Tours

8-day/7-night tour in ITALY, Oct. 5-12, 2013. Highlights: Cooking class in Ortigia (Syracuse)/Modicano Chocolate tasting/visit an herb farm/rock-cut tombs in the Necropolis Pantalica/taste olive oil, honey and preserves at Pantalica Ranch/Taormina/explore Mt. Etna with a volcanologist/wine tasting on Mt. Etna. Land, £2,495 (near $3,876). Single supp., £400 ($621). Peter Sommer Travel, Ltd. (Monmouth, UK; phone +44 [0] 1600 888 220 or, in the US & Canada, 855/443-3027).

20 days/19 nights, Aug. 20-Sept. 8, 2013. Highlights: Ankara, Turkey/Hittite site of Hattusa/carved rock reliefs in Yazilikaya/Greek Orthodox Monastery, Sümela/Mongol monuments in Erzurum/Batumi on Georgia’s coast/Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park/Gori, Stalin’s hometown. Land, $6,995. Single supp., $1,195. MIR Corporation (Seattle, WA; 800/424-7289).

14 days/13 nights, October 2013 through April 2014 (best time to go is February-April). Highlights: Mumbai/cave temples on Elephanta Island/wine tasting at Sula Vineyards/champagne at Chateau Indage/Bangalore, the Garden City/rickshaw tour of Old Delhi/Amber Fort in Jaipur/puja blessing by a Brahmin priest/in Agra, visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Land and internal air, $10,164. Geringer Global Travel (Westport, CT; 877/255-7438). 

9 days/8 nights. Highlights: Sunrise at Angkor Wat/Banteay Srei temple/Siem Reap/boat on Tonle Sap Lake/Mechrey ecotourism community/Angkor Thom/pre-Angkor-era temples/Phnom Penh/Toul Sleng prison museum/Killing Fields Museum/limestone caves at Kampong Trach/in Kep, jungle trek through Bokor National Park. Land, from $2,555. Horizon & Co. (Wilmington, DE; 800/387-2977).

Bali’s Ulun Danu Temple can be visited on a yoga retreat with Sacred Earth Journeys.
10 days/9 nights, Nov. 2-11, 2013. Highlights: Daily yoga and meditation sessions/Pura Luhur Uluwatu temple/legong dance show at Ubud Palace/cycle through Ubud rice paddies/Don Antonio Blanco Museum/walk through rainforest and swim under Les Waterfall/West Bali National Park/snorkel at Menjangan Island/Ulun Danu Temple. Land, $1,995. Single supp., $650. Sacred Earth Journeys, Ltd. (Burnaby, BC, Canada; 877/874-7922).

7-day/6-night tour of KENYA. Highlights: On game drives in the Masai Mara National Reserve, view lions, hippos, wildebeests, zebras and antelopes/flamingos at Lake Nakuru/Amboseli National Park for elephants, buffaloes, cheetahs, giraffes. Land, from $2,225. Single supp., from $140. SITA World Tours (Encino, CA; 800/421-5643).

16-day/15-night river cruise visits five countries. Departures April-November. Highlights: In Antwerp, BELGIUM, the Grote Markt/windmills in Kinderdijk, NETHERLANDS/in GERMANY, Bonn/wine tasting in Bernkastel/Roman ruins in Trier/13th-century Marksburg Castle/Lorelei rock/Black Forest tour/tour by canal boat in Strasbourg, FRANCE/walking tour of Basel, SWITZERLAND. Cruise plus airfare from New York, $3,795 (November) to $5,395 (June). Other gateways available. No single supp. Grand Circle...

CONTINUE READING »

7-day/6-night culinary tour of POLAND, June 30-July 6 & Sept. 15-21, 2013. Highlights: Three cooking classes focusing on regional cuisines/seaside resort of Jastrze¸bia Góra/Hel Peninsula Seal Sanctuary/Teutonic Knights Castle in Malbork/city tour of Gdansk/sail the Motlawa River on the galleon Black Pearl. Land, $2,950. Single supp., $350. Poland Culinary Vacations (Bozeman, MT; 888/703-8130).