A selection of tours and cruise-tours
5 days, 4 nights in ECUADOR. Highlights: From Coca to Shiripuno River/motorized canoe with naturalist to Huaorani Territory & Reserve/learn hunting, survival techniques/swim at Nenkepare Waterfall/day- and night-hike photo sessions/Yasuni National Park/Apaika community in Yame Reserve. Land, from $1,530. Single supp., $480.
Tropic Journeys in Nature (Pasaje Sanches Melo OE1-37 y Av. Galo Plaza Lasso, Quito, Ecuador; phone, in US, 888/207-8615).
14 days, 12 nights, March 12-25, 2015. Highlights: Johannesburg/Soweto/Panorama Route/game drives in Kruger National Park/dinner in a boma under the stars/Knysna Heads Lagoon/Featherbed Nature Reserve/Table Mountain in Cape Town. From Chicago, $8,895 per person, double, or $9,895 single. $1,500 deposit required by Oct. 26.
Able Trek Tours (Reedsburg, WI; 800/205-6713) with Collette Vacations.
6-day, 5-night moderate/hard walk on Overland Track in TASMANIA, staying in huts. Provide own hiking gear. Departures to May 1, 2015. Highlights: From Quamby Estate, head to Waldheim/ancient temperate rainforest, Crater Lake/Marion’s Lookout/cruise Lake St. Clair to Cynthia Bay. Land (till Dec. 25 & April 1-May 1), AUD3,050 (near $2,845); Dec. 25-March 31, AUD3,300 ($3,078). Single supp., 75% of price.
10 days, 8 nights. Departures Dec. 1, 2014-Jan. 10, 2015. Highlights: In Kuala Lumpur, visit Batu Caves, prehistoric limestone hill with Hindu shrine/snorkeling at Turtle Island/batik demonstration at Jadi Batek Gallery/Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Borneo Nature Lodge/bird-watching at Kelananap Ox-Bow Lake. Land, from $2,818. Single supp., $1,350.
Sayang Holidays (San Francisco, CA; 888/472-9264).
14-day, 13-night tour accompanied by Jewish India expert Dr. Shalva Weil, Jan. 26-Feb. 8, 2015. Highlights: In Mumbai, tour synagogues, ancient bazaars/Hindu caves on Elephanta Island/in Cochin, Kathakali performance, India’s oldest synagogue, Indian cooking lesson plus nonkosher Shabbat dinner in private home. Land, $7,995. Single supp., $2,600.
Burkat Global (Hastings on Hudson, NY; 914/231-9023).
8-day, 7-night tour from Munich, GERMANY, to Vienna, AUSTRIA, Dec. 21-28, 2014. Highlights: In Munich, Holocaust Memorial, Marienplatz/King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle/in Innsbruck, Emperor Maximilian’s Golden Roof/in Salzburg, Mirabell Gardens, Mozart’s birthplace/in Vienna, Schönbrunn and Hofburg palaces. Land, $2,049. Single supp., $463.
Globus Journeys (Littleton, CO; 866/755-8581).
9-day, 8-night hike, Dec. 7-15, 2014 & Feb. 1-9, 2015. Moderate-energetic pace; up to 12 miles a day. Highlights: Start and end in El Calafate (flights from Buenos Aires)/glaciers at Mt. Fitz Roy and Laguna Huemul/cruise to foot of Perito Moreno Glacier/Los Glaciares National Park/Anita Valley, home to flamingos, guanacos, hares/Peninsula de las Colonias, home to condors and rheas. Land, $5,795 (2014) or $5,895 (2015). Single supp., $1,275/$1,295.
7 days, 6 nights. 2014 departures, Nov. 1-Dec. 9. Highlights: From Maun, travel to Moremi Game Reserve/by mokoro (dugout) or motorboat, explore Okavango Delta, sanctuary for antelope, endangered wild dogs and more/guided nature walks on delta islands/in Savute Channel, game drives and ancient San rock paintings at Gubatsa Hills. Land, from $3,345.
DSA Vacations (Tucson, AZ; 800/203-6724).
8-day, 7-night safari, Dec. 7-16, 2014. Highlights: In Bujumbura, Burundi, cultural tour/Livingstone-Stanley Monument/Rusizi National Park, home to hippos and crocodiles/Karera Falls/Gitega National Museum/Gishora Drum Sanctuary/in Rwanda, Kigali Genocide Memorial/Akagera National Park game drive/gorilla trekking at Ruhengeri National Park. Land, from $2,807.
Augustine Tours (P.O Box 2344, Bujumbura, Burundi; phone +257 22 27 80 00).
6 days, 5 nights; departures November-December 2014. Highlights: In Tangkahan, ride elephants through river and into jungle/in Bukit Lawang, orangutan sanctuary in Gunung Leuser National Park/Sipiso-piso Waterfall in Batak Highlands/on Samosir Island in Lake Toba, see Tor-Tor dancers. Land, from $820. Single supp., from $143.
Backyard Travel (Bangkok, Thailand; phone +66 2 633 9074).