Offbeat Adventure Tours

A selection of adventure tours for travelers over age 50 is offered by ElderTreks, a Canada-based tour operator that specializes in offbeat destinations. Tours include accompanying guides, cooks and porters, although most destinations include comfortable tourist-class hotels and guest-houses with private bathrooms. Travelers may sometimes camp outdoors or sleep on an air mattress in a native hut. There may be hiking on nature trails, boat trips or moderate climbing. Washing facilities may sometimes be a communal shower house, a waterfall or the village pump.

Prices include all lodging, support personnel, entrance fees and taxes, land and water transport in the destination country and most domestic flights. At least half, and sometimes all, meals are included at a variety of local restaurants. A wide choice of departure dates are open for the remainder of 1994 and into early 1995.

Destinations are Vietnam (15 days, $1,270), Thailand (21 days, $1,460), Sumatra (14 days, $1,080), Java and Bali (14 days, $925), Malaysian Borneo (18 days, $1,920), Belize (10 days, $1,135), Costa Rica (10 days, $1,270), Trinidad and Tobago (seven days, $850), St. Vincent (10 days, $1,535), Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands (13 days, $2,150) and Australia (16 days, $2,500). Prices are land only and do not include international or domestic flights.

For a comprehensive brochure including daily itineraries, contact a travel agent or write to ElderTreks, 597 Markham St., Toronto, Ontario M6G 2L7, Canada.

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Seniors Abroad, an international home-stay program for adults over 50, has been so successful that all but one of its 1994 programs has sold out. A 26-day trip to Japan is scheduled from Oct. 5-31 with visits to three different parts of the Asian island nation, including Tokyo. The trip begins with a three-day orientation and hotel stay, followed by home stays. Cost of the trip, which is limited to 20 people, is $2,525 per person, including round-trip air transportation from Los Angeles.

Several repeat programs planned for 1995 include New Zealand and Australia in January and February (30 days, $2,995), and Scandinavia--Denmark, Sweden and Norway--in March (four weeks, $2,625). Prices are per person, subject to minor fluctuations, and include round-trip air transportation to and between countries.

Seniors Abroad also is seeking hosts for foreign visitors to the United States from the same countries. For further information, itineraries and 1995 programs, contact Seniors Abroad, 12533 Pacato Circle North, San Diego 92128; telephone (619) 485-1696.

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Senior honeymooners, or couples observing 25th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversaries during 1994, can travel two-for-one this year on KD River Cruises throughout Europe. From June to October, couples are eligible for a 50% discount in their silver, golden or diamond anniversary year, or if they’ve just been married.

The cruise line offers a choice of voyages on the Rhine, Danube and Elbe rivers, ranging from two to seven days. Typical is a five-day, four-country cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, with regular fares of $1,045-$1,285 per person, including all meals. With the discount, which must be requested at the time of booking, the same fares would apply per couple rather than per person. Prices are space-available and do not include air fare to and from embarkation cities in Europe.

For a brochure with detailed itineraries and other information, or for reservations, contact a travel agent or call KD River Cruises at (800) 858-8587.

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A one-time “week of discovery and learning” at Vail, Colo., under the auspices of the White River Institute, is scheduled Sept. 18-24. Participants, who must be older than 50, create their own schedules from a variety of program options led by noted sportsmen, artisans, scholars and scientists. The choices include courses in writing from a noted author, cooking from a gourmet chef and watercolor painting from a well-known artist. Outdoor enthusiasts will learn fly-fishing on a pristine mountain river, while links fanatics study the mechanics of golf from the Swing Dynamics Institute. The program includes an archeology-geology field trip, classes in “Global Political Issues,” and a choice of other subjects and activities.

The per-person price, based on double occupancy, is $1,775, which includes six nights lodging, all breakfasts and lunches, a welcoming reception and three dinners, including one with futurist Dick Lamm, a former Colorado governor. Also included are use of health club and spa facilities, daily exercise programs and a preparatory handbook. For complete details, write to EXPLORE, P.O. Drawer 2770, Avon, Colo. 81620, or call (800) 323-4386.