package, with three nights at the Jury's Ballbridge in Dublin, a champagne reception, five-course dinner with live music, and then three nights at Galway's Imperial Hotel and a three-day automatic economy car rental from $685 per person (dooleyvacations.com).

When: Dec. 30, 2005 - Jan. 5, 2006

Details: Hotel taxes are included. Car insurance can be purchased starting at $11.50 per day.

Gateways: Airfare from the U.S. is not included. For the luxury castle package, travelers will need to book a flight into Shannon and then out of Dublin or fly roundtrip to Shannon and arrange for transportation from Dublin back to Shannon. For the Dublin and Galway package, the airfare is easier to coordinate: book a roundtrip flight to Dublin, drive back from Galway to the airport and drop off the rental car there.

Book By: No deadline; based on availability

Contact: Dooley Vacations, 877-331-9301, dooleyvacations.com