Adventures in Central America

Dyanne Kruger of Imagine Travel Alternatives, who has been escorting tours to Central America for the last three years, has found that it takes mature, well-traveled people looking for something a little different to appreciate her off-the-beaten-path trips.

The tours, which she calls “soft adventure trips,” do not involve strenuous trekking and climbing, though they do include jungle touring--by foot and canoe--and accommodations in thatched-roof cottages where hot showers are only occasional.

Typical daily fare, however, is anything but primitive: all-you-can-eat fresh lobster and other seafood treats.

The tours also include visits to Mayan Indian villages and ancient ruins, swimming and snorkeling in pristine jungle pools or along the world’s second-largest barrier reef and a visit to the world’s only jaguar preserve.

Thrill of Discovery

Belize, for one, is in its infancy with tourism, according to Kruger, with no major hotels or resorts.

Its appeal is in the thrill of discovery, new and different cultures, abundant wildlife and an exotic setting with a peaceful, English-speaking (Creole dialect) populace.

In addition to Belize (which until 1981 was British Honduras and is 700 miles south of Miami), Kruger runs tours to Costa Rica and Guatemala.

“The accent on my trips is on nature, wildlife discovery, culture and comfort,” Kruger said. “All of our soft-adventure trips are limited to 15 people, to help preserve the natural treasures of the countries we visit.”

Several Trips Due

Imagine’s 10-day tours to Belize cost $700 per person, plus air fare ($650 to $700 round trip from the West Coast, depending on the season). Coming tours are Dec. 9-18, March 10-19 and April 7-16. A more inclusive 15-day tour to Belize, set for Jan. 14-28, costs $1,250 plus air.

There are also a combination 21-day tour of Belize and Costa Rica Feb. 12 to March 4 that costs $1,550 per person, and a 15-day tour of Costa Rica, April 2-16, for $1,250 per person, neither including air fare.

For more information, contact Imagine Travel Alternatives, P.O. Box 27023, Seattle 98125, phone (206) 624-7112.

More holiday season escapes for the mature traveler:

An eight-day motor-coach tour leaves Dec. 21 for the Christmas Luminarias Festival of Lights in Albuquerque, N.M. The trip includes Santa Fe, Phoenix, the Petrified Forest, scenic Oak Creek Canyon and the Old Jerome ghost town in Arizona. Cost is $659 per person double occupancy.

A weeklong Christmas in Victoria, Canada, with accommodations at the Laurel Point Inn on the island and the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, includes a Christmas dinner among eight meals, sightseeing and air fare from Los Angeles. The trip leaves Dec. 21 and costs $1,259 per person double.

Both are offered by Poole Tours of Temple City. For more information, call (213) 283-3412, (818) 285-9775 or (714) 855-4918.

Calico Tours, also specializing in mature travel, has two overnight motor-coach tours to the Lawrence Welk Village in Escondido for New Year’s Eve.

One features a theater-party dinner, seats for the musical “She Loves Me” and a New Year’s Eve party in the Lawrence Welk Theater lobby. The second has a New Year’s Eve gala instead of the theater, including dinner and dancing.

Costs are $160 and $175 respectively, both with accommodations at the Escondido TraveLodge and via motor coach from Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 478-5865.

For a holiday celebration of a different sort, Gadabout Tours of Palm Springs includes in a five-day trip both a Golden State Rail tour and Chinese New Year’s celebration in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

The tour, which uses Amtrak’s Coast Starlight along the scenic coast and a motor coach for a tour of the Peninsula and San Francisco area, departs Feb. 17.

The price, including three days in San Francisco and along-the-route sightseeing such as a ride on the Roaring Camp Narrow-Gauge Railroad at Santa Cruz, is $579 per person double.

For more information, call Gadabout toll-free at (800) 537-1623, or (619) 325-5556.