Spring Plans Include Baseball, Biking

It’s not too early for senior travelers to begin planning spring and summer trips. There are plenty being offered, too--from famous baseball stadiums on the East Coast to Cajun Country tours and bicycling through the Netherlands.

Generations, a senior travel organization, is giving members a chance to enjoy a bonding experience with their grandchildren. The company is offering a series of domestic tours with elements of interest for both seniors and children. Tours operate in June, July or August. Maximum age for children is usually 12 but varies depending on the tour. The following do not include air fare.

* “Baseball: Past and Present” offers a choice of three destinations for young and old baseball fans:

--Cooperstown Special: four days of baseball at Shea Stadium, home of the Mets, and Yankee Stadium in New York; Fenway Park in Boston, and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Includes reserved seats, luxury hotel and transportation to ballparks and between cities. Price: $625 per person for four days.

--Bambino Trail: Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, plus Baltimore’s Camden Yards and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Six days, $865 per person. Includes same features as above.

--Windy City: five days includes Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago, County Stadium in Milwaukee and Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Same features as above. $760 per person.

* A one-week Alaska cruise includes two extra nights in Vancouver, British Columbia, with most meals. Prices start at $2,395 per adult and $1,830 per child. Includes shore excursions in Victoria and Vancouver, Canada, and Ketchikan and Juneau, Alaska. Supervised activities on board for grandchildren.

Other Generations tours include a Chicago Skyscraper Weekend; the U.S. Space Camp at Titus Beach, Fla., plus Disney’s Beach Resort in Orlando, and a Colorado dude ranch trip that includes hiking, fishing, horseback riding, llama treks, mountain biking and other activities. For a catalogue with complete information, write to Generations, 835 W. Belden, Chicago, Ill. 60614, or call (312) 404-2400.

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Since its founding in 1974, a little-known nonprofit adult education program in Southern California called STEP Tours (Steps to Explore Potential) has grown into a full-fledged organization with emphasis on day trips to museums, botanical gardens, theme parks and other destinations of interest to seniors. Activities also include excursions to stage plays, musicals, concerts and TV tapings. On some trips, lunch or dinner is part of the package. STEP also has one- and two-day bus trips to places such as Laughlin, Nev., Death Valley and Palm Springs.

Recently, STEP has expanded its programs to include more distant destinations, and is now offering a fully escorted spring trip to Cajun country and the Ozarks. This trip is distinct in that seniors have the option of booking both packages as a single 15-day tour, or selecting either one as an eight-day trip.

The Cajun country portion includes Little Rock, Ark., New Orleans and five other Southern cities. The Ozarks portion includes Little Rock; Branson, Mo.; Kansas City, and four other cities. Both itineraries include visits to museums, famous landmarks, antebellum homes, historic mansions, libraries, gardens and plantations.

The per-person cost for the combined tours is $1,550; dates are April 17 to May 1. The per-person cost for Cajun country is $720 for eight days, April 17-24. For the Ozarks, $830 for eight days, April 24 to May 1. Prices are for the land portion only, and do not include air fare. For a brochure with the complete itineraries and prices, call STEP Tours at (310) 377-1601.

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Touring the Netherlands by bicycle is popular with senior travelers because the country is small and flat. Holland Bicycling Tours, based in Thousand Oaks, conducts tours within the Netherlands and adjacent countries. Prices quoted below are per person, based on double occupancy, and are for land only (no air fare). Included are breakfast and dinner daily, airport transfers, entrance fees for places of interest, hotel tips and taxes, and two professional tour leaders. A support van accompanies each tour. Lightweight bicycles with upright handlebars are provided at no extra charge for those who elect not to bring their own bikes.

A choice of tour dates is available in June, July and August; prices range from $1,125 for seven-night, eight-day tours to $1,625 for 11-night, 12-day tours. In addition to three tours within the Netherlands, there are three other 11-day, 12-night tours: a “European Tour” that includes Belgium and northern Germany ($1,625); France’s Loire Valley in September ($1,675), and Switzerland’s lakes in early August ($1,775). The latter includes travel by train or postal bus at higher elevations. For more information, contact Holland Bicycling Tours, P.O. Box 6485, Thousand Oaks 91359; tel. (800) 852-3258 or fax (805) 495-8601.