Every summer, Europe greets a stampede of sightseers. Instead of jumping into the peak-season pig pile, consider planning a trip for the off-season, generally November through March. Here are some things to know when planning a winter trip.
16-day, 15-night cultural expedition in PERU, Sept. 20-Oct. 5, 2017. Led by anthropologist Manuel Arboleda G. Group limit, 20. Highlights: In Lima, architectural tour/boat trip to Ballestas Islands for thousands of birds/pachamanca (earth oven) lunch in Sacred Valley/Cusco/PeruRail’s Vistadome train to Machu Picchu/navigate Amazon Basin’s Yanayacu River for macaws, monkeys, dolphins, caimans/visit Taquile island on Lake Titicaca. $2,855-$3,175 ppdo. Single supp., $790. Nawpaq Expeditions (Los Pinos 156, Apt. 702, Lima 18, Peru; phone +51 1 65 432 65, www.nawpaq
9 days, 8 nights. Highlights: Fly from Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA, to Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana/watch for leopards and lions on game drives/fly to Okavango Delta for mokoro (dugout canoe) rides to see raptors, water birds/hike at Victoria Falls/cruise on Zambezi River. $5,595-$7,995 ppdo (per departure date). Single supp., $95-$295; $2,085 July-October (peak season). African Travel, Inc. (Glendale, CA; 800/421-8907, africantravelinc.com).
9 days, 9 nights, May 26-June 3, 2017. Highlights: In Siem Reap, market and street food tours, cooking classes/temple tours, including Angkor Wat/tuk-tuk to villages for families producing rice noodles, rice paper and prahok (fermented fish)/in Battambang, dine at Jaan Bai restaurant, where local youth learn culinary skills. $2,210 ppdo. Grantourismo (Street 20, Wat Bo, Siem Reap, Cambodia; phone +855 81 780 556, www.gran tourismotravels.com).
8 days, 7 nights in BANGLADESH, March 24-31, Nov. 3-10 & Dec. 1-8, 2017. Highlights: In Sundarbans, 3 days in one of world’s largest mangrove forests/overnight on century-old Rocket paddle steamer/hike from Kochikhali to Jamtola Beach/Kotka forest station for views of animal feeding grounds/15th-century Mosque City of Bagerhat. $760 ppdo. $815 single. Nijhoom Tours (House 06, Road 17, Nikunja 02, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh; phone +88 01758 897959, nijhoom.com).
5 days, 4 nights on Cyclades island in south Aegean Sea, GREECE. May 27-31 and Oct. 1-5, 2017. Group limit, 8. Highlights: Hike from Fira to Oia/in port of Ammoudi, Cyclades cooking class, wine tasting/Museum of Prehistoric Thera/boat ride to center of caldera for swimming/on island of Thirasia, hike up steep stairs to villages. €2,400 (near $2,544) ppdo. Single supp., €640 ($678). Aegean Adventures (New York, NY; 800/867-1753, www.aegeanadventures.com).
8-day, 7-night slow-paced photo and art tour through FRANCE, June 5-12, 2017. Highlights: Arrive in Rennes by train from Paris/take van to Morbihan in Brittany for Carnac alignments, Locmariaquer megaliths and sunset and morning shoots/burial cairn on island of Gavrinis/in Paris, Eiffel Tower, Louvre. $2,499 per person, double occupancy (ppdo). $2,999 single. La Belle France Tours (Fresno, CA; 559/960-7347, www.labelle francetours.com).
8 days, 7 nights in Oulanka National Park (5 days’ moderate-level cycling, 3-6 hours per day), March 26-April 2 and April 9-16, 2017. Highlights: Receive bike, equipment at lodge/ride prepared trails through taiga and pine forests, home to reindeer and moose/Lake Paanajärvi on Russian border/Oulanka Visitor Centre/Finnish sauna. $1,705-$1,785 (per dates) per person. Exodus Travels (112 Merton St., Toronto, ON, M4S 2Z8, Canada; 844/227-9087, www.exodustravels.com).
This month’s winner is SUE HUNT of Placerville, California:
On our trip to Myanmar with Vantage Adventures in October 2016, my husband and I stayed at a nice hotel in Yangon (Rangoon) for two nights. At breakfast, a waitress came to our table with two carafes. I smiled at her, pointed to my half-full cup of coffee and said, “Just warm it up, please.”
She promptly filled my cup with hot water.
Well, she did as I had asked. So I drank it.