Tours

A selection of tours and cruise-tours

RETURN TO THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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).

“QUÉBEC CITY, NOVA SCOTIA & PEI”

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).

“ETHIOPIA: HISTORIC ROUTE & SIMIEN MOUNTAINS”

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).

“NEW ZEALAND TOUR”

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.

“LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN”

12-day, 11-night rail trip, June 15-26, 2017. Highlights: In Moscow, RUSSIA, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin’s Armoury Chamber/Golden Eagle train into Arctic Circle/open-air Museum of Wooden Architecture/in Murmansk, nuclear icebreaker ship museum/Kirkenes, NORWAY. Silver Class, $11, 995 ppdo or $16,995 single. Gold Class, $13,995 ppdo or $19,995 single. Imperial Suite, $22,295 ppdo.

SEPHARDIC BALKANS

13 days, 12 nights, June 15-27, 2017. Highlights: In Sofia, BULGARIA, medieval Boyana Church, Sofia Synagogue/10th-century Rila Monastery/in Kyustendil, Dimitar Peshev Museum/near medieval Veliko Târnovo, Arbanassi stone village/in Rose Valley, Shipka Memorial Church (Orthodox)/in Skopje, MACEDONIA, Holocaust Memorial Center, Bet Yaakov Synagogue/in Bitola, 15th-century Jewish cemetery/historic Ohrid/in Thessaloniki, GREECE, Jewish quarter. $3,260 ppdo. Single supp., $640. Joseph Benatov (Philadelphia, PA; 267/970-1817, sephardicbalkans.com).

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