‘TIS SOON THE SEASON from Salzburg to Sydney

Everyone who celebrates Christmas has an idealized fantasy of how it ought to be. Each holiday season brings hope of recapturing a sense of joy that often seems lost forever in a world of childhood dreams.

Stores are alive with the sound of carols. Street corners glisten with tinsel and light. There are cards to be mailed, gifts to buy, cookies to bake and relatives to remember. But somewhere, in some distant corner of the earth, far from the rituals and responsibilities of Christmas at home, one may find that special magic again.

Christkindel Markt

Imagine, for example, Christmas in Salzburg, but first a few days in Vienna, staying at Hotel Bristol, a deluxe palace that was converted in the 19th Century into a magnificent hotel. Highlights of this trip include the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, Vienna Volks-opera and an excursion in the Vienna Woods.

In Salzburg, while staying at the Hotel Schloss Fuschl, the group will enjoy the Salzburg Palace Concert, Christkindel Markt, a visit to Oberndorf where “Silent Night” was composed, black-tie Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, a sleigh ride and the Salzburg Marionette Theatre.

Then they’ll travel through the Bavarian Alps to Munich, staying at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof where they’ll attend the New Year’s Eve black-tie ball. The tour, Dec. 18 to Jan. 3, costs $4,377 per person, double occupancy, plus air fare.

This is one of several yuletide holidays offered by William D. Buckman’s Travel Time, Chicago, phone (800) 621-4725. Others head for Zermatt and Vienna, the English countryside, Bavaria, Ireland, and France. Travel agents have details.

An Ancient Castle

Christmas will be spent in beautiful Windsor, England, at the 900-year-old Castle Hotel (opposite Windsor Castle), on a holiday tour planned by the European Experience, Laguna Niguel, phone (714) 495-2905.

The Christmas dinner menu includes roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, beef Wellington, plum pudding with brandy sauce and plenty of other goodies. (Windsor is where the royal family spends Christmas, so one may hope for a glimpse.)

Also on the Christmas tour, Dec. 20 to Jan. 3, are London, Stratford-on-Avon, Chester and on to Scotland to visit Edinburgh (for New Year’s) and York. The cost is $2,685 including air fare from Los Angeles.

Scrooge as Host

Uncle Scrooge himself is having a “Twelve Days of Christmas” tour to England and Scotland, according to InterContinental Travel Systems, San Diego, phone (800) 457-9515. That’s who they say will host the welcome and farewell banquets.

The ICTS tour, Dec. 21 to Jan. 3, also features a visit to the Charles Dickens Centre in Rochester, afternoon tea at the Bedford Hotel in Brighton, a banquet at the Park Lane Hotel, shopping at Harrods, Christmas Day at Billesley Manor near Stratford-on-Avon, a fox hunt, New Year’s Eve in Scotland and farewells at the Dickens Inn in London. The cost is $1,950 plus air fare.

Private House Parties

“Christmas in the English Countryside” takes guests to private house parties at Brocket Hall, Haremere Hall or Chalcot House. These festivities are planned by Country Homes & Castles, in Los Angeles phone (213) 629-4861.

Brocket Hall dates from 1760 and is one of England’s finest Georgian mansions. The hosts are Lord and Lady Brocket and Lady Jane Howard. Their yuletide plans, Dec. 23-28, include Christmas Eve caroling at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, a visit to a popular pantomime and luncheon at Althorp, home of the Earl and Countess Spencer. The cost is 1,500.

At Haremere Hall with Lady Killearn, Dec. 23-27 (for 650), guests will attend a caroling service at Canterbury Cathedral and midnight Mass at Burwash Church. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Rudd will host the party at Chalcot House, Dec. 24-28 (for 365).

In North America

Besides a choice of tours to Europe (Vienna, Paris, Rome, London, Dublin), Maupintour--phone (800) 255-4266--offers several escorted yuletide tours in the United States and Canada.

A Colonial Christmas in Virginia, a Pennsylvania Dutch gala, Christmas in Savannah, Chicago or even Yellowstone National Park are among the Maupintour offerings. In Canada, the firm will host holiday festivities in Banff, Lake Louise, Vancouver and Victoria.

“Christmas in New England,” Dec. 19-27, is the offering of Country Inn Tours of Walnut Creek, phone (415) 932-1391. The first three days will find the group of 30 filling the historic Deerfield Inn, with its tavern, fine dining, fireplace and colonial furnishings. Then they’ll head for the Vermont mountains and the Trapp Family Lodge for six days to shop, trim the tree, celebrate Christmas, and go on sleigh rides, not to mention a bit of skiing and snowmobiling. The cost is $1,800 plus air fare.

Maui Holiday

Christmas Day will find at least one small crowd bumping along on the Hana Highway, heading for cabins at Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach. Hawaiian Outdoor Adventures, phone (714) 840-5888, invites his group to Maui for the holiday, Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, for $675 plus air fare.

