The Warm, Fuzzy Feel of a Harp Seal Pup

Each March, 250,000 harp seals enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence to bear their young on the ice floes. Known as whitecoats, the pups shed their snowy white fur and turn gray within three weeks. Four six-day tours and one five-day tour to see the furry newborns begin Feb. 28 on the Magdalen Islands near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Participants take a helicopter to the ice floes, suit up in orange winter suits and warm boots and walk among the seals. Some pups approach inquisitively and roll on their backs to have their furry bellies petted. In 1987, Canada banned the commercial hunting of whitecoats. The International Fund for Animal Welfare is working to create a tourist industry to boost the local economy to ensure that there is never a need to reinstate hunting.

Cost: from $1,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare between Halifax and the Magdalen Islands, hotels, breakfasts daily and two dinners, services of a naturalist, slide shows and lectures, snowshoeing and hiking trips, outdoor gear and airport transfers. Not included: air fare to Halifax. Contact: Natural Habitat Adventures, 2945 Center Green Court South, Suite H, Boulder, Colo. 80301; tel. (800) 543-8917.

Explore Indonesia

A 20-day tour to Indonesia leaves March 19 to visit Irian Jaya, where an ancient culture flourishes in the remote Baliem Valley; Torajaland, best known for its hanging graves; Sumba, to participate in the colorful Pasola festival, and Bali with its scenic beaches, lush rice terraces and crafts markets.

Cost: $4,095 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations, most meals and all sightseeing fees. Contact: In Focus With Michele Burgess, 20741 Catamaran Lane, Huntington Beach, Calif. 92646; tel. (714) 536-6104.

African Safaris

Two- and three-week safaris to the game parks of Kenya and Tanzania, led by a native of Kenya who is an economics professor at Cal State Dominguez Hills, are available on various dates in January, June, July and August.

A two-week tour leaves LAX for Nairobi, Kenya, Jan 4. Participants will visit the game parks of Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu and Lake Nakuru, and visit the Treetops Lodge and Mt. Kenya Safari Club. A tour of the city of Nairobi will include the National Museum and the Karen Blixen (“Out of Africa”) home. Participants will visit schools and villages and will hear from speakers about contemporary social issues in Kenya.

Cost: from $3,890 per person, including round-trip air fare to Nairobi, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, museum and park entrance fees. Contact: Kenya Study Safaris, 30037 Via Borica, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. 90275; tel. (310) 377-6790.

Easter Island

Five tours to Easter Island, known as one of the most isolated inhabited places on earth, will depart Dec. 18, Jan. 15, Feb. 5, March 5 and April 2 for 15 days. Easter Island is visited for its ancient society, complex social structure and engineering accomplishments, including the mysterious giant statues. Participants start in Santiago, Chile, with a tour of the city and the surrounding countryside. The journey continues 2,350 miles west to Easter Island, where the major excavations and some recent digs at Anakena Bay are explored. Also seen is a quarry at Rano Raraku, a mysterious site where work was abruptly abandoned. Members will experience Polynesian culture with opportunities to join the islanders in dancing, singing, feasting, fishing, horseback riding, snorkeling and swimming.

Cost: $2,290 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, tours and ground transportation. Not included: international air fare or air to the island from Chile. Contact: Nature Expeditions International, 474 Willamette, Eugene, Ore. 97440; tel. (503) 484-6529.

Greek Antiquities

University of Wisconsin, Madison, classics professor John Bennet will lead a 20-day tour of Crete, Santorini and Athens May 29. Beginning in Khania, Crete, stops will include Rethimnon, Zaros, Iraklion, Sitia and Elounda Bay, where participants see classical city-states, palaces and Turkish fortified towns. On Santorini, guests will see a volcanic caldera and the site of Akrotiri, called the Pompeii of the Aegean. In Athens, tours are taken to the Acropolis, Temple of Poseidon, the National Archeological Museum, the ancient cemetery of the Kerameikos and the Parthenon.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Chicago, ground and sea transportation, hotels, most meals and admissions. Contact: University Education Travel; tel. (800) 525-0525.

Cycling Hawaii

Bike up Kilauea volcano as part of eight-day or six-day biking trips from November to March on the Big Island of Hawaii. The eight-day route starts in Hilo and follows the coast north past sugar cane fields, Parker Ranch and the Kona coast, where a rest day grants ample time for beach activities. South of Kailua-Kona, participants cycle through coffee plantations that produce Kona coffee. From here, the able-bodied can ride uphill to Kilauea. The six-day trip follows a shorter and easier route.

Cost: $1,548 for eight days, $1,184 for six days per person, double occupancy, including lodging, meals, van support and guides. Contact: Bicycle Adventures, P.O. Box 7875-PR, Olympia, Wash. 98507; tel. (800) 443-6060.

California’s Redwoods

Seven-day leisurely walking tours of California’s redwood-flanked coastline leave on various dates beginning March 25. Walkers wander in redwood groves, through wildflower meadows, along crashing shores and in the birding sanctuary of Audubon Ranch. A typical day covers six to eight miles, and hikes are led by guides who are knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. Guest stay in historic inns and B&Bs.;

Cost: from $1,655 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, motor-coach transportation, daily breakfast and dinner, and park entrance fees. Not included: transportation to Northern California. Contact: British Coastal Trails, 1001 B Ave. Suite 302, Coronado, Calif. 92118; tel. (619) 437-1211.

RV in Europe

Rent an RV and follow a caravan, or take off on your own with a map and meet up with the group later, on a trip through Germany, Holland and Belgium for 15 days beginning April 27. The spring tour is timed to catch Holland’s tulip and flower season at its best. Participants will drive recreational vehicles that have showers, toilets and kitchens, and tour during the day. Each night is spent at campgrounds. On the trip, travelers will start in Frankfurt and Lahnstein, Germany, take a canal cruise in Amsterdam, tour the Alkmaar Cheese Market and visit a diamond factory. In Belgium, tours are taken of medieval Brugge and Brussels.

Cost: $2,945 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotel accommodations on the first and last nights, campground fees, some meals, trip log and maps, and most admissions. Children and additional passengers in the RV cost less. Contact: Global Motorhome Travel, 1142 Manhattan Ave., No. 300, Manhattan Beach, Calif. 90266; tel. (310) 318-9995.

Tulip Tiptoe

Lecturer and garden consultant Dottie Boulian will lead a 19-day tour of Old World gardens and castles in Holland, Belgium and England May 14. In Holland, participants will visit the Aalsmeer flower auction, the palace of Het Loo, the tulip fields at Keukenhof Gardens and the canals of Giethoorn and stay overnight at Kerkebosh castle. In Belgium, medieval Bruges and the Kalmthout Arboretum are visited. After crossing the English Channel and seeing mystic Stonehenge, the group will visit Brighton and Exeter to see Stourhead Gardens, Wisley Gardens, Darlington Hall and the walled garden of Tintinhull before heading to Bath and Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon. Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, will be seen before the tour’s last hurrah, the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

Cost: $3,989 per person, double occupancy, including international air fare, hotels, daily breakfast and most dinners, ground transportation, entrance fees and special events.

Contact: University Education Travel, 19355 Business Center Drive, Northridge, Calif. 91324; tel. (818) 886-0633 or (800) 525-0525.

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