Santa Fe for Holiday Cheer and Eggnog

Aventura Artistica will celebrating the holidays in New Mexico with an “Eggnog in Santa Fe” tour from Dec. 23 to 27. Visitors will see Santa Fe lighted by luminarias adorning adobe rooftops. Those who wish may attend midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at Acoma Pueblo, one of the oldest mission churches in the United States. Guests also will accompany the people of Acoma Pueblo in their sunset lighting ceremony, then attend their traditional holiday dance. There will be a visit to the Georgia O’Keeffe museum, a hands-on Southwestern cooking class in Albuquerque and, as an option, a hot-air balloon ride over the Rio Grande.

Cost: $900 per person, double occupancy, including land transportation, lodging, some meals, cooking class, day trips, museum entrance and guides. The price does not include air fare to Albuquerque or the balloon ride.

Contact: Christy Rojas at Aventura Artistica; telephone (800) 808-7352.

Italy: Skiing

A ski trip to Italy, Jan. 22 to 30, will be based in Cervinia, located on the Italian side of the Matterhorn. It has a large ski resort with modern lifts and long, leisurely trails. Also available is a ski trek to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Cost: $1,399 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare on Alitalia Airlines from Los Angeles, a ski pass valid for six days, all lodging, breakfast daily, all dinners, round-trip motor-coach transfer from airport to the resort, Italian- and English-speaking host and hostess, service charges and taxes at hotels.

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

Africa: Lighthouses

Lighthouse enthusiasts have the opportunity to visit the lighthouses, historic attractions and scenic coastline of South Africa. Among the beacons on the trip are Cape Aghulas Lighthouse--celebrating its 150th anniversary next year--and Robben Island Lighthouse, on the island where President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

The tour, scheduled for Feb. 6 to 23, will be led by Don Devine of Lighthouse Depot, who organized the 18-day trip. He will accompany travelers along with local guides from Portnet, which manages South Africa’s lighthouses. Included will be visits to South Africa’s wine country and stays in the historic cities of Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town.

Ground transportation is by motor coach. The February arrival will allow travelers to enjoy summer weather as they follow the Garden Route, known for its unique array of flowers, beaches, forests, lakes and rivers.

Cost: $4,444 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from most U.S. cities, deluxe accommodations, ground transportation, most meals and sightseeing.

Contact: Lighthouse Depot, U.S. Route 1, Wells, ME 04090; tel. (800) 758-1444.

Peru: Hiking

A wilderness hike through the Andean highlands, guided by a Peruvian-American, is being offered April 16 to 26. Other dates are available in May and June. Participants will travel along Inca-engineered trails, exploring Inca ruins and visiting native villages and traditional markets that feature Peruvian ceramics, textiles, art and handicrafts. Guests will have a chance to interact with Quechua herders of llamas and alpacas in remote mountain communities. The trip includes visits to Cuzco, the sacred valley of the Incas called Urubamba and the “lost city” of Machu Picchu.

Cost: $2,350 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, all transportation and flights within Peru, sightseeing tours, hotels, all meals and camping equipment.

Contact: Andes Adventures, Devy Reinstein, 1323 12th St., Suite F, Santa Monica, CA 90401; tel. (310) 395-5265.

Greece: Islands

A 21-day tour emphasizing the major cultural and art-historical sites of ancient Greece will take place from June 22 to July 12.

Mark Wheeler, a professor of ancient Greek philosophy at San Diego State University, is a tour leader and will give lectures at each site. The itinerary includes the cultural and historical sites of Athens, Meteora, Pella, Thessaloniki, Delphi, Olympia, Mystras, Sparta, Mycenae, Tyrins, Epidaurus and Corinth. Also included are the islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos, Delos and Santorini.

A Greek guide, fluent in English, will accompany the group throughout.

Cost: $3,489 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Athens, land transportation by private motor coach, air and sea transportation between the islands, deluxe hotels, most meals, all entrance fees and baggage handling.

Contact: Charles Smith, CAWS Travel Programs Coordinator, 3755 Avocado Blvd., La Mesa, CA 91941; tel. (800) 862-6220.

Canada: Wilderness

When guests of Tuckamore Lodge arrive at St. Anthony Airport in northern Newfoundland, they will be greeted by a guide in a winter Viking costume. This is the beginning of a one-week winter trip that explores the land the Vikings settled more than 1,000 years ago. Travel is by snowmobile and dog sled to see fjords, mountains and the historic Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, North America’s only authenticated Norse settlement. It features re-created sod houses and an interpretive center.

Guests will have the opportunity to watch seals on the ice and perhaps encounter a polar bear. There are visits to the resettled fishing communities of Lock’s Cover and Ireland Bight, and a chance to photograph moose and caribou in their winter habitat.

Ride by snowmobile to Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tours will be led by guides trained in map reading and navigation by compass. A mechanic accompanies each ride carrying basic snowmobile parts.

Cost: about $1,350 (may vary with currency fluctuations) per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, meals, airport transfers and guides. Air fare is extra. Various dates can be arranged; programs usually begin and end on a Sunday.

Contact: Tuckamore Lodge and Outfitters, P.O. Box 100, Main Brook, Newfoundland, Canada A0K 3N0; tel. (709) 865-6361.

S. Carolina: Holiday

Corliss Tours is offering a six-day escorted “Christmas Season by the Sea” tour, departing Dec. 10, with shows and attractions in Myrtle Beach. Accommodations are at an oceanfront hotel with ocean-view rooms. The tour features five matinee and evening Christmas shows. The highlight performance is the “Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular” with the Rockettes.

The tour also visits Brookgreen Gardens, one of America’s first public sculpture gardens; sightseeing at the area’s shopping venues; a day trip to historic Charleston; a carriage tour of the city; and a visit to Boone Hall Plantation, a former cotton plantation.

Cost: $749 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations at the Martinique Resort Hotel, nine meals, admission to shows and attractions, motor-coach transportation, airport transfers, baggage handling, taxes and tour director. Air fare to Myrtle Beach is extra.

Contact: Corliss Tours, 5950 Canoga Ave., Suite 500, Woodland Hills, CA 91367; tel. (800) 482-4597.

Russia: New Year’s

New Year’s Eve in St. Petersburg, Russia? It’s possible, on a tour scheduled by Norvista from Dec. 28 to Jan. 2. Guests will leave from New York and fly to the old czarist city. The next day they will be escorted around the Hermitage museum and will take in a concert. Then, on New Year’s Eve, it’s off to the 1789 Tauride Palace for a black-tie, five-course dinner with music, dance, song and fireworks. If you can wake up on New Year’s Day, there will be a big breakfast and another tour: Catherine the Great’s palace at Tsarskoe Selo, followed by troika rides, and blini and vodka treats by a bonfire.

Cost: from $2,299 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, four nights’ lodging, daily breakfast, a dinner and the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Contact: Norvista; tel. (800) 677-6454.

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