A Cultural Voyage Between Russian Cities

Cruise the rivers, canals and the two largest lakes in Europe on a cultural voyage between two Russian cities on the ship Yesenin May 18 to May 30. Participants will tour Moscow’s landmarks, including Red Square, the Kremlin and the Armory Palace. Guests attend an evening performance of the Moscow Circus, then cruise past medieval cities, quaint villages and scenery. Shipboard lectures prepare passengers for daily cultural and historic tours in Uglich, Kostroma, Yaroslav, and Svir Stroy. In Kostroma, former home of the noble families Godunov and Romanov, a popular folklore ensemble will perform. In the final port, St. Petersburg, guests tour the Palace Square, the historic heart of St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Admiralty Tower, Kazan Cathedral, and the Peter and Paul Fortress. After a guided tour of the Hermitage Museum in the Winter Palace and an excursion to Catherine the Great’s palace in Pushkin, attend a special concert of classical and folk music and dances.

Cost: $2,658 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, cabin with a window, all meals, lectures, all shore excursions, tours in Moscow and St. Petersburg, three performances, port taxes, transfers in Moscow and St. Petersburg between airport and ship. Contact: Marion Gbur, Carmen Plaza Travel, 457 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA; telephone (800) 972-1459.

More Russia

A 14-night cruise on the Volga River through Russia is planned for July 12. Participants will stop for sightseeing tours of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as excursions to a number of river villages. A lecturer will be aboard to talk about the sites and Russian history.

The cruise ship is the Krasin, built in Germany in 1989 and refurbished in 1995. All cabins have a large picture window, and cuisine is both Russian and American with complimentary wine at meals.

Cost: $2,895 per person, double occupancy, including sightseeing, entertainment, port taxes and air fare from Los Angeles. Contact: Don Townsend at Selective Tours, 828 E. Fairmount Road, Burbank, CA 91505; tel. (818) 848-8141 or SST Tours at (800) 339-7781.

Same General Aria

A Grand Opera Tour, departing March 15. First stop is Turin, for a performance of Verdi’s “Il Corsaro” and touring at the Piazza San Carlo, the Borgo Medioevale, and the Duomo San Giovanna.

In Milan, home will be the Hotel de la Ville and performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” and Giordano’s “Fedora” await you at La Scala. Sightseeing? Well, there’s lunch at the private Villa Guilini, the La Scala Museum, the Duomo and a half-day tour of Milan. Then, it’s off to Bologna, with reservations at the Grand Hotel Baglioni, tickets for Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and sightseeing at St. Petronius Cathedral, and at piazzas Maggiore, del Nettuno and Porta Ravegnana.

In Venice, guests stay at the Hotel Danieli and from there visit St. Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari Church, the Scuola Grande San Rocco, the Grand Canal, Peggy Guggenheim Museum and attend a performance of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the newly reopened Teatro la Fenice. Cost: $5,575 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, land accommodations and transportation, tickets, admissions, breakfast daily, and some lunches and dinners. Contact: Dailey-Thorp Travel, 330 W. 58th St. New York, NY 10019; tel. (212) 307-1555.

French Bliss

Everyone from garden putterers to green thumbers can sample the Gardens of French Polynesia, a travel-study excursion run by the American Horticultural Society. The 10-day tour, departing Feb. 27 and led by horticultural experts, combines a French Polynesian cruise aboard the four-masted, 148-passenger Wind Song with trips and private tours to gardens on a number of islands.

Beginning with a stay on Tahiti at a hotel overlooking a private lagoon and surrounded by 30 acres of tropical vegetation, participants will explore the Territorial Assembly Gardens and Botanical Gardens. The group then sets sail for adventures on Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Moorea, including the gardens of Hana Iti on Huahine and the Agricultural Experimental Station on Moorea. Prices start at $4,940 per person, double, and include land and cruise accommodations, most meals, tips, taxes, sightseeing and touring. Not included: air fare. Contact: Leonard Haertter Travel, 7922 Bonhomme Ave., St. Louis, MO 63005; tel. (800) 942-6666.

Baja Islands

Travel aboard the 90-foot vessel Shogun for 11 days to explore the Baja Islands. The trip will depart from San Diego on Feb. 29 and return March 11. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden botanist Steve Junak, marine mammal specialist Chuck Rennie, and marine biologist Dan Richards will lead the cruise to the islands of San Benito, Cedros, Natividad, San Martin, Todos Santos and the Bay of Sebastian Vizcaino.

Sponsored by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, the trip will feature daily field trips and hikes on the islands to learn about the Baja Islands’ diverse flora, natural history and marine mammals in their natural habitats, as well as explorations to remote fishing villages and lighthouses. In the evening, participants can attend shipboard lectures and slide shows.

Cost: $1,650 per person, double occupancy, including cabins, meals and tours. Not included: transportation to San Diego. Contact: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Registrar; tel. (805) 682-4726, Ext. 102.

Tasting Italy

Visit Italy this spring in the hill towns of Umbria and Toscana. Participants will focus on the special foods and recipes of this area by sampling artichokes, tiny wood strawberries, black truffles, blood oranges and wines of the area.

The group will eat at regional restaurants and collect commemorative Buon Ricordo plates from four of the restaurants. Time is also made for visiting village shops that sell handmade lace, colorful ceramics, extra virgin olive oil, honey and grappa. The historical focus of this journey is ancient Etruria, 12 city-states between Rome and Florence whose enlightened inhabitants traded with the Greeks. The artistic focus is Piero della Francesca, a 14th century painter whose use of perspective helped to jump-start the Renaissance.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air transportation from Los Angeles, accommodations in Umbria, Tuscany and Rome, motor-coach transportation, guides, daily breakfast, some lunches and dinners. Contact: Giovanni or Mary Shambra at Lee Hansen Travel Service, 712 Foothill Blvd., La Canada-Flintridge, CA 91011; tel. (818) 403-9113.

Hoofing New Zealand

A 12-night trip to New Zealand that visits the north and south islands combines touring with three days of optional outdoor adventure. Outdoor adventure guide Jim Gurnham of High Country Trekkers is leading the tour. Participants will visit Auckland and Rotorua for two days before heading to the south island for a trans-alpine train ride from Christ Church to Greymouth. After a visit to the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers, the tour continues on to Queenstown and Te Anau where those who choose to can hike for three days using the hut system on the Milford Track en route to the fiords of Milford Sound. For the non-hikers there are day tours or shopping trips in Queenstown. The tour then moves on to Dunedin for a traditional Scottish dinner, an overnight stay on a farm in the Canterbury Plains area and a final stop in Christ Church.

Cost: $1,895 per person, double occupancy, including hotel accommodations, the trans-alpine express, all motor-coach travel, hiking permits and hut usage, tour entrance fee’s, guide service and some meals. Not included: air fare to New Zealand. Contact: Jim Gurnham at High Country Trekkers, tel. (800) 475-0004.

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