Time to Hang Out the ‘Gone Fishin’ ’ Sign

Fall months bring some of the best steelhead fishing to southern Oregon, particularly on the Rogue River. Veteran river guide Mark Swisher helps anglers catch between three to eight fish per day on three-day fishing adventures, which start Sept. 1 through Nov. 30. Everything is provided on these trips: all fly-fishing equipment, instruction and help with casting, a deli-style lunch and transportation to and from the river. Two to three guests, plus a guide, are accommodated in the drift boats. There is no age limit on these trips.

After fishing, guests will return to bed-and-breakfast accommodations in Ashland at the Coolidge House, Chanticleer Inn, Peerless Hotel or Cowslip’s Belle. Other Ashland sites guests can explore include the Pacific Northwest Natural History Museum, Lithia Park, a live theater performance, and nearby hiking and biking.

Cost: $425 per person, double occupancy, including two nights accommodations, breakfasts, two full-day fishing trips for two, complimentary bottle of wine and a 10% discount on dinners at some Ashland restaurants. Not included: transportation to Ashland.

Contact: Coolidge House, telephone (800) 655-5522; Chanticleer Inn, tel. (800) 898-1950; Peerless Hotel, tel. (503) 488-1082, or Cowslip’s Belle tel. (800) 888-6819.

Southeast Asia

A three-week tour of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos focuses on the culture and history of the area. Departures are Nov. 4, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10 and Nov. 2, 1996.

The first stop is Laos, a little-visited country with a quiet Buddhist culture and unique scenery. Participants will see the mysterious Plain of Jars, a vast area of enormous stone jars of unknown origin; stay in Luang Prabang to see the city’s museums, temples and markets; boat up the Mekong River to the Pak-Ou caves; swim terraced waterfalls, and watch traditional dance performances.

After a flight to Hanoi over vast rice fields and limestone peaks, guests visit Ho Chi Minh’s tomb, history and army museums, street markets and the Dong Xuan produce market. In Hue, a cruise aboard a sampan on the Perfume River, a visit to the tombs of the Nguyen emperors and a walk through the countryside to the Cham ruins at My Son are taken. Participants also explore historical Ho Chi Minh City.

The final destination is Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to see the artistic achievements of the Angkor monuments, Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge’s killing fields.

Cost: $3,995 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals and all sightseeing. Not included: international air fare.

Contact: Bolder Adventures, P.O. Box 1279, Boulder, CO 80306; tel. (800) 642-2742 or fax (303) 443-7078.

Southwest History

The University of Judaism is sponsoring a four-day fall study tour Oct. 12 to “Jewish Santa Fe and Taos, N.M.” Part of this program will focus on Dr. Stanley Hordes, a leading authority on the Conversos --the “secret Jews” of the Southwest, whose ancestors escaped the Spanish Inquisition by converting to Catholicism but continued to hand down to succeeding generations Jewish practices such as lighting candles on Friday night. The tour will also include visits with Jewish artists in their studios, as well as explorations of mountain vistas, Indian villages, mining towns, Santa Fe’s art museums and the Old Santa Fe Music Hall. Time is set aside to shop and relax.

Cost: $895 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, motor coach transportation, most meals and a dinner show, and guided tours.

Contact: Freedman Habush Associates; tel. (818) 994-0213.

London New Year

A New Year’s trip to London leaves Dec. 28-Jan. 5. On this tour, participants spend the bulk of their time exploring the city and surrounding areas on their own, always meeting up with the rest of the group in the evening at a pub or restaurant. Scheduled group tours include a journey via motor coach to Hammersmith, where lunch will be served at the historic Dove. Located on the banks of the River Thames, the Dove has been a licensed public house since 1700.

The tour continues into the country to see Hampton Court, where performing artists recreate Elizabethan entertainment and the kitchens replicate period feasts. Guests will eat a pre-theater dinner at Le Cafe du Jardin in Wellington, then attend a musical. Participants can reserve a space at the Ceremony of the Keys, in which guests will accompany royal guards as they lock up the Tower of London at 9 p.m. On New Year’s Eve dinner is served at Launceston Place in South Kensington. Later the group will wait with the throngs in Trafalgar Square to greet 1996 with Big Ben.

Cost: $1,850 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, transfers and porterage, accommodations at the Washington Hotel in Mayfair, full English breakfast daily and some meals, pass for London public transportation and tickets to a theater performance.

Contact: Mary Shambra, Lee Hansen Travel, 712 Foothill Blvd., La Can~ada Flintridge, CA 91011; tel. (818) 403-9113.

English Charm

Tour castles, gardens and manor houses of England, and stay in historic hotels on a tour across Britain Sept. 26 through Oct. 7. At night, participants will dine and stay in country hotels in picturesque settings from Camelot country to the Cotswolds to Sherwood Forest.

Cost: $4,315 per person, double occupancy, including air and ground travel, accommodations, most meals and sightseeing.

Contact: Gatehouse Travel, 411 Belvue Lane, Balboa, CA 92661; tel. (714) 675-3632.

Bits of France

Three tours to France are planned by Let’s Go Tours in 1996. The first is “Exploring Provence,” a six-day trip that departs Los Angeles March 22 to visit Provencal villages such as Avignon, Arles, Les Baux, St-Remy-de-Provence, the Camargue, Nimes and Aix-en-Provence. The cost is $899 including round-trip air from Paris to Nimes, five nights’ hotel accommodations, continental breakfast, four days of sightseeing via motor coach, guide and airport transfers. Not included: transatlantic air fare.

Departing March 27, 1996, is the “Paris Spring Fling” trip priced at $899, including six nights in Paris; continental breakfasts; a visit to Claude Monet’s home and gardens; five-day unlimited bus pass; tape-guided tour of the Louvre, Orsay and Orangerie museums and the Tuileries garden, and a Paris fashion show. The third option is to combine the Provence and Paris tours (departing March 22-April 3) for $1,798 per person, double occupancy.

Contact: Let’s Go Tours, Suzanne Thomas, 3222 Lake Albano Circle, San Jose, CA 95135; tel. (408) 223-2281.

Alpine Break

Lucerne, Switzerland, is the base for a nine-day trip that also visits Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein beginning Sept. 11. Guests will take day trips to see such places as the Alpine village of Interlaken; Berne, the capital city of Switzerland; Germany’s Black Forest; Vaduz, capital city of Liechtenstein, and Feldkirch in Austria.

Cost: $2,199 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air transportation from the West Coast, transfers and luggage handling between airports and hotels while overseas, accommodations, breakfast daily, some meals, tour guide and entrance fees.

Contact: SST Tours, 1300 E. Shaw, Suite 127, Fresno, CA 93710; tel. (800) 339-7781.

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