A selection of tours and cruise-tours
15-day / 13-night tour of five islands in the Azores archipelago, PORTUGAL, June 19-July 3, 2013. Highlights: Parades and bullfights at Sanjoaninas festival on Terceira / Faial / Whaling Museum on Pico / São Jorge / Flores / geysers, thermal pools in Furnas Valley, São Miguel. $4,975 from Oakland, CA. Single supp., $800. Con Ginny-Al Tours (Los Altos, CA; 650 / 961-5558).
8-day/7-night tour, with internal flights on 9-seat Cessna 208 aircraft. Two-for-one offer on selected departures through Aug. 24, 2013. Highlights: In Arusha, tour a coffee estate/game drives in Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti Plain/market in Karatu. Land, $6,984 (second traveler free). Great Safaris (Glendale, CA; 800/409-7755).
16 days/15 nights, Aug. 15-30, 2013. Highlights: Borobudur and Prambanan temples in Java/Tanjung Puting National Park orangutan conservation center in Kalimantan/Tana Toraja treks and ceremonies in Sulawesi/beach in Bali. With air from West Coast, $6,200. Single supp., $685. Five-day Komodo island extension, $1,037. Danu Enterprises (Capitola, CA; 888/476-0543).
17-day/15-night tiger-photography tour in INDIA, May 12-28, 2013. Highlights: From Delhi, fly to Khajuraho/stay in Bandhavgarh National Park for two weeks, taking 13 morning and 11 afternoon game drives to find tigers and their prey. Land, $6,150. Single supp., $3,500. Wild India (St. Louis, MO; 314/925-8380).
13-day/12-night cruise off the coast of RUSSIAN Siberia aboard the 50-passenger Spirit of Enderby, June 5-21, 2013. Highlights: Zodiac excursions around Utashud Island/whale-watching/birds, foxes, musk deer, moose and ribbon seals/town of Okhotsk/Talan Island/Russkaya fjord for sea otters, largha seals, brown bears. Cruise price: main-deck triple, $8,300, or mini-suite, $11,200. Heritage Expeditions (Antarctic House, 53B Montreal St., Christchurch, New Zealand; phone +64 3 365 3500 or, in the US, 866/285-7884).
12 days/11 nights, Sept. 9-20, 2013. Highlights: From Paris, FRANCE, coach to Andorra for four nights/Andorran capital of Andorra la Vella/villages of Encamp, La Massana and Les Escaldes/to Suances, SPAIN, for four nights/medieval square in Comillas/Santillana del Mar, “Cantabria’s showpiece”/Basque town of San Sebastián/return via Paris. Land, £799 ($1,281). Single supp., £400. Leger Holidays, Ltd. (Sunway House, Canklow Meadows, Rotherham, S60 2XR, U.K.; phone 0844 846 0808).
7 days/6 nights, Oct. 11-17, 2013. Highlights: Cooking classes from cookbook author Joanne Weir/St. Remy market/chocolate tasting/olive oil, local rosé wine and sea salt tastings/visit Châteauneuf-du-Pape wineries/Academy of Wine & Taste dinner at Château de Clary/Les Baux/Uzès market. Land, $5,000. Single supp., $1,000. Joanne Weir’s Culinary Journeys (San Francisco, CA; 415/262-0260).
5 days/4 nights. Highlights: 900 years of bloody history at the Tower of London/Thames cruise/London ghost walk/13th-century Lacock village/Fox Talbot Museum/Cardiff Castle, WALES, reputedly haunted by Marquess of Bute/Stratford-upon-Avon/“Ghosts Alive” show at Warwick Castle. Land, £740 (near $1,187) for 3-star hotels or £610 with bed-and-breakfasts. Tours of Excellence (19 Hillcrest Rd., Little Sutton, Cheshire, England CH66 4PY; phone 0151 339 0640).
13 days/11 nights, July 22-Aug. 3, 2013. Highlights: In ICELAND, explore Reykjanes and Midnes peninsulas, Blue Lagoon, Krisuvik mud pools, bird cliffs of Hafnaberg/fly to Ilulissat, GREENLAND/Midnight Sun fjord boat trip amidst icebergs/cruise overnight on coastal steamer to Nuuk/whale-watch for humpbacks, minkes, fin whales. $7,325 from New York. Single supp., $900. In Focus with Michele Burgess (Huntington Beach, CA; 714/536-6104).
12 days / 11 nights. Highlights: In Havana, visit a “grandparents’ home” and an after-school program / artists in Santa Clara / talk to musicians in Remedios / meet students and teachers in Ciego de Ávila / go to the National Union of Writers & Artists in Camagüey / hear Professional Choir of Bayamo. Land, $4,195. Single supp., $400. Insight Cuba (New Rochelle, NY; 800/450-2822).