Tours

22-day/19-night tour of IRAN, Sept. 18-Oct. 9, 2010. Highlights: museums, bazaar in Tehran/Sasanian Era stone reliefs at Tagh-e-Bostan/Persepolis/Pasargadae/Ali Qapu Palace in Isfahan//Lake Urmia. $5,995 from New York (JFK). Single supp., $900.

Spiekermann Travel (Eastpointe, MI; 800/645-3233).

8 days/7 nights, July 17-24, 2010. Highlights: tour Hermitage, Peterhof, Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral/daily yoga, Pilates classes/Mariinsky Theatre/vodka tasting/traditional Russian bathhouse. Land only, $3,000. Visa, $130-$181.

Escape to Shape (San Francisco, CA; 601/818-8137).

10-day/8-night culinary tour with “Eat Smart Guide” author Joan Peterson, Sept. 27-Oct. 6, 2010. Highlights: Istanbul’s Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Spice Bazaar/cooking class/Bosporus cruise/gulet day cruise in Gulf of Gökova/Cappadocia/Turasan winery. Land and internal air, $2,995. Single supp., $520.

Joan Peterson (Madison, WI; 608/233-5488).

13-day/11-night tour with Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento, June 14-26, 2010. (Non-Society members can attend.) Highlights: walled Lucca/“David” in Florence/Chianti Wine Road/Etruscan history in Volterra/Cinque Terre/Rome/St. Peter’s, Vatican City. $3,399 from San Francisco. Land only, $2,433. Single supp., $350.

Covina Hills Travel (Covina, CA; call Patrizia at 916/482-5900).

9-day/8-night women’s-only tour of IRELAND, June 19-26, 2010. Highlights: hike Dingle Peninsula to Slea Head/Ring of Kerry/15th-century Ross Castle/hike on abandoned Great Blasket Island/puffins, gannets on Skellig Michael/2,000-year-old Staigue Fort. Land only, $3,495. Single supp., $700.

Adventurous Wench (Mesa, AZ; 866/419-3524).

11 days/10 nights. Depart March 5 & Oct. 1, 2012, and March 4 & Sept. 30, 2013. Highlights: Colonial El Fuerte/birding by boat on Fuerte River/Mask Hill petroglyphs/ride Chihuahua al Pacifico train through Copper Canyon/overlooks at “Three Canyons”/mining town of Batopilas/Mennonite community of Cuahtemoc/Chihuahua City. Land, $2,790. Single supp., $668.

Adventures Abroad (Blaine, WA; 800/665-3998).

13 days/12 nights. Highlights: Old Havana walking tour/Che Guevara monument/Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve/caves, skiff ride in Viñales Valley/crocodiles, birds in Zapata National Park/visit a school in Cienfuegos/nightclub in Trinidad/hike “Orchid Loop” (25 species) in Escambray Mountains/Tropicana Cabaret, Havana. Land, $3,795-$3,995. Single supp., $495.

Eldertreks (Toronto, ON, Canada; 800/741-7956). 

“People to People” program, with educational-exchange sessions on music, history, agriculture, architecture. Departs any dates; two people, minimum. Highlights: Havana/Pinar del Río/Las Tunas/colonial Trinidad. Land price, including letter of authorization: $998 three nights, $1,299 four nights, $1,499 five nights or $1,898 seven nights. Airfare from Tampa, $450.

Scand-America International (Palm Harbor, FL; 727/415-5088).

Eight days/seven nights. Educational exchanges re art, music and culture. Highlights: Havana/colonial city of Trinidad/rural Sancti Spíritus and Santa Clara/meet farmers, cowboys in Las Terrazas. From $2,899. Single supp., $399. Price includes Cuba visa, letter of authorization and airfare from Miami.

Friendly Planet Travel (Jenkintown, PA; 800/555-5765).

13 days/11 nights, May 12-24 & Sept. 26-Oct. 8, 2012. Highlights: Tokyo/ride cable car in Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park/cruise on Lake Ashi/Miyagawa morning market/Gold-Leaf Museum, Kanazawa/Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto/cycle through Imperial Palace grounds, geisha district in Kyoto/Nara. From Los Angeles or San Francisco, $5,595. Single supp., $1,395.

Smithsonian Journeys (Washington, DC; 877/338-8687).