A selection of tours and cruise-tours
8 days, 7 nights. Highlights: In Tokyo, Tsukiji Fish Market, city tour/deluxe coach to Mt. Fuji/in Hakone, cruise on Lake Ashi/high-speed rail to Nagoya, express train to Takayama/at Shirakawa-go, Shiroyama Observatory, Wada House/in Kanazawa, Kenrokuen Gardens, Kutani-yaki pottery kiln/in Kyoto, Golden Pavilion, Nijō Castle, Imperial Palace. $3,260-$4,260 ppdo. Single, $4,240-$5,740. SITA World Tours (Encino, CA; 800/421-5643, www.sitatours.com).
14 days, 13 nights in CHINA. Highlights: From Beijing, fly to Lanzhou to see 7-story White Pagoda Temple, Gansu Provincial Museum/in Dunhuang, Mogao Grottoes/camelback to Singing Sand Dunes/train ride, Liuyuan-Urumqi/in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, cruise on Heavenly Lake/visit a Kazakh family’s yurt/Karakoram Highway/picnic at Lake Karakul/near Turpan, ancient Jiaohe Ruins, Karez system of wells/Turpan Sunday market. Land, $4,940-$4,988 ppdo. Single supp., $944-$978. Orient Odyssey (Point Roberts, WA; 800/637-5778, www.orientodyssey.com).
12 days, 11 nights in Sardinia, ITALY, May 7-18 & Sept. 17-28, 2016. Led by archaeologist and anthropologist Farès K. Moussa. Highlights: Fly London-Olbia/Bronze Age sites of Li Lolghi and Coddu Vecchiu/prehistoric pyramid of Monte d’Accoddi/near Sassari, Romanesque Basilica of Holy Trinity of Saccargia/on Mt. Tiscali, Nuraghi cave-village/Phoenician-Punic site of Sulcis. From London, £3,365 (near $5,013) ppdo. Land only (from Olbia), £3,145 ($4,685).
8 days, 7 nights in southern ITALY, May 9-16 & Sept. 12-19, 2016. Highlights: Transfer from Bari to Trani/Church of San Leonardo di Siponto/Manfredonia Castle/13th-century Castel del Monte/in Alberobello, cone-shaped trulli dwellings/in Otranto, Byzantine church of San Pietro, Aragonese Castle/in Baroque city of Lecce, Roman amphitheater of Lupiae. $3,170 ppdo. Single supp., $475.
8-day, 7-night, novice-level mountain bike tour, July 2-9 & Aug. 20-27, 2016. Highlights: In Inverness, ride along River Beauly/Cairngorms National Park/whisky tasting at Dalwhinnie distillery/Glen Nevis/ride Jacobite Express steam train, Fort William-Mallaig/Isle of Skye/from Plockton, seal-spotting boat trip/Eilean Donan Castle. $1,862 per person, double occupancy (ppdo). Single supp., $374. Bike rental, $306.
5-day, 4-night tour of TASMANIA. Departures through May 23, 2016. Highlights: Travel from Hobart to Kettering/ferry to Bruny Island/bike the countryside, stopping to sample oysters, cheese, whiskey/boutique chocolate factory, “help yourself” berry farm/walk on Fluted Cape/on Adventure Bay cruise, view sea stacks and caves/lighthouse in South Bruny National Park. Ferry to mainland, bike to Huon Channel. Land, AUD2,495 (near $1,800) ppdo. Tasmanian Expeditions (3/33 Churchill Park Dr., Invermay, Tasmania, 7248, Australia; phone, in No.
13 days, 12 nights, May 6-18 & May 27-June 8, 2016. Highlights: In Sofia, BULGARIA, Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia Synagogue, in community center listen to Ladino songs/Rila Monastery/in Kyustendil, Dimitar Peshev Museum/in Rhodope Mountains, 11th-century Bachkovo monastery/in Skopje, MACEDONIA, Holocaust Memorial Center, Bet Yaakov Synagogue/in Bitola, 15th-century Jewish cemetery/in GREECE, Royal Tombs of Vergina, Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. Land, $2,970 ppdo. Single supp., $560.
8-day, 7-night, 70-mile walk to Santiago de Compostela, May 1-8, May 29-June 5 & Sept. 4-11, 2016. Highlights: From Vigo, SPAIN, drive to first-century Celtic ruins at Santa Tecla, Portugal/drive to the Camino pilgrimage route to begin the walk/Tui/walled town of Valença/Pontevedra/thermal waters at Caldas de Reis/Padrón/in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, city tour, Pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral. €1,600 (near $1,700) ppdo. Single supp., €400 ($425). Spanish Steps (Aspen, CO; 970/923-6859, www.spanishsteps.com).
10-day, 9-night first-class rail trip, June 8-17, Aug. 20-29, Sept. 7-16 & Sept. 19-28, 2016. “Easy walks,” one to 2 miles a day. Highlights: In Lucerne, cable car to top of 7,000-foot Mt. Pilatus, descend on cogwheel train/paddle-steamboat along Wilhelm Tell Express route to Lake Lucerne/cross Alps on Bernina Express/in Engadine Valley, St. Moritz/Glacier Express to Zermatt/in Gruyères, see cheese-making/in Interlaken, chocolate tasting/ride three trains to top of Jungfraujoch in Bernese Alps. $4,595 ppdo. Single supp., $399.
14 days, 13 nights, May 10-23, July 18-31 & Aug. 30-Sept. 12, 2016. Highlights: In Helsinki, FINLAND, city tour/in Tallinn, ESTONIA, Toompea Castle, St. Olaf’s Church, KUMU art museum/Kadriorg Park/in Ce¯sis, LATVIA, Castle of Livonian Order/in Riga, Dome Cathedral, old guild houses, Runda¯le Palace, chocolate tasting/resort town of Ju¯rmala/in Klaipeda, LITHUANIA, 18th-century brewery/in Vilnius, Gate of Dawn, KGB Museum. $3,650 ppdo. Single supp., $600. Original World (San Rafael, CA; 888/367-6147, www.originalworld.com).