Pack the Trunks, Visit the Elephants

The Wildlife Waystation, a wildlife refuge on 160 acres in Angeles National Forest, is taking adventurous travelers to see elephants, lions, rhinos and other wild animals in their native environment--the plains of the Serengeti in Kenya. The 14-day African safari begins July 10 with a day in Rome before departing for Nairobi. Participants will stay at resorts, hotels and tented camps (with private toilets and showers) throughout. Martine Colette, founder of the Wildlife Waystation, will be tour leader.

Cost: $3,895 per person, including round-trip air fare from LAX, lodging, meals, tours in a private minibus with professional guides, hotel, taxi and baggage gratuities and all entrance fees.

Contact: Vector Travel, 22 S. Marengo Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101; telephone. (800) 356-3762.

Emerald Islands

A 15-day Indonesian craft and folk art tour of three islands--Java, Flores and Bali--departs July 9. The tour, led by a collector of Indonesian art, includes visits with artists who make carvings, masks, puppets, pottery, baskets, paintings, weaving and batik designs. In the Javanese towns of Yogyakarta and Solo, participants will see the 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple of Borobudur, a dinner and dance performance at the Prince’s Palace, and a “Ramayana” play performed under a full moon with 100 musicians and dancers.

In Flores, which is seldom seen by tourists, the group will visit hill villages and meet weavers. In Bali, the tour includes trips to the arts and crafts villages of Mas, Ubud and Celuk. The group also will see Bali’s sacred monkey forest, the 17th-Century temple in Mengwi, the village of Tenganan and the mystical sea temple of Tanah Lot. The itinerary allows for unexpected festive processions.

Cost: $2,870 per person, including air fare from Los Angeles, first-class hotels, air-conditioned motor-coach transportation and some meals.

Contact: Elise Stettner, Revel Travel; 449 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; tel. (800) 564-1389.

Rafting the Ruins

The Archaelogical Conservancy has two rafting and camping trips June 10-17 and Sept. 16-23 on the San Juan River in Utah through the heart of the ruins and cliff dwellings left by the Anasazi, the ancient people who inhabited the Southwest until the 13th Century. The tour spends eight days rafting through the Goosenecks section of the San Juan River from the town of Bluff to Lake Powell, with stops to explore. The trip will be led by author David Grant Noble, who wrote “Ancient Ruins of the Southwest” and “New Light on Chaco Canyon.”

Cost: $1,495 per person, including meals and rafting equipment. Bring sleeping gear and tent.

Contact: Archaelogical Conservancy, 5301 Central Ave. N.E., Suite 1218, Albuquerque, NM 87108; tel. (505) 266-1540.

Cooking in Tuscany

Take a cooking class, learn about wines and prepare a dinner while staying for a week in a 15th-Century farmhouse in the Tuscany region of Italy. The afternoon cooking class, using herbs and olive oil grown on the estate, is taught in English by owner Carla Govoni. Guests will partake of their culinary creation accompanied by several local wines.

Cost: $880 per couple per week until May 31, which includes a room at the farmhouse. Each room has its on fully equipped kitchen and bathroom. Not included: air fare to Italy, meals and tours.

Contact: Doorways, 900 Old Lancaster Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010; tel (800) 261-4460.

All for Fiords

Homes of artists and gardens filled with sculptures are part of a 12-day tour of Sweden and Norway. The tour starts in Stockholm on July 16 and explores the Baltic archipelago and the countryside of lakes, mountains and wildflower meadows in the county of Dalecarlia. A visit to the 17th-Century garden of Linnaeus, who invented the plant classification system, is part of the program. A train journey across the mountainous landscape of Norway with a 3,000-foot descent to the Aurlands fiord is the finale to the tour, which ends in Oslo.

Cost: $3,995 per person, including hotels, events and most meals. Not included: air fare to Ireland.

Contact: Ingatours, 5 The Dell, Pinner, Middx HA5 3EW, England; tel: (800) 581-0911 direct to Britain (where the local time is eight hours later than in Los Angeles).

Irish Art

A 13-day tour of Ireland sponsored by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will take place July 31. Led by Margy Boyd, museum director of the art tours, participants start in Dublin, then visit Kenmare, Waterford, Kilkenny and Adare to see modern and medieval art collections, artists’ studios, ancient castles, 18th-Century homes and Neolithic tombs.

Museums to be visited include the National Art Gallery and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the Russborough House in Waterford and the Hunt Museum on the Campus of the University of Limerick in Adare. Other itinerary items include a daylong excursion to Kilkenny, the medieval capital of Ireland; a stop at the Waterford Glass factory in Waterford; a visit to the Muckross House and Gardens on the banks of the Middle Lake of Killarney, and a visit to the Ilnacullin Gardens on Garnish Island.

Cost: $4,835 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from San Francisco, hotel accommodations, most meals, entrance fees, service charges, admissions, transfers, taxes and tips, services of a museum representative and a tax-deductible donation to the museum.

Contact: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Tours and Travel Department, 151 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94103; tel. (415) 357-4190.

No Rain in Spain

A 24-day tour of Spain, Portugal and Morocco leaves Los Angeles June 27. Participants will visit Malaga, Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Granada. The itinerary includes a tour of the Lladro factory in Valencia, the Prado Museum and the Alhambra. In Portugal guests will explore Lisbon and visit the shrine at Fatima.

The itinerary includes a visit to the Rock of Gibraltar with a stop at St. Michael’s Cave and the Moorish Castle. Cities visited in Morocco are Rabat, Fez, Marrakech and Casablanca. There are folkloric dinner shows in each country including one in Morocco under tents in the palm groves.

Cost: $3,595 per person, double occupancy, including all air and land transportation, luggage handling, transfers, full buffet breakfasts and dinners daily throughout the trip, admission to all events as noted on the itinerary, hotels and guides. Options: Spain and Portugal only, $2,835; Morocco only, $1,899.

Contact: Norma Saunders, tour leader at (909) 874-2727 after 4 p.m. or Presidential World Tours; 2 West 45th St. New York City, NY 10036; tel. (800) 874-1811.

Biking Scotland

Two bicycling tours in Scotland leave June 18 and June 26 for seven days each. Both bike tours follow the same itinerary through the West Highlands and the islands of Mull and Skye. Terrain is flat to rolling with a few challenging hills. Daily distances average 35 miles with options for longer loops up to 65 miles.

Cost: $1,495 per person, including hotel accommodations, all breakfasts, six lunches, three dinners, guides, support van and three ferry crossings. Not included: air fare to Scotland.

Contact: Tailwinds Touring Co., P.O. Box 4475, Rolling Bay, WA 98061; tel. (206) 780-2634.

*

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

More Tours & Cruises

* Additional listings of tours and cruises are available on the new TimesLink on-line service. For more information, call (800) 792-LINK.