A selection of tours and cruise-tours
8 days, 7 nights in Oulanka National Park (5 days’ moderate-level cycling, 3-6 hours per day), March 26-April 2 and April 9-16, 2017. Highlights: Receive bike, equipment at lodge/ride prepared trails through taiga and pine forests, home to reindeer and moose/Lake Paanajärvi on Russian border/Oulanka Visitor Centre/Finnish sauna. $1,705-$1,785 (per dates) per person. Exodus Travels (112 Merton St., Toronto, ON, M4S 2Z8, Canada; 844/227-9087, www.exodustravels.com).
“WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SAFARI OF KENYA” — 12 days, 11 nights, June 10-21, 2017. Group limit, 6. Highlights: Near Nairobi, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage/in Tsavo East National Park, luxury safari camp/elephant research project in Amboseli National Park/at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, game drives, Chimpanzee Sanctuary, endangered white rhinos/at Masai Mara National Reserve, Mara Predator Project’s study of lions, Maasai village visit. $11,995 ppdo. Holden Safaris (Newport Beach, CA; 877/422-1350, www.holden safaris.com).
“RETURN TO THE SOLOMON ISLANDS” — 10 days, 9 nights in Western Pacific, May 28-June 6, 2017. Highlights: From Los Angeles to Honiara on Guadalcanal to board MV Bilikiki for 8-day cruise to Florida Islands of Gavutu, Tulagi and Tanambogo and to Russell Islands of Puvuvu and Banika/snorkel at a P-38 wreck in waters near runway/swim ashore at Kennedy Island/Gizo tour/on Guadalcanal, American Memorial, Red Beach. $5,490 ppdo or $9,980 single. Valor Tours (Sausalito, CA; 800/842-4504, www.valortours.com).
“THE BEST OF CHINA” — 17 days, 16 nights, April 12-28, 2017. Highlights: In Beijing, Tiananmen Square, Ming Tombs, Temple of Heaven/Great Wall/in Xi’an, Terracotta Army/3-night Yangtze River cruise/Chongqing Zoo for pandas/fly to Suzhou for Master of the Nets Garden. Land only, CAD4,945 (near $3,760) ppdo or CAD6,545 ($4,977) single. From Toronto, CAD6,395 ($4,863) ppdo or CAD7,995 ($6,080) single. DeNure Tours (71 Mt. Hope St., Lindsay, ON, K9V 5N5, Canada; 800/668-6859, denuretours.com).
“THE JEWELS OF PERSIA BY BICYCLE” — 15-day, 14-night bike tour (“moderately challenging”; average 40 miles per day, 9½ days) through central IRAN, departing April 2, May 7 & Sept. 17, 2017. Highlights: In Shiraz, Eram Garden, Vakil Mosque/ruins of Persepolis/Abarkouh ice houses/Zoroastrian Towers of Silence in Yazd/Isfahan/ancient mud-house villages in Abyaneh/Tehran. $3,495 ppdo. Single supp., $275. Bike rental, $180.
“FOOD LOVER’S CATALONIA” — 9-day, 8-night, culinary walking tour (“moderate” level) in SPAIN, May 14-22 & Sept. 17-25, 2017. Highlights: In Barcelona, La Boqueria market, cooking class, tapas crawl/drive to Pyrenees for cheese and wine tasting, Michelin-rated dining/Aigüestortes National Park/volcanic Garrotxa region/ninth-century Girona. $2,840 ppdo. Single supp., $650. UTracks (47 William St., Ottawa, ON, K1N 6Z9, Canada; 866/441-6232, www.utracks.com).
“IRISH & SCOTTISH SAMPLER” — 8-day, 7-night tour of IRELAND and SCOTLAND, April-October 2017. Highlights: In Dublin, Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre, St. Patrick’s Cathedral/Titanic Belfast/ferry to Cairnryan, Scotland/Pollok House in Glasgow/in Pitlochry, whisky tasting at Blair Athol Distillery/St. Andrews/Edinburgh Castle. $1,716-$2,154 (per dates) per person, double occupancy (ppdo). Single supp., $395. Tenon Tours (Wakefield, MA; 855/468-3666, www.tenontours.com).
10-day, 9-night rail tour through northeastern CANADA; departures May-October 2017. Highlights: In Québec City, Plains of Abraham, Place-Royale/overnight aboard VIA Rail’s Ocean train to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to visit a seaside town/drive to Cape Breton for Alexander Graham Park in Baddeck/ferry to Prince Edward Island for Province House. $1,680-$2,112 (per dates) ppdo. Single supp., $450. Vacations By Rail (Chicago, IL; 877/929-7245, www.vacationsby rail.com).
11 days, 10 nights, Feb. 12-22 & Oct. 15-25, 2017. Highlights: In Addis Ababa, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Ethnographic Museum/fly to Axum for Stelae Park/fly to Lalibela for monolithic rock-cut churches/fly to Gondar for Debre Berhan Selassie Church/Simien Mountains National Park, home to gelada baboons/cruise Lake Tana/hike to Blue Nile Falls. $6,995 (groups of 7-18) to $8,395 (2-6) ppdo. Single supp., $1,395. Internal air, from $750. Abercrombie & Kent (Downers Grove, IL; 888/611-4711, www.abercrombiekent.com).
15 days, 14 nights, Feb. 23-March 9 & Nov. 9-23, 2017. Highlights: In Auckland (North Island), Parnell Rose Gardens/Waitomo Caves glowworms/in Rotorua, geothermal reserve/Tongariro National Park/ferry from Wellington across Cook Strait to South Island/from Christchurch, TranzAlpine train through alps/Franz Josef Glacier/2-day cruise on Fiordland Navigator/Dunedin/Mt. Cook National Park. $5,830 ppdo. Single supp., $700-$1,400.