Bermuda vacation -- and advising readers accordingly.

Not even the ten cent increase in the price of this newspaper escaped Maryland journalist Mr. Earle Palmer Brown's attention.

He has apparently been keeping tabs on prices in Bermuda for several years.

This month, due to demand from travel agents and friends, Mr. Palmer Brown decided to update a guide to Bermuda -- "how to visit Bermuda without taking out a home improvement loan'' -- which he wrote two years.

In his column Community Forum, in the Gaithersburg Gazette, Mr. Palmer Brown noted: "Some prices have ratcheted up; the Royal Gazette that used to be 35 cents is now 55 cents, the departure tax has increased from $10 to $15, ferry tokens are two dollars and the five-day golf package at Port Royal has doubled to $200.

"Happily,'' he adds, "Weekday golf at Riddells Bay, one of the better courses, is still only $44.'' The astute Mr. Palmer Brown further noted: "Shopping is no longer a big deal; most Bermudians do their serious shopping in Boston, Atlanta or Charlotte to the discomfort of the Front Street merchants.'' Perhaps his most stinging remarks concern the local livery cycle business.

"Mopeds and scooters (there are no rental cars) are still a gigantic rip-off but the bus and ferry service is excellent and taxis are cheaper than here.'' He adds: "It's probably just as well. I always wince when I see two portly middle-aged tourists wobbling down the highway in search of road rash.'' On the subject of dining out, he says prices have remained stable and refers to Stonington Hotel's Sunday Roast and Toast $16 special as "a real bargain''.