Tours

Six days/nights, women’s-only hiking trip in CANADA, Sept. 6-12, 2010. Must be in very good physical condition. Highlights: In Wells Gray Park, hike to Trophy Mountain Chalet/hike Valley of the Lakes, cross Eagle Pass/Table Mountain. Land, $1,525.

Adventures in Good Company (Baltimore, MD; 877/439-4042).

Seven-day/six-night cruise on Ecuador’s Napo River aboard the Manatee Amazon Explorer. Highlights: From Quito, fly to Coca and board ship/sail through Yasuni National Park, home to 600 species of birds/fish for piranhas/Limoncocha Biological Reserve, home to pygmy monkeys, parrots/canoe to visit local families. With air from Miami, $2,158 double, $3,382 single.

Tara Tours (Miami, FL; 800/327-0080).

10-day, 9-night luxury tour, through late August. In Saigon, visit Cu Chi Tunnels, historic Dong Khoi Street, War Remnants Museum/in Hue, Thien Mu Pagoda/traditional Hoi An/overnight cruise among limestone islands in Halong Bay/water puppets en route to Hanoi/in Hanoi, Temple of Literature, “Hanoi Hilton” prison. Land, $2,620-$2,990 per person, twin, or $3,825-$4,250 single.

Travel Indochina (Westminster, CO 80035; 800/342-1957).

 

15-day/14-night tour of INDIA includes seven nights aboard RV Sukapha. Highlights: Sail from Calcutta to old Danish colonial Barrackpore/rickshaw tour in Kalna to terra-cotta temples/brass-working village of Matiari/silk weavers’ village near Jangipur/train to Delhi, fly to Agra/Taj Mahal/Jaipur. Land/cruise, $4,199. Cruise only, $2,499. Single supp., $2,499.

Value World Tours (Fountain Valley, CA; 800/795-1633).

12 days/12 nights in FRANCE, Sept. 12-24, 2010. Highlights: Monet’s Giverny/Old City of Rouen/Honfleur/Belle Époque resorts Deauville and Trouville/Bayeux Tapestry/D-Day sites/Mont-St-Michel/Château Chambord/Château  Chenonceau/Chartres. Land, $3,795. Single supp., $450.

Intimate France (Oakland, CA; 800/676-1247).

13-day/10-night tour of the South Island. Highlights: Alpine town of Arthur’s Pass/tube through Metro glowworm cave/Maori carvings in Hokitika and Whataroa/hike on Fox Glacier/cruise on Milford Sound. Land, $6,650. Single supp., $1,290. National Geographic Expeditions (Washington, DC; 888/966-8687).

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).

18 days/16 nights, Oct. 1-18, 2012. Highlights: From Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA, fly to Tana, Madagascar/Nosy Mangabe island for geckos, tree frogs, chameleons/speedboat ride to Masoala Peninsula/lemurs at Perinet Reserve/nocturnal wildlife walk in Mantadia Park/baobab trees in Diego Suarez/caves, underground rivers in Ankarana Special Reserve/lemurs, owls in Berenty Reserve. Land, $10,280. Single supp., $2,380.

Zegrahm Expeditions (Seattle, WA; 800/628-8747).