Rapid History Into the Anasazi World

The Archaeological Conservancy is offering a San Juan River adventure through the heartland of the Anasazi world to see ancient cliff dwellings and rock art panels. The tour, June 20 to 27, will be spent rafting the “goosenecks” stretch of the San Juan River, with its unusual geological formations and occasional rapids, from Bluff to Lake Powell in southeastern Utah. Numerous archeological sites will be visited, including Lower Butler Wash, an early Anasazi rock art site; River House, the largest cliff dwelling on the San Juan River; and Chinle Wash, a remote site with a pictograph.

David Noble, author of “Ancient Ruins of the Southwest” (paperback, Northland Publishing, $14.95) will accompany the tour.

Cost: $1,495 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals and sightseeing. Camping gear and transportation costs to and from Bluff are not included.

Contact: Archaeological Conservancy, 5301 Central Ave., NE, Suite 1218, Albuquerque, NM 87108; telephone (505) 266-1540.

Picture Alaska

A photographic workshop with outdoor photographer David Sanger is being offered in southeast Alaska from May 16 to 24. Eight participants will travel by yacht and photograph whales, bears and native culture while exploring the Inland Passage from Ketchikan to Petersburg. Beginning with the totems and dancers of the native Tlingit community of Kasaan, the group will drift through ice floes in Le Conte Glacier, photograph bears at Pack Creek Bear Refuge and Anan Creek (from safe wilderness observation posts), sail close to humpback whales and orcas in Frederick Sound, and fly over glaciers with a bush pilot.

Cost: $2,795 per person, double occupancy, including all meals and accommodations. Air fare to Alaska is not included.

Contact: Dolphin Charters, 1007 Leneve Place, El Cerrito, CA 94530; tel. (800) 472-9942.

Austrian Adventure

Horizons Adventures of a Lifetime is offering a combination hiking, biking and white-water rafting tour of the Hohetauern region of Austria. The seven-day tour will be based in the lakeside village of Zell am See. Two starting dates are offered: Aug. 2 and Aug. 23. Itinerary includes several scenic bike rides along the Hohetauern trail from Krimml to Saalfelden, a day of hiking at Weissee and a day of rafting on the Salzach River.

Also included is a visit to Krimml Falls and Werfen Castle, where there will be a birds of prey show. Several evenings have been set aside to experience local Austrian culture.

Cost: $1,695 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, most meals, bilingual guides, use of a 21-speed Trek hybrid bike, support van to transport luggage and ground transportation. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Horizons Adventures of a Lifetime, P.O. Box 670565, Marietta, GA 30066; tel. (800) 246-3180.

English Decorations

Rambling Rose Tours will escort small groups to London, Bath and the Cotswolds on various dates year-round to shop for antiques, art, fabrics and decorative accessories. The 10-night trips are led by a professional interior designer. Guests will visit trade showrooms, wholesale fabrics and antiques warehouses, dealers’ markets, fairs and antiques shows. Participants also will hear informal lectures by English designers and take private tours of homes and estates. All accommodations are chosen for comfort, interior design, gardens and fine dining.

Cost: $3,695 per person, double occupancy, including ground transportation, accommodations, most meals and guided tours. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Rambling Rose Tours, 1713 Owensfield Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901; tel. (804) 962-8702.

Orient Express

The 16-day “Pearl of the Adriatic With Orient Express” tour combines Venice, Italy; and Prague, Czech Republic, with several villages and islands along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, including Split and Dubrovnik, and the islands of Hvar and Korcula. Departures are scheduled for May 3, June 21, Sept. 6 and Oct. 4.

Highlights include the art and architecture of Prague; a drive through the scenic Czech countryside to the 14th century Konopiste Castle; a walk through the fortress city of Dubrovnik; a folkloric performance; tastings of regional wines in the medieval town of Korcula, said to be the birthplace of Marco Polo; a romantic gondola ride in Venice; and a night of gourmet dining aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.

Cost: $6,795 per person, double occupancy, including all sightseeing, accommodations and meals. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Travcoa; tel. (800) 992-2003.

Dutch Spring

A spring garden tour of the Netherlands for 25 people is budding at City Adventures. The May 4-to-11 journey, aided by Nederlandse Tuinen (the Dutch Garden Society), will stop at the 70-acre Keukenhof near Lisse, which has been under cultivation since the 15th century and is said to be the world’s largest flower garden. Additional visits will be made to other public gardens; to some private gardens usually closed to the public; to the mammoth auction facility near Schiphol Airport, where 52% of the world’s flowers go to market; and to art museums.

Cost: $2,650 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare between New York City and Amsterdam, transfers, six nights’ lodging, six breakfasts, five dinners, guides, and bus and entry fees.

Contact: City Adventures; tel. (800) 585-2489.

West Egyptian Desert

“Oases of the Western Desert” is a tour offered to Egypt Oct. 25 to Nov. 10, led by lecturer Lanny Bell. The tour explores the oases of Egypt’s Western Desert: Siwa, Farafra, Kharga, Dakhla and Dousch.

Beginning in Alexandria, the city of writer Lawrence Durrell, in which the remains of the Great Lighthouse and Library can still be seen, the tour continues to the Oasis of Siwa, famed for its Temple of the Oracle consulted by Alexander the Great.

Traveling across sand dunes and through unique chalk formations, the tour will stay overnight in Farafra Oasis. Several days are spent in the oases of Kharga and Dakhla, visiting remote and vividly painted tombs from the Roman and Early Christian periods, and the temples at Deir el-Hagar and Hibis; and in Dousch, with its temple dedicated to Isis and Osiris at the end of the desert caravan route to the Sudan.

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The tour visits Thebes and ends in Malqata, the royal residence of Amenhotep III and the newly opened tomb of Nefertari.

Cost: $3,350 per person, double occupancy, including ground transportation, hotels, most meals, all tipping. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Archeological Tours, 271 Madison Ave., Suite 904, New York, NY 10016; tel. (212) 986-3054.

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