Spain: A Mediterranean Pilgrimage for Gardeners

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Pacific Horticulture Magazine are sponsoring a visit to the Canary Islands and southern Spain for wildflower and garden enthusiasts, April 24 to May 8.

The group will explore Mediterranean flora; rare plants can be found growing in the countryside, on castle grounds and in centuries-old botanic gardens. The trip will be escorted by two botanists.

Cost: $4,895 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals, ground transportation and entrance fees.

Contact: Learned Journeys at Betchart Expeditions Inc.; telephone (800) 252-4910.

Black Sea: Eclipse

Witness the century’s last solar eclipse on NorthStar Expeditions’ cruise Aug. 6 to 13 aboard the Olympic Countess in the Black Sea. On-board commentary will be supplied by astronomers Michael Terenzoni of the University of Arizona and Michael Bennett of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Ports of call are Piraeus and Mykonos, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; Nesebur, Bulgaria; and Odessa and Yalta, Ukraine.

Cost: $1,499 to $2,199 per person. Air fare to Athens is extra.

Contact: NorthStar Expeditions; tel. (800) 324-3891.

France: Cruise

See Paris for two days before taking a rail trip on the high-speed TGV to the 148-passenger luxury river boat Princesse de Provence. Passengers will take a seven-night cruise on the Rhone and Saone rivers from Lyons to Avignon, gliding by palaces, Roman ruins and vineyards, stopping each day at a small town en route. Numerous excursions are available.

Cost: from $2,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from Los Angeles, hotel with breakfast and welcome dinner in Paris, all transfers in France and all meals aboard ship. Departure from Los Angeles is Sept. 1; return is Sept. 11.

Contact: Suzanne Allswang, tel. (310) 752-9102, or Brigitte Jennison, tel. (310) 752-9124, at the Travel Store.

Ohio River: Steamboat

View fall foliage from the Delta Queen Steamboat Co.’s American Queen. The ship will travel on the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati Oct. 5 to 11, stopping in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. An overnight in Pittsburgh is included.

Cost: $1,857 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, transfers, and all meals and port taxes.

Contact: Don Eslinger at Historic Tours of America, 20325 Seabright Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; tel. (714) 536-3434.

Greece: Ancient Paths

The relatively empty tourist paths of northern Greece can be trod on a 14-night journey offered by Lindblad Special Expeditions May 15 to 30 or Aug. 31 to Sept. 15. The tour begins in Thessaloniki and proceeds to Pella (birthplace of Alexander the Great), Verghina and Dion, overlooked by Mt. Olympus. Then it’s on to the cliff-top monasteries at Meteora; to Metsovo, a traditional Greek village; the Ottoman citadel at Ioannina; three days on the island of Corfu; Athens; and, finally, two days on Chios, the reputed birthplace of Homer.

Cost: $4,990 per person, double occupancy, which includes 14 nights’ lodging, 14 breakfasts and nine dinners, land and ferry transport and the Athens-Chios flight. Transatlantic air fare is extra.

Contact: Lindblad Special Expeditions, tel. (800) 397-3348.

Poland: Castles

A 12-day, 10-night Orbis tour to Poland, “Castles and Palaces,” visits 22 royal edifices, starting at Warsaw’s Royal Castle. Dates are May 19 to 30, June 16 to 27, July 21 to Aug. 1 or Sept. 1 to 12.

Other sites include Frombork, a home to the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543); Malbork, a fortification begun by the Teutonic Order of Knights about 1276; Czerniejewo, a neoclassical structure in a forest-lined park; Pieskowa Skala over the Pradnik River Valley; and the castle of kings, Wawel, in Krakow. Other attractions are the knights’ tourney in Golub-Dobrzyn, the archeological museum in Biskupin and, as options, visits to Auschwitz or the Wieliczka salt mine.

Cost: from $2,059 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, 10 nights’ lodging (including five in a castle or palace), some meals, ground transportation and guides.

Contact: Orbis Travel; tel. (800) 876-7247.

China: History

Photographer and China expert Frank Logan will lead a 21-day tour to China, departing Los Angeles Sept. 25. Participants will visit Beijing to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the Ming Tombs. In Inner Mongolia, the group will visit Buddhist temples and attend a Mongolian song and dance performance. One night will be spent in a yurt in Mongolia.

This tour visits many of China’s historic cities and out-of-the-way places. Included are the Terra Cotta Army Museum in Xian and three days in Tibet, with visits to the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple, one of Tibet’s holiest shrines. On-site discussions and lectures are included. Events include a dumpling banquet, the Beijing Opera, the Tang Dynasty song and dance troupe, a Shanghai acrobatic performance, the new Shanghai Museum and a cruise on the Grand Canal.

After visits to Suzhou and Wuxi, the tour concludes with a free day in Shanghai.

Cost: $3,895 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals, all transportation in China, all planned admissions and excursions, sightseeing and guides.

Contact: Frank Logan Tours, 12723 Stanhill Drive, La Mirada, CA 90638; tel. (562) 941-6340.

South: Civil War

The struggle to capture New Orleans will be the initial focus for “Civil War on the Gulf Coast,” a learning vacation offered by HistoryAmerica Tours in partnership with the History Channel. The six-night tour starts May 24 in New Orleans. Edwin Bearss, a Civil War battlefield guide, will serve as historian-guide.

The tour will visit Gulf Coast forts, including Ft. Jackson in New Orleans, forts Gaines and Morgan on Mobile Bay, Ala., and Pickens and Barrancas near Pensacola, Fla. Museum visits include the Civil War Soldiers Museum in Pensacola, the National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning and the National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville, Ga. The tour will also explore various Civil War sites in Alabama, including the scene of Adm. David Farragut’s “Damn the torpedoes!” call at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Cost: $1,295 per person, double occupancy, including six nights’ hotel accommodation, transportation via deluxe motor coach, 12 meals. Air fare is extra.

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

Britain: Literature

British Literary Tours is offering several seven-day tours to Britain throughout the year. These are semi-customized tours, concentrating on the literary aspects of the country. There are visits to museums, birthplaces and other sites associated with writers such as Austen, Hardy, Dickens and Shakespeare. Visits to theaters include backstage tours and meetings with actors, directors and writers. Accommodations are at B&Bs;, farms and places with literary connections.

Cost: $1,299 per person, double occupancy, including all accommodations, land transportation, admissions, all breakfasts and some other meals. Price excludes air fare.

Contact: British Literary Tours; tel. (714) 903-5548.

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