A selection of tours and cruise-tours
7-day/6-night tour, Sept. 23-28, 2014, includes passes to Ryder Cup golf tournament. Highlights: Explore Edinburgh/watch final practice rounds at Gleneagles/Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony/Fourball and Foursomes matches/Closing Ceremony/Glasgow/Loch Lomond/Oban/play golf at Musselburgh, “oldest golf course in the world.” Land, from $5,450. Kensington Tours (Wilmington, DE; 888/903-2001).
4-day/3-night tour in ENGLAND, May 12-15, 2014. Highlights: Tour with garden historian Marion Mako/Hidcote Manor Gardens/white rambling roses at Kiftsgate/H.R.H. the Prince of Wales’ garden at Highgrove. Land, £760 (near $1,181) for Village Pub accommodations (single supp., £210); £1,135 ($1,764) for Barnsley House (single supp., £561). World Walks (Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England; phone [44] [0] 1242 254 353).
Eight-day/seven-night cruise of the Sea of Cortez, MEXICO; departures November 2012-April 2013. Highlights: Board the 86-passenger Safari Endeavour in La Paz/kayaking, snorkeling, paddle boarding/sea lions on Los Islotes/hike in cactus forest on Isla San Francisco/searching for blue, fin, sei, orca and sperm whales/explore Bahia Agua Verde/Loreto, Baja’s first Spanish settlement/tiny Isla Coyote. From $2,995 (Master Cabin) to $6,795 (Commodore Suite). Single cabin, from $3,995.
Tour packages include flight from Papeete to Mangareva, Tahiti. From there, head to Pitcairn aboard sailing vessel Xplore or supply ship Claymore II. Homestay accommodations on Pitcairn. Eight-day Xplore voyage, $4,400; 15-day, $5,000, departing in spring. Eight-day Claymore II voyage, $6,650; 15-day, $7,350, February-December 2012. Pitcairn Travel (6/123 Waminda St., Morningside, QLD, 4170 Australia; phone, to Australia, +61 406 609 022 or, to Pitcairn Island, +64 9 984 0163).
16 days/15 nights, departing June 8 & Oct. 19, 2012. Highlights: In Addis Ababa, National Museum, Trinity Cathedral/boat to Lake Tana monasteries/Gondar/Simien Mountains National Park/rock-hewn churches in Lalibela/stelae, Queen of Sheba ruins in Axum/visit tribal people in Lower Omo Valley. Land, $6,800 (with 8-12 people), $7,500 (5-7). Single supp., $1,300. Internal air, approx. $1,200. Geographic Expeditions (San Francisco, CA; 800/777-8183).
17 days/15 nights, Oct. 17-Nov. 2, 2012. Highlights: In Jerusalem, City of David excavation, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, lectures from scholars, Dead Sea Scrolls/Masada/Jericho/Tiberias/Capernaum/Golan Archaeological Museum/Bronze Age Megiddo/Tel Aviv. Land, $5,985. Single supp., $1,670. Archaeological Tours (New York, NY; 866/740-5130).
15-day/14-night gulet cruise-tour of Turkey’s Carian coast, Sept. 8-22, 2012. Highlights: From Kusadasi, sail to Samos/ancient Herakleia/sanctuary of Zeus at Labraunda/Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Halicarnassus/boat up Dalyan River to Kaunos/harbor town of Göcek. Cruise, £3,425 (near $5,350). Single supp., £750. Peter Sommer Travels (Ste. 2, 96 Monnow St., Monmouth, NP25 3EQ, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1600 888220).
12 days/12 nights in FRANCE, Sept. 2-14, 2012. Highlights: Château Lynch-Bages winery, Bordeaux/rock church in St. Emilion/cruise on Drônne River/Château Hautefort/Brantôme Abbey, founded in 769/Sarlat market/medieval Rocamadour/prehistoric art at Grotte de Font-de-Gaume and Lascaux II. Land, $3,895. Single supp., $550. Intimate France (Oakland, CA; 800/676-1247).
11-day / 10-night tour. Highlights: In Copán, HONDURAS, Hieroglyphic Stairway, sculpture museum / in Quiriguá, GUATEMALA, texts and portraits on stelae / pyramids in Tikal / bas-reliefs and hieroglyphs in Palenque, MÉXICO / Temple de los Frescos in Bonampak / market in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Land, $2,900. Single supp., $400. Domestic air, about $125. Mayatour (Doral, FL; 888 / 349-6292).
10-day / 9-night wildlife tour of KENYA led by professional photographer. Highlights: On Samburu Game Reserve, seek elephants, buffaloes, cheetahs, leopards, Grevy’s zebras / by boat, observe chimps at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary / flamingos at Lake Bogoria / in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, look for lions, rhinos, wildebeests / elephant herds in Amboseli. Land, from $3,545. Single supp., from $425. Around the World Adventures, Inc. (Safety Harbor, FL; 888 / 430-3535).