Islands for Sail in the South Pacific

Artemis Sailing Charters of Driggs, Idaho, is offering a for-women-only 10-day sailing adventure in the Tahitian islands of Bora-Bora, Raiatea and Tahaa. The tour begins Feb. 2 and ends Feb. 11. The daily itinerary will include sailing, snorkeling and exploring the islands, as well as time to relax. This trip is suitable for women of all ages and no sailing experience is necessary. Each participant will learn to sail a new 40-foot yacht. There are direct flights to Papeete, the capital city of Tahiti, with a connecting 45-minute flight to Raiatea, where participants will be greeted at the airport and driven to the marina.

Cost: $1,585 per person, including nine nights aboard the yacht, food and ground transportation. Air fare is not included. Scuba diving is available for an additional $100. Contact: Artemis Sailing Charters, P.O. Box 931, Driggs, ID 83422; telephone (800) 247-1444 or (208) 354-8804.

Cool Off in Antarctica

You’ll definitely get a white Christmas aboard the 80-passenger Marine Voyager on its 13-night Antarctica cruise. The tour, which begins Dec. 17, includes three days in South America. Passengers will embark from Ushuaia, Argentina, to explore the bays and channels of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, landing by Zodiac to visit penguin rookeries, seal colonies, abandoned whaling stations and research bases.

Cost: from $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York. Port fees and airport taxes are $495 extra. Contact: Marine Expeditions; tel. (800) 263-9147.

California Missions

An escorted four-day chartered bus tour that departs from Palos Verdes and West Los Angeles on Oct. 26 will follow Central California’s stretch of the 220-year-old Camino Real, which linked the Franciscan padres’ 21 missions. En route to and from Monterey, photo stops will be made at eight of the state’s most beautiful or interesting missions. Sightseeing stops are in Santa Barbara, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Los Gatos, Carmel and Solvang. Other tour highlights include the scenic 17-Mile Drive, a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Santa Cruz’s historic beach boardwalk and a Monarch butterfly hunt in Pacific Grove. One night will be spent at San Jose’s Fairmont Hotel, followed by two nights at the Victorian Inn, walking distance to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Cost: $440 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe accommodations, coach transportation, entrance fees, five meals and porterage. Contact: S.T.E.P. Tours, 67129 Abbottswood Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275; tel. (310) 377-1601.

Black History

Two one-week tours to West Africa are scheduled to celebrate Black History Month. A tour to Senegal is Feb. 9 to 16, and a trip to Ghana is Feb. 16 to 23. The tours can also be combined. The itinerary to Senegal includes a city tour of Dakar, Goree Island and an optional tour to Pink Lake. In Ghana, guests take a half-day tour of Accra to see Black Star Square, W.E.B. DuBois’ Memorial and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Participants will go to Kumasi, the Ashanti kingdom, and visit Bonwire, home of the kente cloth. Also seen are the castles where slaves were held in Cape Coast and Elmina.

Cost: $1,299 for Senegal; $1,763 to Ghana; $2,303 combined, per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, hotels, continental breakfast daily, transfers and sightseeing tours. Contact: Marleece Ayo of Cruises Etcetera; tel. (800) 726-9324, Access Code. 47

Russian New Year

A black-tie New Year’s Eve Czars Ball, and evenings at the opera and ballet are featured on a St. Petersburg New Year’s package. The six-day package departs Dec. 27 and returns Jan. 1.

The New Year’s Eve Czars Ball, held in the opulent surroundings of an old St. Petersburg palace, begins with a greeting from hosts costumed in the splendor of czarist days, while classical music plays in the background. A cocktail reception is followed by a four-course banquet; entertainment by opera singers, ballet dancers and pop singers; and the music of a dance band. At midnight, everyone welcomes in the New Year.

Sightseeing also includes the Hermitage Museum, with one of the world’s great art collections, and Yusupov Palace. An excursion goes outside the city to Tsarskoe Selo (Czars’ Village) and Catherine the Great’s Palace. The package also includes sightseeing and Russian winter activities such as sleigh rides, snow games, and vodka and caviar tastings.

Cost: from $1,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from JFK airport in New York, accommodations, breakfast daily and some lunches and dinners. Contact: FinnWay, 228 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017; tel. (800) 526-4927.

Operatic Italy

Allegro Enterprises, which specializes in music-related tours, is offering a tour to Italy from Dec. 1 to 9 that features performances at famous theaters in Italy, including the traditional opening night at the opera at Teatro La Scala in Milan to hear C.W. Gluck’s “Armida.” Other performances include Puccini’s “La Boheme” at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” This tour includes private receptions and concerts, backstage tours, visits to villas and palaces normally not open to the public, and a private meeting with Simonetta Puccini, granddaughter of Giacomo Puccini.

Cost: $3,675 per person, double occupancy, including flights on Alitalia from New York City, hotels, sightseeing, some meals, motor-coach transportation and best seats at all performances. Contact: Terrence Jablonski at Allegro Enterprises, 900 West End Ave., Suite 12C, New York, NY 10025; tel. (800) 666-3553.

Eco-Venezuela

An ecology tour, March 19 to 30, will give adventure travelers a chance to explore the biologically rich country of Venezuela. Guests will journey to the high elevations of the Andes, the beaches of the Caribbean and the wet prairies of the Llanos to see birds, sloth, anteaters, monkeys, caiman and capybara. The tour will include travel in safari-style trucks on back roads and in fishing boats on small streams. Lodging is in remote but comfortable locations. Tour guides are professional naturalists.

Cost: $2,750 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, meals, ground transportation. Air fare to Caracas is not included. Miami is the departure point for the trip. Contact: Audubon Center of the North Woods, P.O. Box 530, Sandstone, MN 55072; tel. (320) 245-2648.

Dickens Christmas

Follow the Dickens trail on an excursion to Rochester and Chatham, England, Dec. 22 to 29. Participants will retrace the steps of Charles Dickens by visiting the original Bleak House and Broadstairs. The hotel is set the Cotswolds in Cheltenham, a city where high tea and fashionable shopping are popular. From there, guests will take day trips that include Stratford upon Avon and Oxford. Here, guests will enjoy Christmas with all the trimmings, a mulled wine party, Christmas dinner and a visit from carolers.

Guests will then depart for London to stay for the next three nights. Sightseeing in London will include Buckingham Palace and Big Ben as well as an optional theater excursion to London’s West End.

Cost: $2,295 per person, double occupancy, including land and air from New York. Contact: SITA World Travel, 551 N. Michigan Ave., No. 210, Chicago, IL 60611; tel. (800) 355-7482.

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