Tours

22 days/18 nights, Aug. 14-Sept. 4, 2009. Highlights: At De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Trust, cheetahs, red and blue duikers, riverine rabbits/see the Big Five at Tembe park/Cape buffalos, giraffes, zebras at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve/200-year-old fisherman’s village of Kassiesbaai/ostriches at Oudtshoorn/Cango Caves/wine route and Stellenbosch/250 species of wildflowers at Ramskop Nature Reserve/in Cape Town, Table Mountain, Malay Quarter, Company Gardens, Boulder Beach penguins. From New York, $6,995; from Los Angeles, $7,395. Single supplement, $1,080.

17 days/15 nights. Highlights: In Mumbai, Gateway of India, Prince of Wales Museum, Dhobi Ghat/in Udaipur, Garden of Maidens and boat on Lake Pichola/in Jaipur, Jantar Mantar Observatory, Amber Fort, Palace of Winds/track tigers and bird-watch at Ranthambore National Park/Taj Mahal at Agra/sensuous sculptures on temples at Khajuraho/at Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi, boat on holy Ganges/Sarnath Museum/in Delhi, Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar. From $6,419 from New York. Single supplement, from $1,397.

8-day/7-night tour in ITALY. Highlights: From Sicily’s Milazzo harbor, hydrofoil to Lipari Island/black beaches and thermal springs on Vulcano Island/boat ride on Tyrrhenian Sea to Stromboli Island and hike Stromboli Volcano/walk Mt. Etna’s lava tunnels and 2002 lava flow. Land only, $1,349. (No single accommodations.)

G.A.P. Adventures (19 Charlotte St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5V 2H5; 800/708-7761, www.gap adventures.com).

13-day/11-night tour of SWITZERLAND, Sept. 21-Oct. 3, 2009. Highlights: Using transportation passes for guided sightseeing excursions to 11 mountains, including Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, Mt. Rigi, Mt. Titlis, Mt. Pilatus/Swiss Folklore Show/Lake Lucerne. Land only, $2,975. Single supplement, $400. Nash Travel Tours, Inc. (Danielson, CT; 800/227-2577, e-mail bwnash@hotmail.com).

8-day/7-night cycling tour of IRELAND (“moderate” — four to six hours of cycling per day). Highlights: From Ennis, cycle to Spanish Point/Cliffs of Moher/stone crosses at Kilfenora/cycle coastline with views of Galway Bay and Aran Islands/5,000-year-old dolman at Poulnabroune on the limestone moonscape of the Burren/Burren Perfumery/Corafin, site of the battle of Dysert O’Dea. Land only, $1,395 (bike rental included). Single supplement, $400.

Active Journeys (4891 Dundas St. W #4, Toronto, ON, Canada M9A 1B2; 800/597-5594, www.activejourneys.com).

12 days/11 nights. Departures April 22, May 28, July 11 (includes Hampton Court Flower Show) & Aug. 17, 2009. Highlights: Manor house at Upton Grey/in Salisbury, Bowood House & Garden/in Cornwall, Endsleigh Garden, the Eden Project, Lost Gardens of Heligan, Glendurgen/Devon fishing villages/historic gardens at Forde Abbey/Cerne Abbas Giant. Land only, £2,030 ($2,951). Single supplement, £320 ($465). Midway Motor Travel (Southerwicks, Corsham, Wiltshire, England SN13 9NH; 800/214-8738, www.midwaymotor travel.com).

17 days/15 nights, Sept. 4 & 21, 2009. Highlights: In Rio, Jardim Botanico with 700 orchid species/in Santa Teresa, hummingbirds at Leitão Museum/the Muriqui Project, conserving the northern muriqui (primate)/marmosets, capuchin monkeys, sloths in Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve/giant anteaters, pampas deer, maned wolves in Serra da Canastra National Park/Caraça Natural Park for titi monkeys, many bird species/colonial city of Ouro Preto/the Pantanal, home to 1,000+ animal species/boat Pixaim River for giant otters/fly to Iguaçu Falls/depart via Rio. Land price, $10,980.

10- to 13-day guided tours and custom itineraries in AUSTRALIA. Options include the Kimberley; WWII bombing sites in Darwin; northern Queens­land; Kangaroo Island; a working cattle station stay, and Aboriginal art exploration. $3,165-$6,681 per person, double, including in-country transportation, accommodations, most meals, guide and driver.

Essential DownUnder Travel (Weaverville, NC; 877/977-4505, www.essentialdownunder.com).

13-day/12-night tour of TURKEY and SYRIA, May 15-27, 2009. Highlights: In Istanbul, TURKEY, cruise Bosphorus Strait and tour Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque/fairy chimneys and cave dwellings in Cappadocia/Göreme Open Air Museum/in Aleppo, SYRIA, medieval souk, fifth-century St. Simeon’s Basilica/Krak des Chevaliers Crusaders castle/Roman ruins in Palmyra/Umayyad Mosque, Old City, Azem Palace in Damascus. Land only, $3,750. Single supplement, $775.

Venture Out (San Francisco, CA; 888/431-6789, www.venture-out.com).

14 day/13-night culinary tour of ITALY, Sept. 23-Oct. 6, 2009. Highlights: In Emilia Romagna region, explore Etruscan history in Bologna/pasta cooking lesson/day trip to independent REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO/visit a caseficio, where Parmesan cheese is made/learn about, cook with and taste the wine and food of the Veneto region/attend workshop on Barolo wine in Piedmonte region/Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Church of San Lorenzo in Toreno. Land price, $5,575. Single supplement, $650.