September 2018

12-day, 11-night photography tour, April 24-May 5, 2019. Group limit, 10. Highlights: From San José to Santo Domingo/Finca Rosa Blanca coffee plantation/Sibu Chocolate/Arenal Observatory/cattle farm in Guanacaste/Palo Verde Nat'l Park wetlands for birds/Monteverde Cloud Forest/Botanical Orchid Garden La Garita/Poás Volcanic Nat'l Park. $5,275 ppdo. Single supp., $950. Jim Cline Photo Tours (San Diego, CA; 858/353-6210, www.jimclinephoto tours.com).

15-day, 14-night birding tour in the Andes, March 3-17, 2019. Group limit, 12. Highlights: Fly Santiago, Chile, to Mendoza, Argentina, for birds in foothills/Uspallata for Andean condor, crested gallito/tasting Mendoza wines near colony of monk parakeets/San Juan lowlands/Yeso Valley, Chile/wine tasting in Colchagua Valley/Valparaíso/waterfowl at Maipo River/on Cachagua Island, Humboldt penguins. From $5,700 ppdo. Single supp., $900. Alvaro's Adventures (Half Moon Bay, CA; 650/504-7779, www.alvarosadventures.com).

Irish cuisine has long been the fodder of jokes -- a kind of penance to suffer through in order to enjoy the people, music and lush scenery of the Emerald Isle. But that's an outdated notion: Travelers today find fresh, inventive, flavorful meals there -- and many Irish towns are working to establish themselves as foodie destinations.

When it comes to basking in the beauty of Italy's Riviera, the Cinque Terre is tops for me. But there's much more to this region on the Mediterranean coast than those famous five villages.

A handful of charming towns lie within an hour of the Cinque Terre, with posh ports set against rugged mountain backdrops that have drawn poets, authors and romantics over the years from Lord Byron to Elizabeth Taylor.