Speed is of the essence; so is kicking back in wine country

Rev up your routine with fast cars and slow massages on a wine country race-and-retreat vacation.

The program features a seat in the three-day racing techniques course at Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Sonoma and three nights for two at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa in Napa.

“We’re making it easy for couples to get everything from a high-adrenaline racing rush to a low-stress spa treatment while surrounded by world-class wineries in Napa Valley,” said Kjell Kallman, vice president and general manager of the school.

The driving instructors teach techniques such as heel-and-toe shifting and passing under high-speed racing conditions.

A half-day program is also available. It includes a three-hour test drive of a formula race car at Infineon Raceway in (formerly Sears Point) Sonoma and a massage and an overnight stay at MacArthur Place, a historic Sonoma inn.

The packages are available Sundays through Thursdays.

Cost: $2,995 per couple if completed by June 30, including one seat for the racing school program, two spa treatments, two dinners and two wine tastings at Andretti Winery in Napa. The half-day program is $795 and is available year-round.

Contact: Jim Russell Racing Drivers School; (800) 733-0345, www.jimrussellusa.com.

*

CANADA

Way up north where the wild things are

Chill out with a summer safari to Polar Bear Provincial Park in northern Ontario’s subarctic wilderness.

The park is home to more than 300 species of birds, besides caribou, moose and black bears. In summer, polar bears are often seen in the area, and the coastline becomes a feeding ground for seals, walruses and whales.

The four- and five-day tours, held from mid-July through September, are moderately active and combine tundra hikes with jet boat tours along the coastline of Hudson Bay. Participants stay in a safari tent camp with Cree guides.

Cost: $1,825 to $2,025, including round-trip charter flights from Thunder Bay (Ontario) International Airport to the Hudson Bay coast, accommodations, all meals, guide service and baggage handling.

Airfare from Los Angeles to Thunder Bay (accessible from Toronto or Winnipeg) is not included.

Contact: Canoe Frontier Expeditions; (800) 285-8618, www.canoefrontier.com.

*

WORLD

Chances to be of service in lands near or far

Do unto others as you do something for yourself this summer on a working holiday as a Global Volunteer.

The 20-year-old Minnesota organization arranges one- to three-week projects around the country and the world. Most sites are near cultural or scenic attractions, which can be visited on weekends. Global Volunteers fields more than 150 service teams on five continents.

Among upcoming programs are teaching English to university students in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico; working at a library in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific; or helping to build a playground on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Mont.

Cost: Fees are charged to cover food, lodging and ground transportation in the community. These range from $1,395 to $2,595 for international programs; U.S. programs are $650. Airfare to program sites is not included. Costs are tax deductible.

Contact: Global Volunteers; (800) 487-1074, www.globalvolunteers.org.

*

UNITED STATES

Ballpark visits:

A baseball lover’s diamond jubilee

BATTER up, baseball fans. Visit 10 ballparks, watch 15 teams play and discover trivia galore in the Baseball Hall of Fame on a 13-day East Coast and Midwestern tour.

The road trip begins at Fenway Park in Boston with a Red Sox-Tigers game on June 24, moves on to Cooperstown, N.Y., for a visit to the Hall of Fame, then visits Shea and Yankee stadiums in New York for two games and Camden Yards in Baltimore for an interleague Phillies-versus-Orioles game.

Next the group flies to Chicago for a game at U.S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park), then visits Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Miller Park in Milwaukee and Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Costs: Rates begin at $2,595 per person, double occupancy, including game tickets, lodgings, transportation between cities and to games, city and stadium tours and guide. Shorter tours are available. Transportation to Boston and home from Chicago is not included.

Contact: Sports Travel and Tours; (800) 662-4424, www.sportstravelandtours.com.

*

TAHITI

Inhale the perfume of the South Pacific

Add flavor to your life on the Tahitian Vanilla Cruise, a weeklong tour of French Polynesia with cookbook author Patricia Rain.

The Sept. 13-to-20 cruise is aboard Radisson Seven Seas’ 320-passenger Paul Gauguin. It sails from Papeete, Tahiti, and visits five of the Society Islands.

Rain is the author of “The Vanilla Chef” and a lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution on coffee, chocolate and vanilla. She will discuss the calming effects of vanilla and government efforts to develop vanilla plantations in Tahiti and surrounding islands.

Cost: Rates start at $3,209 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip airfare from LAX to Papeete, meals, a stocked bar in each cabin, wine with meals, gratuities, port taxes and lectures.

Contact: Food and Wine Trails Epicurean Tours; (800) 367-5348, www.foodandwinetrails.com.

*

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