Taking Time to Sniff Britain’s Royal Roses

Visit the gardens, country estates and castles of England, Wales and Ireland on a 16-day escorted journey hosted by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. The tour, July 11 to 26, will be led by English garden guide Rosie Kirby-White, Irish-born botanist Sally Isaacson and tour director Cynthia Lyman.

Tour highlights include: London’s Hampton Court Flower Show, which will include the British Rose Festival; Kew Gardens at the Royal Botanic Garden in London; an optional London city sightseeing tour; visits to private gardens and estates; Chester’s galleried streets; a private tour of a stately Tudor home; Bodnant Garden in Northern Wales, considered one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, and Cambridge University.

In Ireland tours include Dublin to see Trinity College and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the stately formal gardens at Powerscourt, the quaint village of Adare, the Ring of Kerry and its rugged scenic coastline, Glendalough (the monastery of St. Kevin) and a crystal factory. Participants will stay at historic hotels, castles and country houses.

Cost: $5,885 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, daily breakfast, some lunches and dinners, all admission fees, group sightseeing and accommodations. Membership and donation to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is included in the cost.

Contact: Cynthia Lyman, Robertson Travel Consultants, 1290 Coast Village Road, Suite C, Santa Barbara, CA 93108; telephone (800) 969-3220 or (805) 969-3221.

More English Charm

Tour castles, gardens and manor houses of England, and stay in historic residences filled with antiques on three tours across Britain July 20 to Aug. 2, Aug. 17 to 30, and Sept. 21 to Oct. 4.

After day trips in the countryside, participants will dine and stay in country estates in settings ranging from Wales’ Camelot country to the Cotswolds to Sherwood Forest. Guests also visit Bath and Rye, take a boat trip on the River Thames and sightsee in London. Tour is limited to eight couples.

Cost: $7,435 per person, double occupancy, including business class air fare from Los Angeles, ground travel, accommodations, most meals and sightseeing.

Contact: Gatehouse Travel, 2013 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, CA 92661; tel. (310) 599-8483.

Once Again, England

Solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery in England on two 11-day tours, Sept. 19 to 29 or Oct. 24 to Nov. 3. A Sherlock Holmes specialist will speak at the welcome dinner on the first night. The next few days are spent touring various Sherlock Holmes sites, with a lunch at the Sherlock Holmes Pub and a visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. A full-day tour to Cambridge, which is associated with “The Adventure of the Three Missing Quarters,” is planned.

Participants will attend an evening performance of a mystery thriller and visit crime scenes at night in London’s East End, where alleyways were terrorized by the notorious Jack the Ripper. The tour continues to a country manor for a weekend of mystery and murder, in which the participants are the sleuths who will solve the crime.

Cost: $2,739 per person, double occupancy for the September tour. The cost is $2,479 per person, double, for the October trip, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations at first-class hotels, airport transfers in England, tours, breakfast daily, four dinners, motor-coach transportation. The tour is escorted throughout.

Contact: Joan Rutel, R&R; Global Connections, tel. (714) 826-2004.

Canoe, Can You?

Wilderness Inquiry is offering three eight-day Missouri River canoe expeditions July 5 to 12, July 21 to 28, and Aug. 4 to 11. The tour follows Lewis and Clark’s historic route of discovery in Montana, including the White Cliffs area and the scenic Missouri Breaks, sandstone canyons, the Eye of the Needle rock formation and Citadel Rock. The group will explore such historic sites as the Nez Perce Trail, the buffalo jump on the Slaughter River and historic cabins of the early settlers and outlaws.

The group will camp at sites used and described by Lewis and Clark and trail guides will read from the explorers’ diaries.

No previous canoeing experience is needed. Wilderness Inquiry staff will teach participants to canoe and camp, and they will describe the natural history of the area.

Cost: $645 per person, including guides, all meals and camping gear. The trip begins and ends in Lewistown, Mont. Transportation to Montana is not included.

Contact: Wilderness Inquiry, 1313 5th St. S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55414; tel. (800) 728-0719.

Southwest History

Saddleback College in Mission Viejo is sponsoring a two-week, for-credit study tour of the American Southwest from July 23 through Aug. 5.

Participants will explore the prehistoric and contemporary Indian civilizations of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. The itinerary includes an all-day hike/horseback trip to the cliff dwellings at Keet Seel, a raft trip down the San Juan River to study Anasazi petroglyphs and pictographs, a two-day exploration of Chaco Canyon, and attendance at a Hopi kachina dance.

Saddleback College anthropology professor Christina Brewer leads the tour. She is chairman of the Orange County chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, a fellow of the American Anthropological Assn., and a member of the American Indian Folklore Assn.

Cost: $500 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, river rafting, bus transportation from Los Angeles, some meals, course materials, camping and museum fees. Participants will receive four units of transferable college credit in anthropology.

Contact: Christina Brewer, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, CA 92692; tel. (714) 582-4745.

Nepal Trek

A 20-day walking-camping trip in Nepal leaves Oct. 18. Participants will follow a trail that leads through rice terraces and villages. On this trek the group will see some of the highest mountains in the world--Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, the Annapurna Peaks, and the “fish-tail” mountain, Machapucchare.

Crystal-clear rivers and waterfalls, fed by melting glaciers, banana trees and rhododendrons are common sights on the trail. At the end of the trek, participants will stay by Lake Phewa in the village Pokhara, known for its Nepali and Tibetan handicrafts. Guests can also go boating on the lake.

The trekking staff includes guides, Sherpas, cooks and porters. Three meals are cooked over a campfire daily. Equipment and permits are provided. Guests have time to sightsee and shop in Katmandu at the beginning and end of the trip.

Cost: $1,595 per person, including hotels in Katmandu, most meals, airport transfers. Air fare to Nepal and hotel stays in Bangkok or Singapore are not included. Contact: Andrea Wolfing, AW Nepal and Tibet Adventure Treks, 1895 Bluff, No. A, Boulder, CO 80304; tel. (303) 449-5578.

Motorcycling Vietnam

A 19-day motorcycling adventure that offers scenic (and sometimes challenging) rides up the Vietnam coast is available on various dates.

Participants can go scuba diving off Nha Trang’s warm waters, take an elephant ride through the primitive villages of the central highlands, and visit numerous museums, temples and historic landmarks. Guests also visit the remote village of Ban Me Thuot and tour Saigon.

Cost: $5,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, motorcycle rental, accommodations and all meals. Contact: Viva USA International Tours; tel. (800) 360-VIVA.

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