Visiting the Southwest, Germany, Florida Keys : New series focuses on car travel to Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.

“Southwest” (American Automobile Assn., 60 minutes, 1991).

The AAA has entered the burgeoning field of travel videos with a series aimed at those who enjoy travel by car, to destinations in the United States.

This video covers five states--Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico--and, within its time limitations, captures magnificent scenery, combining it with maps and an informative narration.

In Colorado, viewers tour Denver, including the Capitol, museums and the U.S. mint, then visit Colorado Springs, where highlights include the U.S. Air Force Academy. Other sites are Mesa Verde National Park, Durango, Dinosaur National Park, Pike’s Peak and such winter resorts as Aspen and Vail.

Utah destinations include Salt Lake City and its Temple Square; Moab, with scenes of the nearby geological wonderlands of Arches and Canyonlands parks, and Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks.

The Nevada tour takes in the resort areas of Lake Tahoe, the restored silver-mining town of Virginia City, Reno and Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

The major areas of Arizona include Phoenix, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, the Indian ruins at Canyon de Chelly National Park and the Grand Canyon. Also visited are Tucson’s desert and resort areas, and Old Tucson.

Highlights in New Mexico are the Aztec Ruins monument, Bandalier National Park and a tour of Santa Fe with its historic plaza, mission and art colony. In Albuquerque, there are views of the Sandia Peak Tramway; Acoma Puebla, possibly the oldest continuously inhabited town in the United States; White Sands National Monument and the remarkable Carlsbad Caverns.

Tapes are available from AAA Video Service, 200 Fillmore St., Suite 106, Denver, Colo., (800) 875-5000. Price: $19.95 for AAA members, $24.95 for nonmembers.

“Germany” (Traveloguer Collection, 60 minutes, 1990).

With the exception of a visit to Berlin, this video is filmed entirely in the former West Germany. It’s a pleasant trip, with an emphasis on colorful festivals and legends, that begins in Frankfurt, heads north to the Baltic Sea and then south to the Alpine region.

After touring Frankfurt, viewers take a cruise along the Rhine. There are stops at Rudesheim, famous for its wines; Bonn, where scenes include Beethoven’s birthplace, and at Cologne, with its historic cathedral.

Hamburg, a busy inland port on the Baltic, offers a more urban contrast, as do Lubeck, the home of the popular marzipan confection, and the Baltic Sea resorts at Travemunde.

A tour of Berlin covers the usual tourist sites and provides film and history of the Berlin Wall and its destruction.

Heading south, the video next visits Bamberg, Rothenburg and Nuremberg for scenes of festivals and fortresses, including Ehrenburg Castle in Coburg, near Bamberg. Coburg is home to the famous Hummel figurines and the elegant Bad Kissingen spa.

After a tour of Munich that includes the Marienplatz (town square), English Gardens, the rococo Nymphenburg Palace and scenes of the popular Oktoberfest, viewers are shown the beautiful Bavarian Alps region.

There are also visits to the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen; a cog-rail tour to the top of Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak, for spectacular views of the Alps; Oberammergau, site of the famed Passion Play, and Fussen to see some fanciful castles of Ludwig.

The final segment takes viewers through the Black Forest to the spa at Baden-Baden; the university town of Heidelberg; the Roman ruins at Trier and the vineyards of the Moselle River Valley.

Traveloguer tapes, originally produced for theater presentation, are available from Traveloguer Collection, 3301 W. Hampden Ave., Suite N, Englewood, Colo. 80110, (800) 521-5104. Price: $29.95, which includes a reference booklet.

“Southern Florida and the Keys” (Rand McNally Video Trips, 47 minutes, 1990).

Described as a “whirlwind tour” of a “vacationer’s mecca,” this colorful video fulfills its promise. Viewers are whisked through the areas accompanied by highway maps, information on transportation, a bit of history and scenes of tourist sites including splendid beaches, numerous wildlife preserves, recreational activities and shopping areas. One downside is that information on hotels and restaurants is limited to “a variety are available.”

The journey begins in Ft. Myers, with side trips to Sanibel and Captive islands, and to Bonita Springs, a popular fishing resort.

“Whirlwind” applies especially to the tour of the Miami area, which is shown in aerial views and street scenes that include the Art Deco district, the Metro Zoo and shopping areas.

In the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood area, viewers see parks devoted to parrots, flamingos, butterflies and marine life.

Viewers get interesting, if brief, tours of Everglades National Park by tram and airboat before heading to the Keys for stops at Key Largo, to see the John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park and a dolphin research center; Marathon, for lagoon and beach scenes, and Key West, to visit the Hemingway and Audubon homes, the Wrecker’s Museum and Mel Fisher’s Museum of Recovered Underwater Sea Treasures.

The video concludes with tips on weather, seasonal prices and driving, plus a list of tourist office addresses.

This is one of four videos of Florida areas that are available from VCRI, P.O. Box 1179, Gillette, Wyo. 82717, (800) 248-7477. Price: $19.99.