The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau has put together a winter Whale Watching package that includes two nights of lodging at one of 20 participating hotels, tickets for a whale-watching cruise, plus admission to the Virginia Aquarium and tickets to a film at its IMAX theater. Prices start at $83 per person, but can go higher depending on which hotel you choose.  To find out if this package is a good deal for families, we crunched the numbers on a two-night March weekend stay for a family of two adults and two kids under 12 at the Courtyard by Marriott, one of the participating hotels.

The package includes:

• Two-night stay in a double room (worth $159/night x 2 nights = $318)
• Four tickets to two-hour whale-watching cruise (normally $28/adult x 2 + $24/child x 2  = $104)
• Four tickets to Virginia Aquarium (valued at $17/adult x 2 + $12/child x 2 = $58)
• Four tickets to IMAX film at the aquarium (worth $8.50/adult x 2 + $7.50/child x 2  = $32)

If you booked these elements on your own, you would pay $512 for a two-night stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in March.  The package price works out to $97 per person, so a family of four would pay $388. This translates to a savings of almost 25%. 

It's worth noting that there are plenty of variables with this offer and the savings is different for every property.  For example, at the Virginia Beach Hotel & Conference Center, the differential between the package and non-package prices works out to just 12%.  In addition, availability differs from hotel to hotel, so it pays to persevere to find a hotel with availability for your desired travel dates.  The promo indicates that breakfast is included at some properties, but that's the case only at hotels where a complimentary breakfast is always provided.

Deal or no deal? Grab your windbreakers and binoculars—it's a deal! Just keep in mind that the savings will vary depending on the property, so do the math and choose your hotel carefully.

The fine print: The promotion runs through March 12, with a minimum stay of two nights. The package must be booked and pre-paid at least three days before the stay, and there's a 72-hour cancellation policy.