Tours

12 days/11 nights, June 6-17,  July 4-15, 2014, and summer 2015. Focuses on Sephardic culture and effects of German deportation of Jews in Balkans in WWII. Highlights: In Sofia, BULGARIA, Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia Synagogue, Sephardic food, crafts, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) singing/Plovdiv Synagogue/Rila Monastery/medieval Veliko Tarnovo/in Skopje, MACEDONIA, Holocaust Memorial Center/Ohrid, one of Europe’s oldest settlements/in Thessaloniki, GREECE, 15th-century White Tower. Land, $2,360. Air from New York City, approx. $1,300. Single supp., $340.

14 days/13 nights. Highlights: In Stockholm, SWEDEN, museum of royal warship Vasa/in Helsingborg, 19th-century castle Sofiero Slott/in Copenhagen, DENMARK, Crown Jewels at Rosenborg Palace, historic Nyhavn area, Tivoli Gardens/in North Sealand, 17th-century Frederiksborg Çastle/fjords in NORWAY/in Oslo, Viking Ship Museum, Vigeland Sculpture Park/in Laerdal, Borgund Stave Church/Briksdal Glacier/in Bergen, open-air fish market. Land, $5,690-$5,890. Single supp., $588 or $988, depending on departure date.

10 days, 9 nights, April 14-23, 2014. Highlights: From Salta, drive to Salinas Grandes salt flats / in Tilcara, witness end of annual Easter pilgrimage of sikuris / 2-mile trek of Purmamarca striated canyons / Salta museum with Inca mummies / gondola up 4,770-foot Cerro San Bernardo / visit weaving families along Artisan Road/vicuna ranch/tour Estancia Colomé winemaking facilities, James Turrell art exhibit/at an estancia, a local horse whisperer / Cafayate wine bodegas. Land, $3,790. Single supp., $695.

8-day, 7-night tour in SOUTH AFRICA. Highlights: Tours of Johannesburg, including Mandela’s former home in Soweto, Apartheid Museum / fly to Cape Town / ferry to Robben Island penitentiary and visit what was Mandela’s cell for 18 years, then Presidential Residence at Groote Schuur / cable car up Table Mountain / Malay Quarter walking tour / Shambala Private Game Reserve. Land, $9,320. Single supp., 30%-50%.

Zicasso (New York, NY; 650/395-8890).

10-day, 9-night cruise aboard National Geographic Orion, with professional photography instruction. May-July 2014. Highlights: Fly to Darwin, embark ship for Kimberleys plateau region / Purnululu National Park for flightseeing or Ord River cruise to Lake Argyle and Durack homestead / Gwion Gwion Aboriginal rock art up to 40,000 years old / near Naturalists Island, Zodiac through mangroves; see crocodiles / Montgomery Reef / Talbot Bay / Nares Point / disembark in Broome. Excluding airfare, $8,210-$17,190 per person, double occ. Single cabins, $12,320 or $16,980.

10-day, 9-night tour in CHINA, June 6-15 and Oct. 10-19, 2014. Highlights: Beijing city tour / fly to Chengdu / drive to Bifengxia Giant Panda Research Center; don uniform and feed pandas, clean bins and do other work, with unrestricted access in free time / free time in Chengdu / fly to Shanghai for free time. Land, $3,460 per person, double occ. Single cost, $3,880.

Posh Journeys (Reno, NV; 775/852-5105).

15-day, 14-night photo excursion through central India. Until June 2014. Highlights: Head from New Delhi to Khajuraho for temples and sound-and-light show / six days in Bandhavgarh National Park, with safaris, guided bird-watching, butterflies, tribal dance / five days in Kanha National Park for safaris, nature walk / in Jabalpur, Dhuandhar Falls / fly to New Delhi. Land, INR268,000 (about $4,260). Single cost, $3,500.

Wild Indian Safari (Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India; phone +91 761 4004141).

8 days, 7 nights in TURKEY. Highlights: In Cappadocia region, Göreme Open Air Museum, rock-carved churches / stay in cave hotel / ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa / in Amasya, Seljuk mausoleum with Mongol mummies / in Safranbolu, Cinci Caravanserai / depart from Ankara. From New York, $1,999-$3,099; from Los Angeles, $2,299-$3,399. No single accommodations.

Troy Tours (Los Angeles, CA; 310/417-3460).

8 days, 7 nights in Tuscany region of ITALY. Departures May-October 2014. Highlights: Tour starts and ends in Rome and visits market towns like Greve plus medieval Montepulciano and the Renaissance Pienza, with tours of Florence (Church of Santa Croce), Siena (Contrade Museum) and Orvieto (funicular) / four tastings of wine or “Presidia products” / cooking lesson. Land, $2,600 per person, double occ. Single cost, $3,219. TourCrafters (Libertyville, IL; 800/482-5995).

10-day/9-night photography workshop in GUATEMALA with instructor David Wells, April 3-12, 2014. Highlights: In Antigua, capture photos of Lenten procession and flower carpets/in Santiago Atitlán, stay at Posada Santiago on Lake Atitlán/views of San Pedro Volcano and two other dormant volcanoes around the lake/travel by boat to San Juan la Laguna and other lake villages. Land, $1,995. Single supp., $250. Art Workshops in Guatemala (Minneapolis, MN; 612/825-0747).