A selection of tours and cruise-tours
15 days/17 nights, Sept. 1-17, 2010. Highlights: In Istanbul, TURKEY, mosaics in Kariye Museum/ in Aleppo, SYRIA, Great Mosque and souq/HQ of Knights Templar in Tartous/in JORDAN, Ajlun Castle/in ISRAEL, Roman city of Caesarea/Jerusalem’s Tower of David, Al-Aqsa Mosque. From New York, $9,995. Single supp., $1,295. Far Horizons Inc. (San Anselmo, CA; 800/552-4575, www.farhorizons.com).
10-day/12-night cruise-tour. Departures May 17-Sept. 6, 2010. Highlights: In SWITZERLAND, Geneva, Zürich/in GERMANY, sites in life of Martin Luther, including Wittenberg, Worms/day cruise past Rhine castles/Oberammergau Passion Play. Land/cruise only, $2,869. Single supp., $354. Globus Religious Travel (Littleton, CO; 866/313-2855, www.globusfaith.com).
20 days/18 nights. Highlights: In PERU, Vistadome train to Machu Picchu/Cuzco/in CHILE, Lake District, Santiago/Bariloche, ARGENTINA/Buenos Aires/meet gauchos on the pampas/in BRAZIL, Iguassu Falls, Rio de Janeiro. Land only, from $2,699. Single supp., from $1,250. (Ask about door-to-airport sedan service.) Collette Vacations (Pawtucket, RI; 800/340-5158, www.collettevacations.com).
9-day/8-night birding tour of COSTA RICA, Feb. 27-March 7, 2010. Highlights: In the Sarapiqui lowlands, explore bird habitats ranging from rainforest to pasture. More than 400 bird species live there, including parrots, hummingbirds, raptors, tanagers, toucans and the resplendent quetzal. Land only, $3,055. Single supp., $485. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (Austin, TX; 800/328-8368, www.ventbird.com).
21 days/19 nights. Highlights: Roman settlement, museum in Chella/travel Riff Mountains to Chefchaouen, where Andalusian, Berber and Jewish cultures meet/medina of Fez/Roman ruins in Volubilis/spend night in Berber desert encampment/”Valley of the Thousand Kasbahs”/colorful Djemaa el-Fna Square in Marrakech/Casablanca. From New York, $3,250. Single supp., $340. Djoser (Paoli, PA; 877/356-7376, www.djoserusa.com).
8-day/7-night tour in THAILAND, Jan.-March 2010; participants will do lots of walking. (Western tour leader with group of seven or more.) Highlights: Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep temple/Mae Hong Son local market/Pai River caves/Lisu hill tribe village. Land and internal air, from $1,570. Single supp., from $115. Travel Indochina (El Segundo, CA; 866/459-6158, www.travelindochina.com).
10 days/8 nights through March 2010. Highlights: In Beijing, Tiananmen Square, Olympic venues, Forbidden City/Great Wall and Sacred Way/2,200-year-old Terra Cotta Army of Xi’an/Shanghai’s Yu Garden and City God Temple. From San Francisco, from $1,299. Single supp., from $300. Friendly Planet Travel (Jenkintown, PA; 800/555-5765, www.friendlyplanet.com).
15-day/14-night tour of CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA and POLAND, June 7-21, 2010. Highlights: Prague’s 12th-century Strahov Monastery, Astronomical Clock/Jicín, “City of Fairy Tales”/skansen folk architecture in Roznov/in Slovakia, 12th-century Spissky Castle/Kraków, Poland, city tour. Land only, $4,995. Single supp., $875. ElderTreks (597 Markham St., Toronto, ON M6G 2L7, Canada; 800/741-7956, www.eldertreks.com).
8-day/7-night tour of Provence, FRANCE, May and Sept. 2010. Highlights: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Sunday market/perched villages Bonnieux and Lacoste/ruins of Marquis de Sade’s castle/12th-century Abbaye de Sènanque/winery visits and cooking class. Land price for one in room, $3,300; if shared by two, $2,800; by three, $2,500. The Luberon Experience (Knoxville, TN; 865/693-3036, http://luberonexperience.com).
7 days/5 nights, May-Sept. 2010. Highlights: Music in Edinburgh/Alnwick Castle, a film location for “Harry Potter”/tour Highlands from Inverness to Loch Ness/ride the Jacobite steam train, used for the “Hogwart’s Express”/ferry to Isle of Skye, see Eilean Donan Castle. Land only, from $2,542. Single supp., $412. Lynott Tours (Mineola, NY; 800/221-2474, www.lynottours.com).