Golden Tours Expands Coach Trips

The popular Southern California travel club for mature travelers, Golden Tours, has expanded its tour programs to include everything from one-day jaunts to extended trips by air and cruise ship, some lasting almost a month.

In addition, occasional free slide or film travel programs are presented at no cost and usually include refreshments. Golden Tours motor-coach trips originate in either Alhambra or Pasadena, where there is ample free parking for participating members.

Samples of day trips include Escondido, with lunch and show at the Lawrence Welk Resort Village, $40; La Jolla, with lunch at the historic La Valencia Hotel and a visit to the Scripps Aquarium, $35; Catalina Island, with bus to the boat terminal, round-trip cruise, glass-bottom boat ride and Avalon scenic tour, all for $35 (meal not included). There are dozens of other choices throughout the year.

Frequent tours of one, two and three days are available to Yosemite, Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Sequoia National Park, the booming new gaming city of Laughlin, Nev., and other nearby destinations in the West.

Longer trips include cruises to Hawaii and Mexico; eight-day “Stay Put” visits to Eastern cities with a full program of events and sightseeing while staying at one hotel in your choice of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., plus Toronto and Montreal. These tours, including seven hotel nights, range from $735 to $850 per person, which includes all sightseeing and four or five meals. Air transportation will be arranged, but is not included in these prices.

An eight-page bulletin packed with tour information and prices is updated and available each month. Annual membership is $5 a year, but Golden Tours is offering a six-month membership that includes the next six issues for $3. Write to Golden Tours, Box 1070, Alhambra, Calif. 91802.

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The state of Alaska is offering passage on its ships in the Alaska Marine Highway System for mature travelers over age 65 for a price that’s hard to beat . . . free. From Oct. 1 to next May 15 all nine vessels in the system will carry seniors at no charge. From now until Sept. 30 travel is limited to five of the nine vessels, also at no charge. Passengers may take a cruise starting from Seattle and visit cities in the Alaskan panhandle that include Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau and Skagway. Other ships serve the Aleutians and include such stops as Valdez, Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. Travelers may embark or disembark wherever and whenever they wish.

The complimentary fare is for passage only and does not include a vehicle, stateroom or meals. Overnight travelers may buy cabins at nominal cost. Reservations for vehicle space or cabins may not be made more than 30 days in advance. One of the nine vessels of the Alaska Marine Highway fleet carries only 80 passengers while another can accommodate more than 1,000. They are mostly small vessels that travel close to the coast, offering travelers a close view of the wildlife and magnificent coastal scenery.

For complete information and schedules, contact your travel agent or write to Alaska Marine Highway, Pouch R, Juneau, Alaska 99811.

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Seniors facing the Christmas holiday alone may be interested in a deluxe motor-coach tour designed for mature travelers and is open to both singles and couples. The Christmas Luminarias Tour is an eight-day, seven-night tour, the highlight of which is the luminarias (“little lights”) tour of the city of Albuquerque on Christmas Eve.

Millions of lighted candles in weighted paper bags are placed along walls, rooftops and roads all over the city “to light the way for the Christ child.”

The tour begins in Los Angeles and includes Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona and the ghost town of Jerome, all in Arizona. Then through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest en route to Albuquerque, N.M.

The return trip is along the Rio Grande River to Las Cruces, N.M., with a final night in Phoenix where a welcome reception and farewell dinner are held. Arrival in Los Angeles is the next day.

Departure date for the Christmas Luminarias Tour is Dec. 21, and the price is $599 per person. For information and brochures, contact Poole Tours, P.O. Box 990, Temple City, Calif. 91780, phone (213) 283-3412 or (818) 285-9775.