Rolling Hills, Kilts and Castles of Scotland

Walk through history on a tour of Scotland Oct. 27 to Nov. 8 to see rolling hills, waterfalls, scenic vistas and castles, blended with the music, beverage, food and lifestyles of the Scottish people. Guests visit castles (including the cliff-top ruins of Findlater and Edinburgh), watch Scottish sheepherding and falconry, and visit the famous Glen Fiddich Distillery. Guides will introduce their longtime friends and share their favorite spots with guests.

Cost: $2,195 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations at pub-style inns and classic country lodges, airport transfers in Glasgow, all ground transportation using a 17-seat luxury van, admission to six historic or cultural attractions, daily breakfast, nine picnic lunches and two dinners. Not included are air fare, airport taxes and additional evening meals.

Contact: The Gurnham Group; telephone (800) 475-0004.

Taiwan and Korea

Join Jan Fontein, former director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on a trip through Taiwan and South Korea. The tour runs Sept. 20 to Oct. 8 and starts with three nights in Taiwan, including a tour of the National Palace Museum. Guests then fly to Seoul and explore the restored buildings of Kyongbok Palace, considered to be some of the best examples of classic Korean architecture.

Participants visit Haein-sa Temple, which holds 80,000 wood blocks engraved with Buddhist teachings. Next, guests drive to Kyongju to see relics from the ancient Shilla kingdom. They will spend a Sunday in Kwangju, where villagers from throughout the region come together for the Bamboo Market.

Cost: $6,290 per person, double occupancy, including international air fare, hotels, most meals and sightseeing.

Contact: Distant Horizons; tel. (800) 333-1240.

Women in India

Indian social service worker Rashmi Misra is offering a women’s issues program in India from Nov. 3 to Nov. 21. Participants have the opportunity to engage in discussions with Indian women on social issues such as arranged marriages, dowries, the caste system and more.

Misra, the program’s guide, will provide participants with the opportunity to meet, speak with and observe the work and lives of many types of Indian women, from farmers to affluent professionals.

The travel portion of the tour includes a tented camp at the Pushkar camel festival, a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra and exploring the Maharaja of Rajasthan’s palaces.

Cost: $3,500 per person, double occupancy, including ground transportation, hotels, all meals, sightseeing and guides. Air fare is additional.

Contact: Cross-Cultural Solutions, P.O. Box 625, Ophir, CO 81426; tel. (800) 380-4777, Ext. 3.

Footsteps of Da Vinci

The Museum of Science, Boston, is sponsoring a tour from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1 that chronicles the life of Leonardo da Vinci. The tour complements the Da Vinci exhibit at the museum. Participants will see examples of his scientific and artistic endeavors while traveling through the countryside and cities where he was born, studied, painted, practiced science and died.

The journey begins in Rome, where Da Vinci spent three years at the Papal Court. Guests visit his Tuscan birthplace, Vinci, and his home, which houses many examples of his work. Florence displays some of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings. In Milan, guests see “The Last Supper,” Sforza castle and Ambrosiana library, where many of his technical notes and sketches are found. The tour continues to Paris and the Louvre, where guests view some of his masterpieces, including the “Mona Lisa.” The trip concludes with a day trip to Amboise, France, to visit the home where Da Vinci spent his last days and the church where he is buried.

Cost: $3,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, porterage, 13 breakfasts, one lunch, six dinners, sightseeing, wine tastings, lectures and meetings with local dignitaries.

Contact: Museum of Science Travel Department; tel. (617) 589-0300.

Literary California

Exploring the lives and times of great American writers is the theme of HistoryAmerica’s Adventures in Literature series, Nov. 8 to 14. The tour begins in San Francisco and focuses on the scenes that inspired the writings of Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson, Helen Hunt Jackson, Bret Harte, John Steinbeck, Joaquin Miller, Mark Twain, Eugene O’Neill and others.

Among the stops are the Silverado Museum near Napa, the Robert Louis Stevenson cabin near Calistoga, the Castro House in San Juan Bautista, the Steinbeck House and Library in Salinas, the Stevenson Adobe in historic Monterey and areas popularized by Bret Harte and Mark Twain, including Calaveras County, Angels Camp, Frogtown and Jackass Hill.

Cost: $1,199 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe motor coach transportation, hotel accommodations, most meals and admissions.

Contact: HistoryAmerica Tours, P.O. Box 797687, Dallas, TX 75379; tel. (800) 628-8542.

Branson Music

Join Main Street Tours’ Holiday Excursion to Branson, Mo., Dec. 8 to 13. Participants will attend special holiday performances by country music artists. The tour includes 11 music and variety shows, and performances by Bobby Vinton, Andy Williams, Mel Tillis and Brenda Lee.

Cost: $1,075 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, motor-coach transportation, hotel, five breakfasts and five dinners, baggage handling and gratuities.

Contact: Wayde Fullmer at Main Street Tours, 1751 W. Torrance Blvd., Suite N. Torrance, CA 90501; tel. (310) 212-0791.

Island Bonding

A mother-daughter tour to Bermuda is being offered Sept. 3 to 6. Participants stay at Horizons & Cottages, a 17th century British manor home perched on a hillside among 25 acres of terraced gardens overlooking Coral Beach.

Guests have a private welcome dinner and take daily excursions, including a glass-bottom boat ride; a tour of Bermuda’s historic homes and gardens; tea and scones served at Waterville, a National Trust Property; a private workshop on banana dolls, a traditional Bermudan handicraft fashioned from the leaves of various indigenous plants; and a game of night golf with fluorescent balls.

Cost: $995 per person, double occupancy, including three nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast, welcome and farewell dinners, traditional English tea, airport transfers, transportation on all sightseeing excursions and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Roots & Wings, 423 Carlisle Drive, Suite A, Herndon, VA 20170; tel. (703) 834-7244.

Mansions of the East

A six-day, escorted motor-coach tour through the Brandywine Valley and Chesapeake Bay areas is being offered by S.T.E.P Inc. from Oct. 13 to 18, in the fall foliage season. Included on the Du Pont Mansions, Museums and Gardens tour are an overnight stay in a restored 18th century residence in the heart of Annapolis, Md.’s, historic district; three nights at the Brandywine River Hotel in historic Chadds Ford, Pa.; one night at the Harbor Court Hotel facing the Inner Harbor in Baltimore; and a luncheon in the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Del., which is noted for its 800 original works of art

Cost: $780 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, some meals, ground transportation, docent tours, admissions and porterage. Not included: air fare.

This six-day tour can be taken separately or connect with one of two seven-day programs, the American Presidency and Close Up Washington, offered by the Close Up Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Contact: S.T.E.P. Inc. Tours, 6719 Abbottswood Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275; tel. (310) 377-1601.

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