Also on the Maui holiday itinerary are three nights at Maui Beach Hotel, a hike up Waihee Ridge, a drive to the summit of Haleakala volcano, more hikes, picnics, visits to waterfalls, and then five nights at Paki Maui condo on Maui’s west side for snorkeling, swimming and shopping in Lahaina.

Holidays at Sea

Heading out to sea, the Royal Viking Star will depart Singapore Dec. 15 for a 21-day Southern Cross Christmas and New Year’s cruise to Sydney, Australia, calling at Bali, Indonesia; Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia, and Hobart, Tasmania, en route. Cruise fares range from $4,242 to $14,616.

The Royal Viking Sea departs San Francisco Dec. 20 for a cruise through the Panama Canal that also calls at Los Angeles, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Costa Rica, Curacao, Antigua and St. Thomas, arriving at Fort Lauderdale Jan. 8. Fares range from $3,645 to $14,449. Royal Viking yuletide cruises go traditional with tree-trimmed decks, caroling, holiday feasting, religious services and a visit by Santa Claus. The line’s headquarters are at 1 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco 94111.

Barbados or Amazon

Here are a couple of other seagoing choices: Christmas Eve at sea and cruising into Barbados the next morning, then on to the Amazon en route to Manaus for New Year’s; or Christmas Day in Surinam and New Year’s Eve visiting St. Barthelemy and St. Kitts. These are the offerings of Sun Line Cruises, phone (800) 468-6400.

The 15-day cruise that includes the Amazon departs Fort Lauderdale Dec. 19 and also calls at Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, St. Barthelemy, St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados and Tobago before reaching Brazil. Fares range from $3,155 to $6,295. The 14-day round-trip cruise out of San Juan, Dec. 19, calls at St. Croix, Martinique, Carriacou, Grenada, Trinidad, Surinam, Tobago, Bequia, St. Vincent, Barbados, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts and St. Thomas. Fares range from $2,720 to $5,095. Prices include air fare.

In Colder Climes

But if you’d rather pack your mittens and parka than your sunscreen and straw hat, consider a winter tour to the Soviet Union, Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, complete with a troika ride, three evenings at the theater, excursions out of Leningrad to Pushkin and Pavlovsk, a gala New Year’s Eve party in Moscow, plus visits to Kiev and Prague. The price from New York is $1,450 (add $200 to $400 from Los Angeles, the organizers say). Arrangements are by the Society for Cultural Relations USA/USSR, 5768 W. Pico Blvd., Suite 203, Los Angeles 90019.

Himalayan Adventures

A couple of adventure tours will also be ready for a white Christmas, in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.

Himalaya Inc., 1802 Cedar St., Berkeley 94703, plans a 12-day trek to the Annapurna foothills, passing through villages and farmlands to the highest campsite at nearly 10,000 feet, and returning through forests of giant rhododendron and a network of river gorges to Pokhara Valley. The trek leader is Steve Powers and a Sherpa crew will serve a holiday menu throughout. Land cost: $1,350.

Another adventure tour to Nepal is a family trek with Wilderness Travel, 1760-P Solano Ave., Berkeley 94707, led by Christine Kolisch with her 9-year-old son. Plans call for a trek as well as an elephant-back safari along with visits to the bazaars and temples of Katmandu. Dates are Dec. 20 to Jan. 3 and land costs are $1,290 for adults, $890 for children.

African Safari

Or how about an African safari for the holidays? Departures of two-week safaris to Kenya and Tanzania are Dec. 14 and Dec. 21. Accommodations include traditional hotels and lodges but most nights will be spent in deluxe tented camps with full staff, hot showers and freshly prepared meals, with itineraries planned to maximize game viewing. The two groups will get together for the festive holiday period at Mara Camp. Land cost is $2,375. For details contact Born Free Safaris, 12504 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood 91607.

Hemphill Harris Travel Corp., Encino, phone (818) 906-8086, circles the globe with Christmas in the South Pacific, South America, India, the Orient or the Alps. Each yuletide journey is limited to 25 guests and is fully escorted, with holiday celebrations arranged for each itinerary.

The South Pacific

Christmas in the South Pacific, three weeks, departs Dec. 12 at a land cost of $3,380, visiting New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. A three-week Orient trip, departing Dec. 13 at $4,180, visits Japan, Bali, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. South American Christmas includes Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Bariloche and Sao Paulo; 23 days, $3,280.

Departing Dec. 8 for Nepal and India, a Hemphill Harris 21-day holiday tour goes to Katmandu and Tiger Tops in Nepal, then heads for the Taj Mahal in Agra and Srinagar in the Vale of Kashmir, Jaipur, Udaipur and Aurangabad, India, with New Year’s Eve in Hong Kong; $4,760. Christmas in the Alps, departing Dec. 8, spends 25 days at deluxe hotels in Luxembourg, France, Germany and Switzerland; $5,850.