Aviation and History on China Adventure

Join Ray Wagner of the San Diego Aerospace Museum on an aviation tour of China Nov. 12 to 25. Two days are spent at the Zhuhai Air Show and the Datang Shan Aviation Museum, which is bored into the side of a mountain and houses vintage Chinese aircraft. The group will also tour Beijing and the Forbidden City, Xian, Shanghai and the Great Wall.

Cost: $3,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, ground transportation, hotels, all meals, tours and entrance tickets.

Contact: East West International Tours, 1248 Montevideo Ave., Placentia, CA 92870; telephone (800) 359-6719.

New Zealand Outdoors

Avaunt Travel is offering a New Zealand outdoor adventure that includes rafting, hiking, biking, sea kayaking, horse trekking and bush camping. Departures are scheduled for Nov. 23 and Dec. 28.

Highlights include camping and rafting on the Mohaka River, the “Tongariro Crossing” guided walk, kayaking on Queen Charlotte Sound, whale watching off the Kaikoura Peninsula, back-road cycling on the west coast, a walk on the Fox Glacier, an overnight horse trek from Queenstown, Mt. Cook walk, wine-tasting at a North Canterbury winery, a ride on the Tranzalpine train and a jet boat ride on the Rakaia River.

Cost: $3,747 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, most meals, sightseeing, experienced guides and sports equipment. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Avaunt Travel at 4325 Glencoe Ave., Suite C5, Marina del Rey, CA 90292; tel. (800) 266-8692.

Irish Matchmaking

An eight-day trip for singles to the Irish Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland, runs from Sept. 17 to 24. Hundreds of men and women from all over the world gather to meet, dine and dance into the wee hours during this historic festival. Participants will also take sightseeing excursions to visit the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Killarny, Ring of Kerry, Blarney Castle and Dublin.

Cost: $1,055 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, sightseeing and some meals. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Frances Reps at Sailair Travel; tel. (800) 759-5800, Ext. 4094.

Holy Land

Claremont School of Theology is hosting two Holy Land tours. The first will leave Oct. 26 for 10 days in Israel. The group will sail on the Sea of Galilee, visit the Jordan River, look across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives in the Old City of Jerusalem, visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Garden Tomb, and spend time at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

The second 10-day tour will depart from Los Angeles Jan. 25. It is similar to the first tour, except travelers depart via Amman, Jordan, and will go to Jericho. Optional extension tours of Egypt are available.

Cost: $1,948 for the October tour, and $1,998 for the January tour, per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, breakfasts and dinners, and tours.

Contact: Henry Jones, tour leader; tel. (714) 525-1849.

Art of India

“The Best of India,” an 18-day art trip from Bombay to Delhi, will leave Los Angeles Oct. 31. The tour includes Bombay, the Ellora caves and cave temples of Ajanta, the Jain temples at Ranakpur, the Rajasthan cities of Udaipur and Jaipur, the Taj Mahal, the temples of Kajuraho and the city of Varanasi, with an early morning visit to the Ganges. The tour ends in New Delhi.

Cost: $4,590 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, all land accommodations plus breakfast daily. Meals are not included.

Contact: Joy Travel, 11600 Washington Place, Suite 209, Los Angeles, CA 90066; tel. (310) 313-2588.

Crazy Horse, Custer

A “Crazy Horse and Custer” tour is being offered as a learning vacation by History America Tours. The seven-day tour will start June 22 in Billings, Mont. Historian Jack McDermott will serve as a guide.

The tour includes many hard-to-find sites that are rarely visited, such as the Dull Knife Fight, the unmarked Wolf Mountain site, and the remote Powder River and Rosebud fields. The tour will go off the beaten path to historic spots such as the Crow’s Nest and the sacred Deer Medicine Rocks. The group will also visit the sites of Ft. Phil Kearny, the Fetterman Massacre, the Wagon Box Fight and the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Cost: $1,069 per person, double occupancy, including six nights’ hotel accommodations, transportation, most meals and guides. Air fare is extra.

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

Italian Villas

Villas from the 13th and 16th centuries are the specialty hotels on a trip to Italy Sept. 25 to Oct. 5. Guests will stay in the villas in Milan, Siena and Perugia, and take guided tours through each area. Other activities include swimming, tennis, golf, bike riding, walking trails, cooking demonstrations and daily excursions from the villas.

Cost: $2,099 per person, double occupancy, including airport transfers, lodging, breakfast daily, welcome and farewell dinners. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Carlucci’s Italy; tel. (714) 707-5824.

Exotic Thailand

The elaborate temples and hill tribes of Thailand are the focus of a tour led by Asian scholar William Geffreye. The 19-day tour departs July 22 and includes the beaches on the resort island of Phuket off the southern coast of Thailand; a trip to the notorious Golden Triangle; and a one-day cruise to the archeological site of Ayuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. All international and domestic flights will be in business class. Accommodations will be in Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Bangkok.

Cost: $4,459 per person, double occupancy, including business-class air fare, first-class hotels, many meals, all sightseeing and entrance fees, day cruises, cultural shows, and lectures and guides.

Contact: Bob McGee, Travel International; tel. (800) 210-6565.

Up With Animals

“The African Dream” is a 17-day adventure to Africa that includes visits to Nairobi, Masai Mara, Sambur, Mt. Kenya Safari Club and the Ark. Several tours are scheduled for July, August and September.

An extension into Tanzania for five days is available, in which the group flies into the Serengeti and visits archeological digs and the Ngorongoro crater. Groups are small: a maximum of 12 people per safari.

Cost: $4,300 per person, double occupancy, including all meals, accommodations and transportation in Africa. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Eden International Safaris and Treks, P.O. Box 25971, Los Angeles, CA 90025; tel. (310) 453-5365.

Tennis, Anyone?

Advantage Tennis Tours is offering a tour to the U.S. Tennis Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. This tour, from Sept. 2 to 12, includes three sessions of early rounds with excellent seating at the new Arthur Ashe stadium. A seven-night Bermuda cruise from New York follows the tournament, with ports of call at Hamilton and St. George. Tennis players will have the opportunity to play tennis while in port at different private clubs.

Price: $2,655 per person, double occupancy, including hotel accommodations at Le Parker Meridien in New York City, reserved box seats, daily buffet breakfast, transfers to the Tennis Center and the Bermuda cruise. Air fare to New York is not included.

Contact: Advantage Tennis Tours, 33 White Sail Drive, Suite 100, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677; tel. (800) 341-8687.

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