Floating Lights and Other Illuminating Thai Sights

Thailand’s annual Festival of Lights is the highlight of a 15-day trip to Thailand and Cambodia with William Geffrey, a professor of Asian studies. As part of the festival’s traditions, tiny boats are released into canals and rivers with offerings of candles, incense and flowers.

The tour departs Nov. 14. In Thailand, the group will visit Bangkok, the World Heritage Sites of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, and the island of Koh Samui before traveling to Cambodia for four days to see the ruins of the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex.

Cost: $3,945 per person, double occupancy, including international and local air fares, hotels, most meals, cultural shows and admission fees.

Contact: Asia Small Group Tours, (800) 424-9639.

South America: Cruise

Orange Coast College’s natural history cruise to Patagonia will be aboard the 110-passenger Terra Australis. The seven-day cruise, departing Jan. 17, will make stops at Tierra del Fuego, Santiago and Punta Arenas in Chile, and in Ushuaia, Argentina. Passengers will cruise through the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel and on inland waterways, where they can see marine life and birds.

Cost: from $3,798 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, meals and excursions. Other departures are available in February and March.

Contact: International Expeditions, (800) 633-4734 or https://www.ietravel.com.

Mexico: Christmas

The Radish Festival in Oaxaca is a unique part of a holiday trip Dec. 20-29. Visitors will also see how the cacao bean is processed into chocolate, take a Mexican cooking class, visit artisans in their village homes, explore the Monte Alban ruins and join a holiday feast in a Oaxacan family’s home. There will be time for shopping at open markets and visits to museums.

Cost: $2,095 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations for nine nights, most meals, entrance fees, guides and ground transportation. Air fare to Mexico is extra.

Contact: Vanessa Acosta at Cultural Arts Tours and Workshops, (323) 982-0229.

Yosemite: Wine

Taste the wines of Napa Valley vintners on a train trip to Yosemite Dec. 2-5. After a bus trip from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, travelers will board an Amtrak train to Merced, then travel by bus to Yosemite National Park for a stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel or Yosemite Lodge. For two days they will attend winemakers’ seminars and tour Yosemite.

Cost: $799 per person, double occupancy, at the Ahwahnee, and $599 per person at Yosemite Lodge. Price includes three nights in hotels, rail and bus transportation, seminars and a banquet.

Contact: Farr Discovery Rail Tours, (800) 225-8728 or https://www.farrrailtours.com.

New Zealand: Fiords

KABC-AM radio host Al Rantel will host a trip to New Zealand for 15 days beginning Jan. 31. Guests will spend three nights in Auckland before boarding a 1,000-passenger cruise ship to visit ports in the North and South islands. Stops include Tauranga, Napier, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and the fiords of Milford Sound.

Cost: from $3,370 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, the cruise and lectures by Rantel.

Contact: The Source, (877) 227-1412.

South Africa: Wildlife

If you’re game for seeing where the wild things are, you can join African Travel’s “South Africa Voyager” on any date through June. The tour includes a three-day safari through Kruger National Park and visits to wineries and the Sun City resort.

Cost: $1,395 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, some meals, airport transfers and guides. International air fare is extra.

Contact: African Travel, (800) 722-7755, https://www.africantravelinc.com.

South Pacific: Cruise

It will be cold at home but warm Down Under on a 15-day cruise to New Zealand and Australia departing Jan. 30. “Kangaroos, Kiwis and Koalas” will stop at Auckland, Napier, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand, and Tasmania, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. A choice of full-day tours to the Bonorong Wildlife Park in Tasmania or a dolphin swim in Christchurch is available.

Cost: $3,020 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, cruise, one shore excursion and taxes.

Contact: Caren Erickson at Unique Vacations, (800) 713-2207.

New Orleans: Mardi Gras

A seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, will make a stop in New Orleans so passengers can enjoy three days of Mardi Gras parades and parties. The ship will depart Feb. 9 from Tampa, Fla.

Cost: from $1,104 per person, double occupancy, including hotel in New Orleans and all meals on the ship.

Contact: Sea & Sand Travel, (800) 449-5466.

Costa Rica: Adventures

If sitting on a beach doesn’t sound exciting to you, a trip to Costa Rica with Wildland Adventures promises more action. The company has planned mountain bike rides, kayaking, hikes and rafting through rain forests to fill its seven-day sports adventures. Tours depart monthly year-round. On the itinerary are Tortuguero National Park, the Arenal Volcano and the Pacuare River.

Cost: from $1,798 per person, including lodging, meals, sports gear and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Wildland Adventures, (800) 345-4453 or https://www.wildland.com.

Europe: World War II

World War II battle sites, memorials and cemeteries form the focus of a 16-day trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Austria. The itinerary includes Nuremberg, Germany, where the Hitler movement gained momentum and where the war trials took place; the concentration camp of Dachau, Germany; and the beaches of Normandy, France, where Allied forces landed on D-day, June 6, 1944.

Cost: from $2,620 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, ground transportation, hotels, some meals, tips and guide services.

Contact: Image Tours, (800) 968-9161 or https://www.imagetours.com.

Fiji: Resort

Divers and surfers will find marine life and waves on the island of Bequ in Fiji. Activities offered at the Lalati Resort include scuba diving, surfing at Frigate’s Passage, kayaking, windsurfing and hiking. Departures are weekly between Nov. 1 and March 31.

Cost: $2,449 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, boat transfers from Pacific Harbor, most sports activities and all meals.

Contact: Landfall Dive & Adventure Travel, (800) 525-3833.

Mexico: Mayan Ruins

Archeologist and art historian Karl Taube will lead an educational tour through southern Mexico Dec. 19-27. With a lodge in Palenque as a base, travelers will take a boat ride on the Usumacinta River, tour Mayan sites and hear experts lecture on Mayan art and culture. The tour begins with the Olmec outdoor museum at La Venta Park and continues to the lowland sites of Palenque, Bonampak and Yaxchilan. From San Cristobal de las Casas, the tour will travel to the ancient centers of Tonina, Tenan Puente and Chinkultic.

Cost: $3,705 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from LAX, lodging, meals, guides and land transportation. Contact: UCLA Extension, (310) 825-2272.

China: Yangtze

This winter, two 13-day “Yang-tze River Escapade” tours are offered by Pacific Delight Tours.

Each trip features a sail on the Yangtze River between Yichang and Chongqing (either four nights upstream or three nights downstream); hotel accommodations, sightseeing and most meals. Cities on the itinerary are Shanghai, Xian and Beijing.

Cost: from $1,790 per person, based on double occupancy, for the 13-day upstream trip, with weekly departures between Nov. 22 and March 7. Included are round-trip air fare from Los Angeles and in-country flights.

Contact: Pacific Delight Tours, (800) 221-7179 or https://www.pacificdelighttours.com.

*

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with travel agents or tour operators.