Finding Cheaper Routes to Your Roots

In the American melting pot, the ethnic travel segment of the industry is big business, serving first- and second-generation Americans returning to visit relatives in their countries of origin. Many specialized travel agencies have sprung up, offering this market--and anyone else--heavily discounted air fares “home.”

You can often find such agencies by scanning ads in newspapers that are directed at ethnic communities. (Even when they’re written in non-Roman characters, a part of the ad usually is in Roman or even in English.) To get you started, here are some examples of what ethnic agencies can offer:

* Argentina (also Brazil and Chile): South America’s southern cone can be expensive to reach, but a New York-Buenos Aires round-trip ticket in coach class that’s usually published, for example, at $1,400 in the fall, can be purchased for $620 from Holdy Tours, telephone (800) 446-1111.

* Brazil: Brazilian American Cultural Center Travel, tel. (800) 222-2746, (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. New York time) can cut fall/winter rates in the $700 to $800 range to $550 to $680 for New York departures. The agency often can swing a $720 fall fare from L.A. to Rio de Janeiro. These rates don’t apply during peak periods such as New Year’s and Carnival (usually in February).

* Caribbean (especially Jamaica and Trinidad): Ahwee Tours, tel. (718) 953-4600, cuts prices by up to 25%. It offers round-trip flights from New York to Trinidad, usually $800, for $682, and to Jamaica for $580.

* China: Far Eastern Travel, tel. (800) 275-3384, has late summer fares of $650 to $670 from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Rates start dropping after Sept. 1.

* Ireland (also Britain): Celtic Travel, tel. (800) 423-5842. This summer, you could snag up to 20% in savings from Celtic Travel. The really big savings come in the absence of an advance-purchase requirement. As an example, the full published fare to London or Dublin last week was $1,255; Celtic could book it for $749 right up to day of departure.

* Israel: This summer and fall (through October), flying between New York and Tel Aviv would generally set you back $1,100 to $1,300 if booked directly with the airlines. Tzell Travel, tel. (212) 944-2121, Ext. 622, can do the round trip for $865.

* South Africa: Discover Africa, tel. (888) 330-4880, can save you about 20% off regular fares this fall. For example, a round trip from the East Coast (New York or Atlanta) is possible for about $1,025; for round trip from Los Angeles, add $225.