May 2017

9 days, 8 nights in NICARAGUA. Departures Aug. 12 & Dec. 23, 2017, and Jan. 20, Feb. 17 & March 17, 2018. Highlights: In Granada, chocolate-molding workshop, bike Old Town, culinary lesson in kitchen/boat on Lake Nicaragua/Mombacho Volcano/coffee farm in Arenal Reserve/Corn Islands Caribbean beaches. $1,195-$2,495 ppdo (standard) or $2,725-$3,325 ppdo (deluxe). Children (up to age 10), $1,995 (standard) or $2,660 (deluxe). Single supp., $450 or $995. Wildland Adventures (Seattle, WA; 800/345-4453, www.wildland.com).

8-day, 7-night cruise on refitted classic tug in CANADA’s Inside Passage, Oct. 19-26, 2017. Highlights: Embark at Port McNeill, British Columbia/cruise Broughton Archipelago, home to killer and humpback whales/U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay/Discovery Islands/Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows/Gulf Islands, Georgia Strait. Cabin, CAD4,172-CAD5,967 (near $3,055-$4,370) ppdo. Single supp., 50%. Maple Leaf Adventures (Box 8845, Stn. Central, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Z1, Canada; 888/599-5323, www.mapleleafadventures.com).

 9 days, 8 nights. Departures July 6, July 14 & Dec. 1, 2017, and  Feb. 9, 2018. Group limit, 12. Highlights: In Kigali, shop at market for cooking lesson/in Virunga National Park, track gorillas, golden monkeys/at Lake Kivu, coffee-processing facility/Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. Ppdo, $4,800 (July) or $4,940 (Dec., Feb.), including gorilla permit. Single supp., $606. Gondwana Ecotours (New Orleans, LA; 877/587-8479, gondwanaecotours.com).

11 days, 10 nights. Departures Oct. 5 & Dec. 7, 2017, and Jan. 25, Feb. 8 & March 15, 2018. Group limit, 24. Highlights: In Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque/in Meknes, ruins of Volubilis/in Fes, Medersa Bou Inania, Jewish Quarter, Medina/MonkeyWatch and Barbary macaques/in Erfoud, fossil factory, museum/bake bread in nomad camp/in Marrakech, culinary and henna workshops, royal Saadian Tombs. Ppdo from SFO, $3,899, or from SMF or RNO, $3,999. Single supp., $700. Collette (Pawtucket, RI; 800/611-3361, www.gocollette.com).

 7-day, 6-night, “enthusiast”-level bike tour of the South Island, Nov. 12-18, 2017, and Jan. 21-27, 2018. Highlights: From Christchurch, bike through Canterbury Plains to Southern Alps/sheep farm/Lake Tekapo/in Mackenzie High Country, Lake Pukaki/town of Wanaka/Queenstown. From $5,995 ppdo. Single supp., $1,000. Butterfield & Robinson (70 Bond St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5B 1X3, Canada; in No. America, 866/551-9090, www.butterfield.com).

11 days, 10 nights. Departures till October 2017. Highlights: In Tashkent, Hast Imam Complex, Chorsu Bazaar/fly to Khiva for blue-tiled Kalta Minar, Kunya Ark Citadel, Juma Mosque/at yurt village, picnic in chaikhana (teahouse)/in Bukhara, 17th-century Labi Khaus complex, folklore show/in Samarkand, Registan Square, Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble necropolis/Shakhrisabz, birthplace of Tamerlane. Land and internal flights, $3,479-$3,587. Single supp., $475. Silk Road Treasure Tours (Chester, NJ; 888/745-7670, www.silkroadtreasuretours.com).

7-day, 6-night art tour, with lecturers, in SPAIN, Oct. 23-29, 2017. Highlights: In Madrid, Prado Museum (Spanish and Flemish collections), Baroque church San Antonio de los Alemanes, Royal Palace, Royal Academy of Fine Arts/Royal Monastery in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Land only, £2,295 (near $2,855) per person, double occupancy (ppdo); from London Heathrow, £2,395 (near $2,979). Ciceroni Travel (2 The Square, Aynho, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, OX17 3BL, U.K.; phone +44 1869 811 167, www.ciceroni.co.uk).

It's known as the UFO bridge, due to the flying-saucer design of its towering observation deck, but the official name of the 1,400-foot-long structure in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, is Most Sovenského národného povstania (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising), or Most SNP, and it was the subject of our mystery photo for March.