England’s History Is Still Up in the Air

A tour of England to see castles, cottages and cathedrals, as well as attend the Farnborough Aerospace Show, leaves Los Angeles Sept. 5 and returns Sept. 16. Participants will also be immersed in aviation history at the Duxford Air Show, Churchill’s War Cabinet Rooms, Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Operations Center, the Imperial War Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection, one of the country’s best aviation museums. Guests will visit Warwick Castle, historic Oxford and Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare’s birthplace.

Cost: $2,096 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotel accommodations, continental breakfast daily, entrance fees and porterage. Contact: Jerren Auble Travel Service, 2 Hidalgo, Irvine, CA 92720; telephone (714) 731-8020.

Riders’ Paradise

Bar H Ranch of Driggs, Idaho, is offering two five-day horseback trail riding trips in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming for women only Aug. 6 to 10 and Aug. 11 to 15. The Grand Tetons are a rider’s paradise with pristine meadows, high mountain passes, glacial lakes and towering peaks. This trip is suitable for riders of all levels of experience.

Cost: $750 per person, including tent lodging, three meals per day, all equipment, guides and experienced trail horses. Contact: Bar H Ranch, P.O. Box 297, Driggs, Idaho 83422; tel. (800) 247-1444 or (208) 354-2906.

Italy’s Water Worlds

Visit the Italian Riviera and the Lake District of Northern Italy with Carlucci’s Italy Sept. 11 to 23. Participants will visit Bell Agio, Lake Como, Monterosso Al Mare (Cinque Terre), Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, Baveno on Lake Maggiore. In each town, guests can tour the area on their own, meeting again at the hotel in the evening to share experiences.

Cost: $2,299 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Milan, all hotels, breakfast daily, two dinners, motor-coach transportation, boat trip to the Orromean Islands on Lake Maggiore (weather permitting), Italian-speaking hosts and taxes. Contact: Carlucci’s Italy, 27121 Arena Lane, Mission Viejo, CA 92691; tel. (714) 707-5824.

Kilts and Clans

Be a brave heart and join in the celebration gathering of the Clan MacMillan in Scotland from Aug. 29 to Sept. 16. Sightseeing will be led by a local historian, who will take guests to locations associated with Clan MacMillan history. The itinerary includes: Inverness for a reception with members of the Glen Urquhart MacMillan Society, cruise on Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and Culloden Visitors Center. Guests also visit Glencoe, Glenfinnan and Loch Fyne. In Tarbert, visitors see MacMillan clan homelands in Knapdale and Kintyre, have supper with some MacMillans in Campbeltown and take a cruise to the Island of Arran.

In Glasgow a luncheon reception with the Clan MacMillan Society is planned before viewing the Trossachs and the “Braveheart” battlefield at Stirling. Guests attend a service in the Dunkeld Cathedral, and tour Edinburgh Castle with Gen. Sir John MacMillan.

Cost: $2,900 per person, double occupancy, including services of a coach/driver, nine dinners, 17 buffet breakfasts, hotels and sightseeing.

Contact: Rowene MacMillan Conn, Innovative Travel, 3701 Birch St., Newport Beach, CA 92660; tel. (714) 756-3223.

South Pacific

Adventure travelers can sail aboard the Aranui from Tahiti to the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific. Aranui means “the great highway” in Maori. This is a 343-foot 40-passenger freighter.

Guests begin the journey from LAX Oct. 27 with tour leaders Helen and Chuck Hewitt. Included are three nights in Tahiti in a Polynesian-style hotel on the island of Moorea. Then the group boards the Aranui to head for the Marquesas, making stops at six of the islands. While the ship loads and unloads cargo, passengers are free to explore the ancient temples and deep tropical jungles, or just shop in the villages. One of the stops is on the island of Fatu-hiva, considered the most beautiful of the Marquesas.

Cost: $4,595 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, accommodation, most meals.

Contact: Helen Hewitt, Tops in Travel, 1409 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403; tel. (310) 393-3791.

Awesome Aussies

A 23-day Australia adventure tour emphasizing wildlife and walking begins Aug. 28 and returns Sept. 19. Limited to 12 people, this tour gives participants a chance to experience different parts of Australia at a walking pace with time for photography, observation of bird and animal life, and learning about the land.

Three days are spent on Kangaroo Island, which is only 30 minutes from the mainland but offers a microcosm of Australia. Having separated from the mainland 9,000 years ago, Kangaroo Island has retained many plants and animals no longer found elsewhere. Arriving during the wildflower season, tour participants will hike through the native habitats of koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, opossums, sea lions, fairy penguins, platypus and exotic bird-life.

Other activities include an overnight train ride from Adelaide to Alice Springs, day hikes in the Alice Springs/Ayers Rock area, snorkeling and diving on Fitzroy Island near Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, hiking the sandstone escarpment to view extensive aboriginal rock art in an area of the Cape York Peninsula and three days at a lodge in Northern Queensland for bird-watching and nature photography.

Cost: $4,065 per person, double occupancy, including most meals and all activities. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Ellie Rubard, Andersen Travel, 23 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563; tel. (800) 480-4888.

Walk Rural France

Follow the footsteps of medieval pilgrims along the Rue St. Jacques in France on two, two-week walking tours. The dates are Sept. 19 to Oct. 2 or Oct. 6 to 19. Starting from Le Puy, the tour will go through three rural regions of France including the Massif Central, Aveyron and the Lot Valley. Visit sacred springs, ancient abbeys and medieval villages. Van support will be provided.

Cost: $2,300 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, some meals and sightseeing excursions. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Kathy Coldiron, 1380 Grove Court, St. Helena, CA 94574; tel. (707) 963-5381.

Norway’s Fiords

A walking tour of Norway, led by fitness expert Kathy Smith, is Aug. 20 to 27. In Geilo, participants visit the Hallingskarvet, the highest mountain plateau and walk to the world’s sixth largest glacier, the Hardengerjokulen, for a picnic. In Os, guests walk through beautiful valleys and see waterfalls, and visit the island home of the Norwegian violinist Ode Bull. In Bergen, members experience the famous Bergen fish market and take a walk down Mt. Floyen to see the city.

Cost: $1,595 per person, double occupancy, including hotel, breakfasts, dinners, some lunches, all transfers, entrance fees, taxes and tips. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Steven Grace, European Walking Tours, 1401 Regency Drive, Savoy, IL 61874 tel. (800) 231-8448.

Woodcarving Bali

A weeklong tour to Bali Sept. 7 takes guests to Mas to see a village of woodcarvers and to Batubulan to watch gold and silver jewelry craftsmen. Participants also attend a Barong dance performance, visit a temple and a museum. The group also meets woodcarvers, sees woodcarving demonstrations and workshops.

Cost: $1,508 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles or San Diego, transfers, five nights in Ubud, two in Sanur, daily American breakfast, and one lunch and one dinner. Contact: Western Corporate Travel, tel. (800) 426-1237.

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