A selection of tours and cruise-tours
8-day / 7-night cruise through FRANCE, June 22 or Sept. 7 or 14, 2013. Highlights: Lyon / Châlon-sur-Saône / Mâcon / Viviers / Arles / Avignon / Vienne. Cruise, $2,499-$2,999. Single cabin, $3,999-$5,199. Price includes all gratuities. Swan Hellenic (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 866 / 923-9182, www.swanhellenic.us).
11-day / 10-night tour of IRELAND and NORTHERN IRELAND. Departures, May-October 2013. Highlights: In Northern Ireland, waterbus cruise to Devenish Island / in Ireland, Dublin / Ballynahinch Castle / ferry to Inishbofin Island / Galway cathedral / Cliffs of Moher / Ring of Kerry / Torc Waterfall / Old Midleton Distillery, where Jameson Irish Whiskey is made / 12th-century Kilkenny Castle. Land, from $3,285. Single supp., $750. Brendan Vacations (Los Angeles, CA; 800 / 421-8446, www.brendanvacations.com).
Nov. 18-27, ’04. Among highlights: Ancient Timbuktu/travel by camel in the Sahara Desert/commercial center of Mopti/Djenne’s mud mosque and Monday market/meet Dogon tribesmen/colonial architecture in Segou/artisan market in Bamako — leather products, Tuareg jewelry, artifacts, mud cloth and woven baskets.
$2,669 from New York. Single supplement, $300. Optional extensions to Burkina Faso and Benin.
Spector Travel of Boston, 581 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116; phone 617/351-0111 or visit www.spectortravel.com.
13-day tour of INDIA departs Nov. 14, ’04.
30-year art teacher and acclaimed artist Jon Neuse leads this workshop, Oct. 16-24, ’04.
4-day/3-night tour in southern GERMANY includes 2-day “test drive” of a Porsche 911 or Boxster S (two people per car). Departures August-October ’04.
7-day/6-night walking tour of 2,000 years of Parisian architecture, hosted by author Rachel Kaplan (“Little-Known Museums In and Around Paris”) and architectural historian Arthur Gillette, Sept. 10-17 and Oct. 23-30, ’04.
Among highlights: Gallo-Roman baths, gladiatorial arenas/Art Nouveau district of Hector Guimard/Modernist buildings of Le Corbusier and Mallet-Stevens/buildings designed by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Christian Potzemparc, Philippe Starck and Renzo Piano/meetings with leading French architects/optional tours to Villa Savoye and Vaux-le-Vicomte. $2,750, land.
9-day / 8-night polar bear habitat tour in CANADA, October and November 2012 and 2013. Highlights: Toronto / tastings at four wineries near Niagara / Churchill, “polar bear capital of the world” / trek through the tundra to see bears, caribou, wolves, foxes / small-plane aerial tour / view bears from a Tundra Buggy. Land, from $9,060 per person. Kensington Tours (Wilmington, DE; 888 / 903-2001, www.kensingtontours.com).
9 days / 8 nights, March 19-27, 2013. Highlights: Professional photographers tour with group and give tips / Cape Town / winery tour / Stellenbosch / penguins at Boulders Beach / Big Five at Sabi Sabi Game Reserve. $4,899 from New York. Single supp., $800. Lion World Tours (Toronto, ON, Canada; 800 / 387-2706, www.lionworldtours.com).
10 days / 9 nights, departing Oct. 30 & Nov. 11, 2012, and Nov. 10, 2013. Hike from two to eight miles per day. Highlights: Start in Christchurch, South Island / limestone caves in Paparoa National Park / hangi (earth oven) feast / kayak into Okarito Lagoon to see white herons, black swans / hike to Rob Roy Glacier / Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre in Aoraki. Land, $2,395 (2012) or $2,895 (2013). No single accommodations. Wilderness Inquiry (Minneapolis, MN; 800 / 728-0719, www.wildernessinquiry.org).