Advertisement

Tours & Cruises : Let ‘Em Eat Turkey; You Hop a Train

Share
TIMES STAFF WRITER

Escape Thanksgiving chores on four-day vintage train trips that leave Los Angeles Nov. 21-24 or Nov. 24-27 and head to San Francisco, the Sonoma wine country and Sausalito. Participants will have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner while riding in an Art Deco ‘30s-style rail car. Guests will stay three nights at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel while day trips are taken to see San Francisco sights, Sonoma for a wine-tasting tour, a visit to Sonoma’s Depot Park Museum and a shopping trip in Sausalito. Guests return to Los Angeles on the train from Oakland. Cost: $869 per person, double occupancy, including hotel, nine meals including Thanksgiving dinner on board and a Chinese banquet in Chinatown, motor coach sightseeing and transfers. Contact: AFC Tours, 11772 Sorrento Valley Road, No. 200, San Diego, Calif. 92121; telephone (619) 481-8188.

African Holiday

For a tourist-sparse African safari, two 12-day tours of Zimbabwe in Southern Africa leave Los Angeles Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 to visit that area’s abundant game parks and dramatic scenery. Participants will fly to New York and then to Johannesburg, South Africa, for an overnight before heading to Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. The tour includes a two-night stay at The Hide, a luxury tented camp on the eastern border of Hwange National Park known for its large herds of big game; exploration of Lake Kariba and the surrounding Matusadona Mountains; two-night stay at another tent camp at Fothergill Island, where game is viewed on foot, by boat and in safari vehicles. New Year’s Eve is spent at Victoria Falls, where travelers can choose to whitewater raft on the Zambezi River, encounter game by horseback, golf or fly over the falls. Cost: $3,950 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, domestic flights within Zimbabwe, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, native guides. Contact: African Portfolio, 225 E. 79th St., New York, N.Y. 10021; tel. (800) 700-3677.

Photographing India

Photograph India’s wildlife from an elephant’s back on a 21-day vacation offered Nov. 18. Visit the country’s national parks and bird sanctuaries as well as its major cities. The trip begins in Delhi, at Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated, and Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque. Then it’s off to Corbett National Park in the foothills of the Himalayas see wildlife by Jeep, foot and elephant. Continue on to Agra and the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and to the Taj Mahal. Price is $2,985 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, most meals and ground transportation. Not included: air fare to Delhi. Contact: Cox & Kings; tel. (800) 999-1758.Vietnam by Bike

Advertisement

Be one of the first on your block to take a 17-day biking tour through Vietnam Dec. 22 and Jan. 26 that begins in Ho Chi Minh City. Cycling is on level ground and at a relaxed pace, so participants get a chance to stop to meet the locals and learn about their culture. Participants will pedal to Tay Ninh to see the Caodai Great Temple, Vung Tau to cycle on the peninsula and along the South China Sea stopping at beaches, and quiet fishing villages. A sleep train is taken to Da Nang to visit the Cham Museum, China Beach and Marble Mountain, which is layered with caves and Buddhist temples. Cost: $3,095 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, some meals, sightseeing, transportation within Vietnam and escort. Not included: air fare to Vietnam or bicycle (can be rented for $150). Contact: Asian Pacific Adventures, 826 S. Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90036; tel. (213) 935-3156.

Football Rematch

Watch the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame attempt to erase the bad taste of last year’s last-second defeat by Boston College on a three-day trip to Boston that leaves Oct. 7. Participants will stay at the Copley Square Hotel and have a welcome party with other football fans. The next day is the big game at noon at Boston College. On the third day there is time to sightsee before attending a Los Angeles Raiders/New England Patriots game at Foxboro Stadium. Cost: $450 per person, double occupancy, including hotel, game tickets, motor coach transfers, a tailgate party and tour host. Not included: air fare to Boston and meals. Contact: Sports Tours, P.O. Box 84, Hatfield, Mass. 01038; tel. (800) 722-7701.

Indian Ocean Cruise

Sail away Nov. 11 with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who will be the guest speaker on a 23-day cruise to several Indian Ocean islands with a land tour of India and a safari in Kenya. Participants start in New Delhi for a visit to the new and old areas of the city and the Taj Mahal before heading to Bombay to board the ship. The next two weeks are spent stopping at ports on the islands of the Seychelles, Maldives and Zanzibar. In Africa, guests take morning and afternoon game drives in Kenya’s Amboseli and Tsavo national parks. Cost: from $4,295 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals, sightseeing and transfers. Not included: international air fare. Contact: Orient Lines, 1510 S.E. 17th St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33316; tel. (800) 333-7300.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with travel agents or tour operators.

Advertisement