Dodge the high cost of the high season

WHAT top-value vacations are available in March? Many Americans do not want to take time off during March, because it’s such a hectic business month; consequently, March prices are far lower than those available during February, which is a popular travel month.

China is a good example. Pacific Delight World Tours, www.pacificdelighttours.com, (800) 221-7179, is charging as little as $899 per person, double occupancy, for a March 29 departure from LAX to Beijing. Included are round-trip airfare, five nights’ accommodations with daily breakfasts, two lunches and two days of escorted sightseeing (with a visit to the Great Wall). Taxes and fuel surcharge add about $250.

Another good bet is Spain, which enjoys mild weather in March at resorts on its Mediterranean coast. A two-week vacation can cost $1,069 per person -- including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles and 14 nights with daily buffet breakfasts at a first-class oceanfront hotel in Lloret de Mar, an hour from Barcelona. The town, in Catalonia, is a former fishing village with more than a millennium of history and proximity to many other historical villages and attractions.

Lloret de Mar also is inexpensive: A three-course meal, including dessert and a half-bottle of wine per person, costs about $10, including tax and tip. The tour operator is Vacation Europe, www.vacationeurope.com, (800) 674-8883,

The Antarctic Peninsula is another destination where prices drop in March. The Canadian tour company, GAP Adventures, www.gapadventures.com, (800) 465-5600, is offering 10-day Antarctic Classic cruises March 1 and 10 aboard its expedition cruise ship the M/S Explorer. The itinerary will focus on the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula -- home to some of the planet’s most impressive wildlife and dramatic landscapes. GAP’s price is $4,265 per person, double occupancy, for a main-deck cabin. The price does not include airfare to the starting point in Ushuaia, Argentina.