"People don't believe me," Chavez-Diaz said with a smirk, as she boarded a Spirit Airlines flight. The so-called "ultra low cost" carrier offered a promotion Chavez-Diaz seized on after receiving an e-mail from the airline.

It wasn't the only deal she has found lately. In the past year, the empty-nester and her husband, Carlos, have taken six trips to the Virgin Islands, and Las Vegas, never paying more than $68 each for a round-trip ticket.

With soaring fuel prices, airlines are hiking fares unlike ever before just as the peak summer travel season is set to kick off. But bargain hunters say air fare deals still abound - they're just harder to find.

Increased competition is holding down fares on certain routes. Domestically, new entrants and added flights along the West Coast are keeping air fares low. With upstarts Virgin America and JetBlue Airways expanding West Coast service, a round trip ticket to Seattle from L.A. can go as low as $179. International fares to Australia and some cities in Europe including Rome and London are falling as more foreign carriers have jumped into the fray.

Travelers also are relying more than ever on a few money-saving tricks, from scouring last-minute online deals to trying out smaller airlines that often have less expensive fares but canÕt afford to advertise them. Such bargains aren't always included on air fare Web sites such as Orbitz and Expedia.

Some fliers are even doing the unthinkable: going where it's hot. (Think Texas in July.)

Deals "are available but it does take time to find them, and flexibility is key," said Kellie Pelletier, spokeswoman for Kayak.com, a travel search Web site, adding that old rules to finding bargains no longer apply.

"This is just a crazy summer. There are no absolutes. You have to look around, and it's really important to be flexible and look at all the dates," she said, noting how the least expensive air fare to St. Lucia from Los Angeles this summer is on the July 4th weekend. In years past, the holiday was among the most expensive for the route.

Of course, buyer beware: Many of the discounted fares come with stiff restrictions and penalties for changes and cancellations.

Travelers who have flexible schedules and are willing to try less popular destinations or fly smaller airlines can find unbelievable deals, according to travel experts. Last month, Spirit Airlines held a 24-hour promotion offering round-trip tickets to the Bahamas for 36 cents.

That's a far cry from many flights that are reaching record prices and still climbing. Airlines are tacking on hundreds of dollars to some air fares to recover the cost of escalating fuel costs. Last week, fuel charges on some domestic round trip tickets climbed to $130, according to Farecompare.com, an air fare Web site.

Combined with government taxes and fees, the fuel charges are larger than the base air fare on some routes. Fuel charges on international flights have climbed as high as $400.

"With a backdrop of a slowing economy, I continue to look for a tipping point where domestic air travelers begin to significantly push back on record high airline ticket prices," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of Farecompare.com. So far it isn't happening, he said.

Travel agents said many travelers this year are not looking for the best deal to a specific place but instead are looking for any deal and, if necessary, altering their vacation destinations.

"People are going to Punta Cana (in the Dominican Republic) instead of Cancun because it's about $100 less for a 10-day package than Cancun's eight-day package," said Bill Wood, executive editor of publishing for AAA, the nation's largest motoring and travel services organization.

Online travel search service Farecast.com found that "Texas seems to be a good deal, if you are OK with some heat."

Flights to Austin from L.A. are down 28 percent from last year, averaging about $200 for a round-trip ticket while San Antonio was down 12 percent, said Nick Leahy, spokesman for farecast.com.

One of the best ways to find deals without hunting for them is to sign up for e-mail alerts from travel search Web sites such as hotwire.com or sidestep.com or with airlines that fly to preferred destinations.

Another factor to consider: overall travel cost. Air fares to Hawaii climbed dramatically after Aloha Airlines went out of business and took nearly 100,000 available seats per month out of the West Coast market.

Now, travel agents say they're seeing some of the lowest hotel rates in years. "There are some surprising deals out there," said Chris McGinnis, editor of Expedia Travel Trendwatch, an online research report expected to be unveiled later this week. ÒBecause fewer people are flying to Hawaii, there are significant hotel discounts."

According to the report, summer air fares are up nearly 18 percent on average while hotel rates are down 26 percent in Maui and 17 percent in Oahu.

Another way to find bargains is to consider airlines that many people might not normally think fly to a destination, travel experts say. A check of airline and travel Web sites last week found nonstop air fares from Los Angeles to London on Air France and Air New Zealand for $200 to $300 less during the Memorial holiday compared with British Airways and American Airlines.

Because even the biggest travel Web sites don't include all the airlines that fly a particular route, check www.flightstats.com, which keeps track of all flights at U.S. airports, to see which airlines are flying certain routes.

Chavez-Diaz, of Fort Lauderdale, says she wakes up each morning and checks for e-mail alerts because some of the best deals are limited and last only a few hours.

"Sometimes I can't believe it myself," she said. "But if you're willing to spend some time you can find some really cheap fares."