Another good choice might be a cruise in the Caribbean, although these tours will not depart until Feb. 10 (with Lion Travel) and Feb. 25 (with King Cruise Tours Inc [金科國際遊輪]).
"Because cruises generally take up to two weeks and are limited to certain climates, it's hard to offer special programs for Lunar New Year," said George Chen (陳昭穆), manager of King Cruise Tours.
Trips to better-known destinations outside of Southeast Asia during the nine-day holiday period are up to 50 percent more expensive than normal, with bookings expected to fill up soon.
Prices for tours to Southeast Asia (except Phuket), on the other hand, have dropped to a new low since the SARS epidemic in 2003 gave the region a scare.
But there are a few things consumers need to consider before handing over their credit-card details.
Some packages are available only to holders of Republic of China passports, while low-priced packages are more prone to disputes with operators, regardless of whether the product is purchased from online or more traditional travel agencies, the Consumers' Foundation (消基會) said.
"Although cheap prices do not necessarily mean poor quality, we urge consumers to make a thorough comparison between the content of trips on offer," foundation chairman Jason Lee (李鳳翱) said.
Based on the numerous complaints it has received, many cheap group tours promoted for the Lunar New Year holiday might include activities requiring additional payments. After adding up all the extras, consumers might find the packages are not as cheap as they thought.
Worse still, travel agencies might arrange several stops at so-called "duty-free shops," inviting or even coercing tourists into buying things so that tour guides can receive a commission.
In other cases, the quality of restaurants and transportation used is downgraded to reduce costs.
"Service always come with a price tag. These kinds of gimmicks are most common in Southeast Asia, where it is easier to operate low-cost tours," Lee said.
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