Building on Art and Architecture in Turkey

The San Diego Museum of Art is sponsoring a two-week tour of Turkey from Oct. 3 to 17, focusing on art and architecture. A highlight of the trip will be a four-night cruise along the Turquoise Coast aboard a private yacht. The group will also visit Ephesus and Istanbul, dine in palaces and visit fishing and weaving villages. Stephen Garrett, a historian of classical architecture, will lead the trip.

Cost: $3,495 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, some meals and sightseeing. Air fare from Los Angeles is extra.

Contact: Siemer & Hand Travel; telephone (800) 451-4321.

British War Birds

Air shows, aviation collections, castles, cottages and cathedrals are on the itinerary of a trip to England and Scotland Aug. 26 to Sept. 9. Travelers will visit the Shuttleworth Classical Aircraft Restoration Center near Cambridge and the RAF Battle of Britain Operations Center in Uxbridge. They will also attend the Duxford Air Show and the Edinburgh (Scotland) Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle, with its military marching bands from around the world. Also on the itinerary are London, York, Cambridge, the Cotswolds and Stratford-on-Avon. Time is scheduled for shopping and dining.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare on Virgin Atlantic, hotels, ground transportation, entrance fees and some meals.

Contact: Jerren Travel Service, 2 Hidalgo, Irvine, CA 92720; tel. (714) 731-8020.

Prehistoric Cave Art

Explore the prehistoric cave art of the Dordogne region from Sept. 23 to Oct. 6 with Clayton Eshleman, who, for the last 20 years, has extensively researched and written on this area of southwestern France. After spending three days in Paris, the group will travel to the small village of Les Eyzies for a 10-night stay in the family-run Hotel Cro-Magnon. Visits will be made to Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles caves, which contain 15,000-year-old drawings, etchings and paintings, as well as the Cougnac and Pech Merle caves.

The tour will also visit Lascaux, the medieval town of Sarlat (for its Saturday market) and the medieval fortified hill town of Domme, with its view of the Dordogne Valley.

Cost: $3,750 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, ground transportation, most meals, cave entrance fees and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Windsor Travel, 11620 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90025; tel. (310) 477-6783 or (800) 535-1123.

Christmas Markets

Get into the Christmas spirit by shopping at Christmas markets in Germany and Austria. Cities visited include Munich, Rothenburg and Nuremberg in Germany, and Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria. The Christmas markets sell local cuisine, handmade crafts and holiday decorations. Concerts by local bands are planned. The one-week tour begins Nov. 28.

Cost: $1,550 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from LAX, six nights’ hotel accommodations, motor-coach transportation, all breakfasts and two dinners, baggage handling, entrance fees and taxes.

Contact: Joanna Matos of Stevenson Travel, 10900 Los Alamitos Blvd., No. 115, Los Alamitos, CA 90720; tel. (562) 598-2424.

All About Ethiopia

The Massachusetts Audubon Society is offering a natural history tour of Ethiopia from Nov. 3 to 22. The tour begins and ends in Addis Ababa. The tour leader, Chris Leahy, is director of the Massachusetts Audubon’s Center for Biological Conservation. Participants will visit villages and see historic sites, as well as observe wildlife.

Cost: $6,595 per person, double occupancy, including flights within Ethiopia, hotels, all meals, ground and sightseeing. International air fare is not included.

Contact: Massachusetts Audubon Society Natural History Travel Program; tel. (781) 259-9506, Ext. 7411 or (800) 289-9504.

Biking Canada

Pedal through the Canadian great outdoors on week-long British Columbia trips that depart on various dates throughout the summer.

The “Whistler Loop” tour travels along country roads through the Fraser Valley and old Gold Rush towns.

The “Gulf Islands” tour follows the shoreline of British Columbia through lush forests and also includes kayaking and sailing.

The “Yukon Explorer” takes the Demptser Highway through wilderness and the Klondike gold fields, and includes some cultural exchange with the natives in the region, some camping as well as accommodations in hotels.

On the “Kettle Valley Railway” tour, guests ride along an old railway line through the Okanagon Valley and Fraser Canyon. The tour includes some wine tasting and bird-watching.

All tours start and finish in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Cost: $920 per person, including accommodations, meals, bicycles, guide services, van support and luggage transfers. Air fare is extra.

Contact: L. Didus; tel. (800) 597-5594.

Bead Art in India

Select Tours International is offering a “Bead and Art Tour” to India from Oct. 19 to Nov. 6. The tour will acquaint travelers with the historical and cultural backgrounds of various places in India. They will see famous sights, and also meet crafts people and tour village-based industries. The itinerary includes New Delhi, Agra, Firozabad, Purdilnager, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Mt. Abu, Siddhpur, Patan, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Aurangabad and Bombay.

Cost: $3,928 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotel accommodations, most meals, sightseeing, transfers and entrance fees.

Contact: Select Tours International, P.O. Box 210, Redondo Beach, CA 90277; tel. (310) 374-0880.

Belgium by Barge

Float through Belgium on IST Cultural Tours’ 10-day, eight-night journey for 18 guests. Thursday departures run July 2 to Oct. 29. The tour features two days in Brussels and six days aboard the Rembrandt, a canal barge that will visit Brugge, Oudenaarde, Tournai and Mons. A bus trip to Waterloo is included.

Cost: from $2,095 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, hotels, most meals and sightseeing.

Contact: IST Cultural Tours; tel. (800) 833-2111.

Terrific Tunisia

A desert festival in the town of Douz, Tunisia, presents camel and horse races, pageantry depicting historical legends, and music and dance. This festival is one of the features of a trip to Tunisia Dec. 18 to Jan. 4. Guests will also see hilltop and underground dwellings dating back to the 13th century, as well as unusual landscapes, hidden canyons and waterfalls. They will take a camel ride to villages half-buried by sand. Along the Mediterranean coast are walled towns with exotic souks and craftsmen, resorts, and mosaic and ethnographic museums.

Cost: $1,729 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, sightseeing and some meals. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Opa! Folklore Studies, 75605 Eads Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037; tel. (619) 456-2264.

Vine to Wine in France

Harvest grapes with French vintners and experience the art of winemaking and tasting on a trip to France Oct. 4 to 10. Guests spend one full day mingling with the locals of the Languedoc region picking, pressing, vatting and sharing lunch. In two half-days, guests will cover techniques of winemaking and tastings of regional wines, with an English-speaking expert.

The rest of the week is spent exploring historical towns and sites, such as Carcassonne, Cathar castles, Roman ruins, medieval villages and markets. Homemade gourmet picnics and local festivities highlight the daily excursions.

Guests stay in cottages at a restored 12th century hilltop villa overlooking vineyards. Local cuisine will be served at the villa, and in local restaurants and in private homes.

Cost: $1,925 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, all meals, wine tastings and escorted tours. Air fare is extra.

Contact: ReQuest Adventures at P.O. Box 531, Corte Madera, CA 94976; tel. (650) 355-9180.

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