A selection of tours and cruise-tours
16 days / 14 nights. Highlights: In Tokyo, Tsukiji Fish Market, Ginza district / 40-foot-high bronze Kamakura Great Buddha/sightsee by boat on Lake Ashi / Takayama city in the Japanese Alps / 110 temples in Koya-san / o-inori Buddhist prayer service / Osaka Castle / monkeys on Miyajima Island / Hiroshima / Nijo Castle / Kyoto’s Gion Geisha district. Land, from $4,144. Single supp., from $474. Samurai Tours (Denver, CO; 866/316-7268).
7-day / 6-night train tour departs Oct. 30, 2012, and Feb. 4 & Nov. 24, 2013. Highlights: “Sacred thread” ceremony in Isan village / silk weavers in Phanom Rung / Chiang Mai elephant camp / Khao Yai National Park, home to elephants, gibbons and birds. State cabin, double, $9,200; Presidential Suite, double, $13,800; state cabin, single, $11,800, or Presidential Suite, single, $17,700. The Society of International Railway Travelers (Louisville, KY; 800/476-4881)
18-day / 16-night tour in INDIA, May 22-June 8, 2013. Highlights: Red Fort, Qutab Minar in Delhi / Leh, Ladakh / 11th-century monastery in Likir / temples in Kangra Valley / Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama / crafts, jewelry in Pragpur market / Chandigarh, “The City Beautiful.” Land, $10,980. Single supp., $3,980. Zegrahm Expeditions (Seattle, WA; 800/628-8747).
8 days / 7 nights, Dec. 18-25, 2012. Highlights: Kraków Christmas market / learn to make pierogi / torch-lit sleigh ride / Wieliczka Salt Mine / ornament-making workshop / Christmas market in Warsaw / join a Polish family for Wigilia, the Christmas Eve feast and vigil / Christmas Eve midnight carol service. Land, $3,095. Single supp., $495. MIR Corporation (Seattle, WA; 800/424-7289)
9 days / 8 nights, Dec. 15-23, 2012. Highlights: Heidelberg / medieval Rothenburg / 180 stalls of crafts and food at Nuremburg Christmas market / castles Schwangau and Neuschwantstein / “Sound of Music” sights in Salzburg / Dachau / Munich Christmas markets. $3,529 with air from most US cities. Land only, $2,289. Single supp., $420. David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe (Middleburg, FL; 800/570-1351).
10 days / 8 nights. Highlights: In London, ENGLAND, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, theater performance / Cambridge / medieval York / Edinburgh, SCOTLAND / Gretna Green / back in England, Lake District / Stratford-upon-Avon / Stonehenge / Cotswolds / in WALES, Ruthin Castle. Land, from $2,349. Single supp., $450. Collette Vacations (Pawtucket, RI; 800/340-5158).
17 days/16 nights, Oct. 26-Nov. 11, 2012. Highlights: Santiago city tour, Pablo Neruda’s house/Pucon in the Lake District/Villarrica Volcano/cruise fjords on catamaran Patagonia Express /Punta Arenas/Torres del Paine National Park/Viña Concha y Toro winery/El Pueblito de Los Dominicos handicraft market. From Los Angeles, $7,390. Single supp., $1,290. EastWest International Tours (Laguna Beach, CA; 800/359-6719).
13 days/12 nights. Highlights: Windhoek city tour/encounter cheetahs, leopards at AfriCat Foundation/Etosha National Park, home to lions, elephants, giraffes, ostriches/visit a Himba settlement/Desert Rhino Camp/Twyfelfontein rock engravings/cruise to see Cape fur seals, dolphins, birds in Swakopmund/world’s highest dunes. Land, $8,450. Single supp., $1,000. EverGreen Escapes (Seattle, WA; 866/203-7603).
11 days/9 nights. Highlights: Hanoi’s 11th-century One Pillar Pagoda, stelae at Temple of Literature/view karst formations during cruise on Ha Long Bay aboard a wooden junk/Hue’s Imperial Citadel, Thai Hoa Palace/Lang Co fishing village/in Da Nang, Cham Museum/visit potters and woodcarvers in Hoi An/Binh Tay market, Cu Chi Tunnels in Saigon. Land, $1,880. Single supp., $773. Orient Odyssey (Point Roberts, WA; 800/637-5778).
8-day/7-night, “moderate” walking tour (five to seven hours’ walking per day, with demanding ascent or descent for up to 800 meters per day) in PORTUGAL. Highlights: Funchal/clifftop walk at São Lourenço/follow the levada (irrigation channel) path to Florenças/Balcony Walk between the peaks Arieiro and Ruivo. Land, from $810. Single supp., $190. Explore! North America (Oakland, CA; 800/715-1746).