Farm Country, North America and Travel Abroad Guides Are Available

Readers who have been unable to find the books “Farm, Ranch & Country Vacations,” “Adventure Travel North America” and “Adventure Travel Abroad,” can obtain them for 12 each (or $13 first-class mail) from Pat Dickerman, Adventure Guides Inc., 36 E. 57th St., No. 5L, New York 10022. Phone (212) 355-6334. She also offers an advisory and reservation service for the specialized travel about which she writes.

Sober Adventures International will host a free seminar for travelers interested in alcohol- and drug-free cruises at 4 p.m. today at the Valley Hilton, California Room, 15433 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. For more information, call (213) 391-5864 or (818) 996-9117.

Soft adventure programs in exotic parts of the world will be the topic of a lecture and slide presentation with music at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Sheraton Newport Beach, 4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. Admission is free for those who have made reservations and $2 at the door, without reservations. For more information, call (714) 771-3154.

A slide presentation on an artists’ and photographers’ tour of Umbria and Tuscany in Italy will be presented by artist Roberta Kritzia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at 3803 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. Admission free. For more information and reservations, call (818) 567-2951.

Cities and villages of France and Northern Italy will be the topic of a presentation by travel photographer and lecturer Mort Loveman at 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the Roxbury Memorial Park Clubhouse, 471 S. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills. For more information, call (213) 550-4761.

An orientation meeting discussing a UCLA Extension trip, “Turkey: Land of the Ancients,” a tour of the historic archeology of Turkey, will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Room 760 of the Extension Building, 10995 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. For more information, call (213) 825-2272.

Australia’s Perth, Adelaide and the Outback will be the subject of a slide lecture sponsored by One for the Road Travel Club at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Glendale Federal Savings, 722 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Admission $5. For more information, call (818) 569-0235.

A workshop on budget travel in the Greek Islands, Australia and New Zealand will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the American Youth Hostel Travel Center: 335 West 7th Street, San Pedro. Admission $3. For more information, call (213) 831-8846.

During April and May an introductory $599 round-trip fare to Portugal will be offered between Los Angeles and Lisbon to kick off twice-weekly flights by TAP Air Portugal. Minimum stay is seven days, maximum 21. For more information, contact travel agents or call TAP Air Portugal toll-free at (800) 221-7370.

Merv Griffin’s Paradise Island Airlines has started round-trip flights from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale international airports to the new Paradise Island Airport. Owned by Colombia, the island lies off Nicaragua. Nine daily flights are scheduled. For more information, call toll-free (800) 432-8807.

Royal Viking Line has moved its corporate offices from San Francisco to 95 Merrick Way, Coral Gables, Fla. 33134, (305) 447-9660.

Beginning May 15 Southwest Airlines will offer nonstop service between Ontario International Airport and Oakland International Airport with six round-trip flights daily. The airline also will add more round-trip flights daily between Ontario and Phoenix. The Oakland service will have low unrestricted fares that are the same on every flight. From Ontario to Oakland the unrestricted, one-way fare will be $49. The airline also will offer 21-day, seven-day and one-day advance-purchase fares that start at $29 but carry restrictions. For more information, contact your travel agent or call (800) 531-5601.

Louis Purwin Zobel, author of “The Travel Writer’s Handbook” and “Let’s Have Fun in Japan,” will teach a two-day travel writing workshop and manuscript clinic at the University of California Santa Barbara from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 6 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 7. The workshop, which will take place in Room 2361, Engineering Building II, is open to both beginning and experienced writers. Pre-registration for the $95 course is necessary and can be made by calling (805) 961-4200 or (800) 325-2727 or by writing to UCSB Extention, Santa Barbara 93106. Registration deadline is May 1.

UCLA Extension will offer a six-session slide/lecture series, “Siena, Florence, Rome, Milan and Venice: Cities of the Italian Renaissance,” on the art and architecture of Renaissance and Baroque Italy, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 2 through June 6 in Room 68-236A, Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA. The fee is $175. For more information, call the UCLA Extension Department of the Arts (213) 206-8503.

Saint Joseph Medical Center will offer a free program on traveling with diabetes at 5 p.m. on May 11 at the Medical Center auditorium, 501 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank. For reservations, call (818) 843-5111, Extension 7013.

Round-trip charter air travel between Los Angeles and Switzerland on Balair, the charter airline of Swissair, will be offered this summer for $590 to $720. For more information, contact your travel agent or call Balair (212) 581-3411 or TravacTours & Charters toll-free (800) 872-8800.