November 2008

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Fresh from researching London, Bath, York and Edinburgh, I’ve discovered some new restaurant deals and confirmed some previous favorites.

9 days/7 nights of in-depth learning and hands-on service in PERU, departing March 14 & 21, 2009. Highlights: Learn about rainforest ecology, traditional medicine, tribal cultures/create watercolor and sketch art/fish for piranha in Orejone Village/fly from Lima to Iquitos and sail 50 miles to Explorama Lodge/visit a Yagua village/meet the shaman at ReNuPeRu Ethnobotanical Garden/work on community project in a Ribereños village/canopy walk 100 feet aboveground. Land, $2,798. Single supplement, $298. Internal air, from $300.

12 days/10 nights. Highlights: Tunis medina/Carthage/Mosque of Oqba Ibn Nafi in Kairouan/Roman amphitheater in el Djem/Roman ruins in Sbeitla/Red Lizard train through Atlas Mountains/Jeep to Tamerza oasis/dunes of Ong Jmel, location for movies, including “Star Wars”/Sahara camel ride and overnight tent camp/ troglodyte Ksours/markets on Jerba/Tunis’ National Museum of the Bardo. Land price, from $2,295. Single supplement, $425. Cross-Culture Journeys (Amherst, MA; 800/491-1148, www.ccjourneys.com).

12 days/11 nights. Highlights: Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of the Sun Park in Beijing/Great Wall/Xi’an Terra Cotta Army/in Chengdu, Giant Panda Breeding Research Base/Jiuzhaigou National Park/traverse Tibetan Plateau/giant pandas in Wolong Nature Reserve/Moon Bear Rescue Center in Chengdu. Land and internal air, $6,995. Single supplement, $1,595. Natural Habitat Adventures (Boulder, CO; 800/543-8917, www.nathab.com).

16-day/14-night family activity tour, June 27-July 12 & July 18-Aug. 2, 2009. Highlights: Istanbul Spice Market, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace/in Cappadocia, hike Valley of Spears, visit underground city Kaymakli, Göreme Open-Air Museum/play soccer with locals in the Taurus Mountains/whitewater rafting on Koprulu River/4-day yacht along Turquoise Coast. Adult land price, $5,090; teens, $4,990; children under 12, $4,890. Internal air, $250. Thomson Family Adventures (Watertown, MA; 800/262-6255, www.familyadventures.com).

9 days/8 nights, Jan. 20-28 & Jan. 28-Feb. 5, 2009. Highlights: Seven balloon flights, with buffet lunch and wine/stay in resort town of Gstaad/fondue party/take part in 5-day Château d’Oex International Balloon Festival featuring 100-plus balloons, and parachute teams, dirigibles, hang gliders. Land price, $17,283. Single supplement, $1,920. Buddy Bombard’s Europe (West Palm Beach, FL; 800/862-8537, www.buddybombard.com).

10 days/9 nights in ENGLAND’S Lake District. Highlights: Beatrix Potter’s home and haunts/John Ruskin’s home in Brantwood/ride “Lal Ratty” railway between Eskdale and Ravenglass/Wordsworth’s three homes/cruise Windermere Lake/explore Derwent, Buttermere and Crummock Waters/ excavations at Hadrian’s Wall/4,000-year-old Castlerigg Stone Circle. Land price, $4,200 for one person or $3,500 each for a group of six or more. Simply Nice Tours (Carlisle, PA; 717/243-5112, www.simplynicetours.com).

4 days/3 nights, April 9-12, 2009. Highlights: From Longyearbyen, NORWAY, fly (weather permitting) to Barneo research station, 89 degrees north/helicopter to geographic North Pole. Champagne!/from Spitzbergen island, Norway, guided dogsled or ski-doo tour of tundra, glaciers, outposts. €12,500 (near $18,364) from Longyearbyen. PolarExplorers (Wilmette, IL; 800/732-7328, www.polarexplorers.com).