Tours & cruises: Biking through Zambia
ZAMBIA
Service and bike tour
During World Bicycle Relief’s cycling trip through Zambia, travelers help by building bicycles and distributing them to students (especially girls), small-business owners and medical caregivers. After the philanthropic work, there’s a two-day tour of the region.
Itinerary: Varies based on the nonprofit’s needs, but arrival and departure is out of Lusaka.
Dates: Oct. 8-16; 2012: May 19-27, July 21-29, Oct. 6-14
Price: $2,750, double occupancy, including all transportation within Zambia, food and lodging but not airfare.
Info: World Bicycle Relief, Chicago; (312) 664-3604, https://www.worldbicyclerelief.org
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Whistler bear adventure
The Fairmont Chateau Whistler, in partnership with National Geographic, is offering a two-day “Into the Wild” package featuring Casey Anderson, host of the National Geographic Channel’s “Expedition Grizzly” show. He delivers a gripping presentation about his relationship with a grizzly bear, after which guests head up Blackcomb Mountain to see Whistler’s black bears.
Itinerary: Whistler to Blackcomb Mountain and back
Dates: Aug. 5-7
Price: Starting at about $620, double occupancy, including a two-night stay, a buffet breakfast daily, a welcome reception, Anderson’s presentation (and an autographed copy of his book), a black bear eco-tour, a three-course dinner with wine tasting, taxes and gratuities.
Info: Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia; (800) 606-8244, https://www.fairmont.com
GERMANY
History and architecture
Go Ahead’s 12-day “Historic Germany: Berlin to Bavaria” tour highlights Germany’s antiquities as well as its recent past and modern culture. Highlights include the Berlin Wall site, Potsdam’s palaces and Nuremburg. You’ll get a tour of Bamberg, the intellectual birthplace of Goethe, Nietzsche and the Bauhaus movement, and sightsee in well-preserved Rothenburg. The trip also includes a visit toMunich, the Bavarian capital, with its medieval architecture and English Garden.
Itinerary: Berlin to Dresden, Bamberg and Munich
Dates: Departs Oct. 6
Price: Starting at $2,459, double occupancy, including round-trip airfare, transfers, 10 nights’ lodging, motor-coach transportation, guides, daily breakfast, four dinners, an audio headset and entrance fees to certain sites. A three-night Vienna add-on is available for $379.
Info: Go Ahead Tours, Cambridge, Mass.; (800) 590-1161, https://www.goaheadtours.com
NEW ORLEANS AND THE CARIBBEAN
Big Easy, snorkeling and ruins
During Gate 1’s nine-day “New Orleans with Seven Day Western Caribbean Cruise,” travelers explore the Big Easy, snorkel the Caribbean, tour Mayan ruins and check out a rum factory.
Itinerary: New Orleans to Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Falmouth, Jamaica, and back to New Orleans
Dates: Departures November through March
Price: Starting at $769, including round-trip airfare, one night in New Orleans, seven nights aboard the Voyager of the Seas, hotel-to-port transfers, fuel surcharges and most meals.
Info: Gate 1 Travel, Fort Washington, Pa.; (800) 682-3333, https://www.gate1travel.com
CHINA
Immersed in culture
“A Cultural Family Vacation” provides interactive experiences in which visitors are immersed in China’s rich culture — learn kung fu from a student monk, make dumplings in a traditional Beijing home and meet Naxi and Bai villagers. Also on the itinerary: the Great Wall, the terra-cotta warriors and a performance by Shanghai acrobats.
Itinerary: Beijing to Luoyang, Dengfeng, Xian, Lijiang, Shaxi, Dali, Kunming and Shanghai
Dates: Various departure dates available
Price: From: $4,090 ($3,790 children under 12 years), double occupancy (single supplement $700), including family-friendly lodging, intra-China airfare and train tickets, all ground transit, admission fees and activity expenses, some meals, guides and gratuities. The price does not include international airfare, visa fees, some meals and optional excursions.
Info: Wild China, Washington, D.C.; (888) 902-8808, https://www.wildchina.com
— Avital Binshtock
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