Greeting Year 2000 From Atop Mt. Kilimanjaro

If you want to set your sights high for the coming millennium, climb to the highest point on the African continent, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Into Africa is offering two millennium climbs. Participants will fly to Nairobi, Kenya, where they will be transported to Marangu in Tanzania. Two routes are available: the Marangu Route, which is a five-day climb, and the six-day Machame Route, which is more gradual. Though Mt. Kilimanjaro is more than 19,000 feet high, these two routes are not considered technical climbs and do not require special mountain-climbing gear.

Both routes offer a variety of beautiful terrains, beginning with the wildflowers of the lower slopes and continuing through lush forest, open moorlands and alpine vegetation. Climbers will reach the summit at sunrise on New Year’s Day 2000.

After descending the mountain, participants are transported back to Nairobi to stay at the Safari Park Hotel, which will offer a farewell dinner and African dance show.

An optional three-day wildlife viewing safari in Tanzania, including the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara, is available at the end of these climbs.

Marangu Route (limited space available): Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2000. Cost (not including air fare) is $1,782 per person, double occupancy. Machame Route: Dec. 25 to Jan. 5, 2000. Cost (not including air fare) is $2,022 per person, double occupancy. Both tours include meals, lodging and transportation within Kenya and Tanzania. The three-day Safari Extension is $897 per person.

Contact: Linda Silbert, Into Africa, 1015 Casitas Pass Road, No. 235, Carpinteria, CA 93013; telephone (805) 649-5797.

France: Champagne

Jet Vacations is offering a seven-day millennium package that begins with two nights in Paris’ Hotel Edouard VII, then continues with four nights at the exclusive 21-room Chateau d’Etoges, a 17th century castle (with moat) near the town of Epernay in France’s Champagne region. The trip begins Dec. 27. New Year’s Eve includes a feast at the chateau with wine, champagne and music. Then there will be a fireworks display at midnight with music and dancing. Guests will also take guided excursions to the Moet & Chandon champagne cellars and to Reims to visit its cathedral.

Cost: $5,299 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations and ground transportation. Air fare to Paris is extra.

Contact: Jet Vacations, 880 Apollo St., Suite 241, El Segundo, CA 90245; tel. (800) JET-0999.

Antarctica: Cruise

Zegrahm Expeditions (in Seattle) and Quark Expeditions (in Darien, Conn.) have teamed up to offer travelers a 29-day “First Light Expedition” via a 56-cabin Russian icebreaker to a corner of the South Pacific zone near the international date line, where the year 2000 will begin first. The itinerary starts Dec. 14 in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the icebreaker should be near the Balleny Islands, within the Antarctic Circle, for the crucial click-over. After reaching Antarctica, passengers will fly via helicopter to the Dry Valley. Other stops include Franklin Island and the Possession Islands. Naturalists and scientists will be aboard to give lectures.

Cost: $19,980 per person, double occupancy, including cabin, all meals, Zodiac expeditions. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Zegrahm Expeditions, 1414 Dexter Ave. N., Suite 327, Seattle, WA 98109; tel. (800) 628-8747, Internet https://www.zeco.com.

Italy: Venice

Celebrate the millennium in the historic and cultural cities of Venice and Verona. Participants will spend six nights in Venice at a hotel located on its own canal near St. Mark’s Square. A gala Christmas dinner is planned, along with holiday festivities throughout the city. Next, guests move on to Verona for five nights and enjoy a New Year’s Eve dinner and city tours.

Cost: $2,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, lodging, breakfast daily and transfers.

Contact: Carlucci’s Italy; tel. (949) 707-5824.

Bermuda: Resort

Cambridge Beaches, a resort in Bermuda, is offering a five-night “Millennium Escape,” with arrivals available Dec. 27, 28 or 29. Guests will take a glass-bottom boat excursion, a horse and buggy ride, a catamaran trip to Dockyard and a bus tour to historic forts in Bermuda, and will attend wine tasting and cooking classes.

Guests will stay in cottages and can also choose activities at the resort, including tennis, croquet, a putting green and spa facilities.

Cost: from $3,400 per couple, including a deluxe cottage room with water view, all meals, use of leisure facilities and a New Year’s gala. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Cambridge Beaches; tel. (800) 468-7300.

Asia: Monuments

Asia Transpacific Journeys is offering two opportunities for welcoming in the new century. “Ancient Monuments of Southeast Asia” will journey to archeological sites, including Indonesia’s Borobudur, Myanmar’s (Burma) Pagan, Thailand’s Ayuthaya and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. The 16-day journey has two departure dates, Dec. 18 and Dec. 26, and both include a New Year’s Eve celebration at Angkor Wat. Accommodations have modern facilities. Land cost is from $5,595.

“Wild Indonesia” departs Dec. 24 for 17 days. Travelers will visit Bali, see the dragons of Komodo Island and ring in the new millennium with members of a traditional Dani tribe in Irian Jaya at a fireside feast, which includes ancient song and dance rituals.

Cost: from $5,595 for the “Ancient Monuments” tour and $3,495 per person, double occupancy, for “Wild Indonesia,” including hotels, some meals, transfers. Tours do not include air fare.

Contact: Asia Transpacific Journeys, 3055 Center Green Drive, Boulder, CO 80301; tel. (800) 642-2742, Internet https://www.SoutheastAsia.com.

South Pacific: Private Jet

Travcoa will be taking travelers into 2000 and the balmy South Seas on a private jet with an itinerary that features two New Year’s Eves. Passengers on the “Private Jet Celebrating the Year 2000” tour will spend their first Dec. 31 in Auckland, New Zealand, amid fireworks and traditional Maori celebrations. Then they will fly across the international date line for a second New Year’s Eve on the island of Moorea, with a Tahitian-style celebration. In Tahiti, guests will stay three nights on the island and take a glass-bottom boat cruise on the Moorea lagoon.

The 18-day program, departing Dec. 18, also takes in an ancient fire walkers’ ritual at a lagoon-side feast in Fiji; a Christmas Eve concert in Sydney, Australia, at the Sydney Opera House; Christmas Day festivities in Australia’s Blue Mountains, with a helicopter sightseeing trip; and three nights in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Cost: $42,900 per person, double occupancy, including air fare, hotels, all meals and sightseeing.

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

Africa: Family Safari

Tanzania Family Safari is a two-week journey that will combine camping under the stars in the Serengeti on New Year’s Eve with a safari to see wildlife. The tour runs Dec. 23 to Jan. 5. Family participants will travel to the Serengeti, Arusha and Tarangire national parks and Ngorongoro Crater. During the journey, they will likely see lions, elephants, hippos, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, baboons, wildebeest and a variety of monkeys. The trip includes a visit to a village school in the foothills of Mt. Meru (near Mt. Kilimanjaro) to participate in games and songs.

Cost: $6,500 per person, double occupancy (less for children), including lodging, transfers and meals. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Thomson Family Adventures; tel. (800) 262-6255.

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