Colorado’s famous ski train (operates between Denver...

Colorado’s famous ski train (operates between Denver and Winter Park) has begun its 50th season. Leaves Denver’s Union Station at 7:30 a.m. Saturdays, with arrival at Winter Park at 9:30 a.m. Return trip leaves Winter Park at 4:15 p.m. The Saturday-only schedule will continue through December. Beginning Jan. 6, a Saturday/Sunday schedule will go into effect through April 8.

En route to Winter Park the train passes through 29 tunnels, including the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel beneath the Continental Divide. Rates: $25 coach, $40 first-class (includes a continental breakfast en route to Winter Park, a free beverage returning). Passengers save $5 on lift tickets bought aboard the train. Details from your travel agent.

Meanwhile, Denver’s Hyatt Regency Hotel is offering rooms for $59 in conjunction with the ski train package, with a $5 discount on the train fare. Telephone toll-free (800) 233-1234.

Tent Cabins: Tent cabins at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Northern California rent for $29 a night. Contain two double beds, tables/benches, a wood-burning stove, a barbecue, lanterns. Space for up to eight persons per cabin. (Bed linens provided at extra cost.) Restrooms, showers nearby. Big Basin, 20 miles north of Santa Cruz via California 9 to California 236, is the first California park to open tent cabins. Big Basin also provides regular campsites and space for recreational vehicles.

Call toll-free (800) 444-7275.

Half Moon Bay: A note from Eve and Terry Baldwin of the popular Mill Rose Inn at Half Moon Bay: “Since the earthquake, business has been slow in Half Moon Bay. We would like to assure visitors that everything is running smoothly here. Stores, art galleries, restaurants are functioning normally. Thanks to a higher power, Half Moon Bay remained virtually untouched by the earthquake.”

The Mill Rose Inn is an elegant white frame home. Antique beds, claw-foot tubs, stocked refrigerators, an English-style garden. Within walking distance of the ocean/village. Rates: $155/$235 (fresh flowers, chocolates, liqueurs, afternoon wine/cheese, a champagne breakfast). Or there’s the Great Escape Package ($250), with dinner for two with wine at a local restaurant plus the other amenities.

Mill Rose Inn, 615 Mill St., Half Moon Bay, Calif. 94019. Telephone (415) 726-9794.

Road Guide: A new electronic guide that pinpoints nearly 17,000 interstate highway/turnpike/parking exits across the United States is being sold by a mail-order house in Connecticut. Besides highway exits, the pocket-size device guides motorists to more than 30,000 service stations, motels, restaurants, campgrounds, rest stops, information centers. Here’s how it works: You punch in details regarding your location, then up pops the information. Tells you exactly what exit to take. Offers state-by-state phone numbers for the Highway Patrol, weather bureaus, tourist associations. Toll-free numbers for motel reservations. The manufacturer claims that if information stored in the guide was in print, it would cover nearly 2,000 pages.

Sells for $89.95 plus $4 for shipping. Details from Travelers Checklist, 335 Cornwall Bridge Road, Sharon, Conn. 06069.

France on a Budget: Hometours International has lined up a selection of B&Bs; in France that range from studio apartments and beach homes to farmhouses and chalets. Rates from $28 per person a night. Choice locations near the Belgian border, in the Loire Valley, the French Alps, the Riviera, Normandie, the Pyrenees. Unlike Britain, where motorists can pick and choose B&Bs; nightly while on the road, reservations are necessary in France.

Contact Hometours International, 1170 Broadway, New York 10001. Call toll-free (800) 367-4668. (Other rentals in England/Italy.)

Africa Adventure: Long-time Africa resident Pam Savage has opened her home near Nairobi to guests searching for a substitute to downtown hotels. Savage’s property in the suburb of Langata overlooks the Ngong Hills beloved by author Karen Blixen. Rates: $130 single, $250 double, including all meals, drinks, entry fees to Nairobi National Park. Savage escorts guests on game-viewing treks, horseback jaunts, visits to Daphne Sheldrick’s menagerie of orphaned animals and the Muthaiga Club that was featured in the film “Out of Africa.”

For additional information, contact Andrew Fentiman, Safari Consultants of London, 3535 Ridgelake Drive, Suite B, Metairie, La. 70002. Telephone toll-free (800) 648-6541.

Trekking in Nepal: Hut-to-hut trekking in the tradition of European Alpiners will be introduced in Nepal beginning in March. Western-style accommodations along the trail to Mt. Everest. Eleven huts with private guest quarters, hot showers, room service. Huts are a day’s hike apart. Staffs include a cook. Treks begin at Jiri at the end of the road from Katmandu. (Hikers can reach the hut by road from Katmandu or by air to Lukla/Phaplu.) Guides/porters accompany trekkers. Trips end at the main Sherpa town of Namche near Mt. Everest.

Details from Guides For All Seasons, P.O. Box 174, Calpine, Calif. 96124. Telephone toll-free (800) 457-4574.

Letter From New Mexico: Artist Gail Russell sends along this note describing her Mountain Light B&B; in Taos: “Adobe walls, Southwestern art, a magnificent view of the Sangre de Christo mountains (buffalo graze in the valley). We are the oldest B&B; in Taos and are only a short drive from the Taos Ski Valley. Blue corn waffles, banana bread, fresh eggs for breakfast.”

Russell, a nationally known photographer, conducts workshops during summer months. Mountain Light B&B;, Box 241, Taos, N.M. 87571. Telephone (505) 776-8474.

Italy: For readers interested in extended vacations in Italy, here is another company that specializes in apartment/villa rentals: Posarelli Vacations, 180 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge, N.J. 07656. More than 2,000 properties in Sicily, Umbria, Tuscany, Sardinia, Lazio. Rates from $200/$5,000 a week. Fully furnished. Some properties feature swimming pools. For more details, call Posarelli Vacations at (201) 573-9558, or write to address above.

For other villa rentals, here’s an old standby: At Home Abroad, Sutton Town House, 405 East 56th St., No. 6-H, New York 10022.

Reader Recommendations

California--Susan Huntsverry, Marina del Rey: “California Map Center, 3211 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 829-6277. Wonderful store with detailed maps for traveling anywhere in the world. Great selection of travel books, accessories.”

New York--Loretta Rixbany, Whittier: Enjoyed Mansion Hill Inn, Park Avenue and Philip Street, Albany, N.Y. 12202. “The only B&B; in downtown Albany. Rooms start at $85. A cozy atmosphere.”

Colorado--John and Alana Barraggiae, San Clemente: “Davidson’s B&B; Country Inn, P.O. Box 87, Pagosa Springs, Colo. 81147. Warm and homey atmosphere in a three-story log inn surrounded by the beautiful San Juan Mountains. Rates: $36 single, $43.50 double.”

Mexico--Dottie Lakacage, Ventura: “Rented a private villa in Puerto Vallarta complete with cook, maid. View unparalleled. The finest, most relaxing vacation we have ever had. The cost for 10 of us worked out to $52 U.S. per person per day. Contact Puerto Vallarta Villas, P.O. Box 3730, Chico, Calif. 95926.”

Spain--Ed Benstock, Northridge: “On the island of Majorca in Spain is a restaurant called Celler Bodega Can Miguel in the village of Paguera. Food is excellent and the price is right. For less than $25, two of us had an excellent dinner, including tips and drinks.”

England--Darlene Groff, Los Alamitos: “Charming B&B; in West Sussex, south of Gatwick Airport. Built in 1580. Rate: 12.50 per person with full English breakfast. Address: Eaton Thorne House, Woodmancote, Near Henfield.”