A Prague Spring That Starts on Musical Note

Discover Prague and enjoy the beauty of springtime in the Czech Republic on a guided tour highlighting the Prague Spring International Music Festival. The Prague Spring tour is nine nights, scheduled May 10 to 20. Participants take a motor-coach overview tour of the capital city and walking tours structured along the ancient divisions of the city. They visit gardens, churches, museums and galleries in the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, Prague Castle and District, the New Town and the Lesser Quarter.

Guests attend the opening ceremonies and concerts of the music festival and take day trips to Cesky Krumlov, Cesky Sternberk and Kutna Hora.

Cost: $2,700 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations in a centrally located hotel, private coach transportation, sightseeing and entrance fees, two meals daily, luggage handling, transfers and porterage. Not included: international air fare. Contact: Bohemian Express, 2308 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404; telephone (800) 962-9255.

Toy Story

A 14-day antique toy tour visits toy museums, private toy collections, flea markets, toy factories and small shops in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The excursion, which departs Oct. 2, begins with visits to the antique toy dealers and a toy museum in Nuremberg, Germany. While in Germany, passengers visit the Steiff factory in Giengen, Marklin Museum in Goppingen, Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, and toy shops in Ulm, Sinsheim, Heidelberg and Frankfurt. Participants then drive to Salzburg, Austria, and Prague in the Czech Republic.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, travel within Europe via motor coach, first-class accommodations, museum admission fees and most meals. Contact: Northstar Tours, P.O. Box 810, Lakeville, MN 55044; tel. (612) 469-4398.

Cuba and Mexico

Join the United Nations Assn. for a historical tour of tropical Cuba and Chiapas, Mexico, from May 17 to June 2. The trip will be led by history professor Brice Harris of Occidental College. Participants will first explore San Cristobal de Las Casas, the ruins, and the jungle highlands of Chiapas, and will visit ancient Mayan temples and local archeologists. Representatives of a local nongovernmental organization and human rights center will provide updates on the current events in Chiapas.

The tour will then depart from Cancun for Havana, where participants will encounter Cuban people through meetings with local filmmakers, university students, professors and city planners.

Also scheduled is an excursion to the province of Pinar del Rio, famous for dramatic landscapes and rich Afro-Cuban traditions. In Pinar del Rio, participants will stay at an eco-tourism hotel. There will be opportunities for swimming and salsa dancing in addition to a cultural exploration of Santeria, the African-based religion of Cuba.

The tour will culminate in Havana, with visits to art galleries and an introduction to one of Cuba’s acclaimed artists.

Cost: $2,750 per person, including air fare, ground transportation, accommodations, insurance, most meals and excursion fees. Contact: Cuba/Chiapas Trip, UNA-USA, 723 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101; tel. (818) 449-1795.

Castles, Conquistadors

A 14-day exploration of the Iberian nations of Spain and Portugal May 26 to June 8 focuses on the art and history of the 16th and 17th centuries when these countries were world powers. Tour guide Raoul de la Sota will give lectures and discuss key paintings in three important collections in Madrid, including the world-renowned Prado Museum.

From Madrid, the tour continues with the exploration of Toledo, Spain, and the world of the Sephardic people and the Muslims of those times. Guests will visit ancient monasteries and Roman ruins in Merida in Spain before arriving in Lisbon to begin the exploration of the Portuguese culture. The ancient Portuguese towns of Sintra and Obidos offer sites that show the great wealth stemming from the Age of Exploration. Small, hidden villages in the Pen~a de Francia mountains will be visited to learn about the folklore and mythology of those centuries.

Cost: $2,295 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare Los Angeles to Madrid, airport transfers, accommodations, daily breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners, sightseeing, ground transportation and entrance fees. Contact: Institute for International Programs, 770 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90017; tel. (213) 891-2282.

Gorilla Trekking

Trek to see the mountain gorillas of Uganda with Natural Habitat Adventures and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The 11- or 13-day Primate Watches and an 18-day Ultimate East Africa Safari each take up to nine travelers onto the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes for encounters with the gorillas in their natural habitat.

The Primate Watch tour includes safari tours of Queen Elizabeth National Park in for sightings of the colobus monkey, chimpanzee, elephant and hippopotamus. The 13-day Primate Watch adds a trip to the chimpanzees of Gombe, Tanzania. The Ultimate East Africa Safari features wildlife viewing in Kenya and Tanzania, including at the Masai Mara Park in Kenya and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Uganda Primate Watch tour dates are Feb. 25 to March 7, March 9 to 19, May 31 to June 10, and July 30 to Aug. 9. Uganda and Tanzania Primate Watches are scheduled Nov. 16 to 28 and Nov. 29 to Dec. 12 Ultimate East Africa Safari dates are June 12 to 29 and Sept. 15 to Oct. 2. Primate Watches begin in Entebbe, Uganda, while Ultimate East Africa Safaris depart from Nairobi, Kenya.

Cost: Primate Watch $4,795 (Uganda) and $6,395 (Uganda and Tanzania); Ultimate East Africa Safari $6,995, per person, double occupancy, including all accommodations, meals, trekking permits, guide services and transportation within Africa. Not included: international air fare.

Contact: Natural Habitat Adventures, 2945 Center Green Court, Boulder, CO 80301; tel. (800) 543-8917.

Flavors of Hungary

A seven-night cultural and culinary adventure to Hungary explores Budapest and its surroundings. The departure date is May 19.

Guests learn how paprika is harvested, go to a gourmet Hungarian chef’s kitchen to learn to cook Hungarian paprika dishes, venture to Puszta horse farms, where the horsemen display their riding acrobatics. Guests also dine in a typical Hungarian inn with Gypsy music, visit the Royal Palace and attend a symphony orchestra performance.

Cost: $1,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Budapest, airport transfers, seven nights’ hotel accommodations at a luxury hotel, daily buffet breakfast, symphony tickets, and all tours and entrance fees.

Contact: Rona Travel Bureau, 6535 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90048; tel. (213) 782-9111.

Steamboat Holiday

An Old-Fashioned Holidays Southern Christmas cruise will go from New Orleans to Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 20 to 27. Stops will be made at such places as Natchez, La., famous for its antebellum homes, and Vicksburg, the site of a key battle of the Civil War.

The Steamboatin’ Christmas Cruise offers Victorian decorations adorning the American Oueen steamboat. Cajun and Creole Christmas customs, such as the Christmas Reveillon dinner and the traditional bonfire on the levee to welcome Papa Noel on Christmas Eve, will be observed. A storyteller will give the Cajun version of the “Night Before Christmas,” featuring a canoe pulled by alligators.

Cost: from $1,431 per person, double occupancy, including air fare and transfers if deposits are received by April 15. Pre- and post tour packages to New Orleans are also available.

Contact: Historic Tours of America, 16142 Woodstock Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; tel. (714) 846-6446.

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