A Train Lover’s Itinerary to Great Cities of Europe

Travelers who appreciate great cities and train travel can satisfy both passions on a 17-day tour of Europe that begins Sept. 5. Guests will ride on some of Europe’s most interesting trains while traversing the mountains and countryside of Italy, Switzerland, France and England.

Beginning in London, the itinerary includes stays in unique hotels. The train makes stops in Paris, Geneva, Zermatt and St. Moritz (Switzerland), Venice, Florence and Rome. Trains include the Orient Express, the Glacier Express, the French TGV and the Channel-spanning Eurostar.

The program is coordinated by James Clapp, a professor of planning and urban affairs at San Diego State University. Undergraduate and graduate academic credit is available.

Cost: $3,265 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, 14 nights in first-class hotels, one overnight on the Orient Express, breakfasts and five dinners, airport transfers, portage, guided sightseeing and entrance fees.

Contact: James Clapp; telephone (619) 260-1572.

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Belize: Mayan Ruins

TRAX World Tours of Englewood, Colo., is offering an eight-day tour of Belize featuring the Mayan ruins at Tikal and Xunantunich, a rain-forest medicine walk and horseback riding. The trip concludes on Ambergris Cay, a reef island offering diving and snorkeling opportunities. Departure is Nov. 20.

Cost: $2,250 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, ground transportation, some meals and entrance fees. Air fare is extra.

Contact: TRAX World Tours; tel. (888) 340-8729, Internet https://www.traxtours.com.

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Austria: Wine

New York-based Herzerl Tours is offering a tour for wine lovers to the wine regions of Austria along the Danube River, in Burgenland, around Neusiedler Lake and around Vienna. The tour is scheduled for Oct. 9 to 16. Participants will get a chance to see how the people, the climate and the soil have influenced the wines as well as the architecture. They will tour Baroque-era churches and castles.

Cost: $2,575 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, accommodations, two meals per day, travel by motor coach, all lectures and sightseeing events.

Contact: Herzerl Tours; tel. (800) 684-8488, Internet https://www.herzerltours.com.

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Australia: Rails

An Australian “Reef ‘n’ Rail” tour combines the Queenslander train from Proserpine to Brisbane with a tour of tropical North Queensland. Various departure dates for this 17-day combo are available through December.

The arrangements include two-night stays in Cairns and Port Douglas, and on Hamilton Island. The touring highlights include Kuramba by Skyrail and returning by train, the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, the high-speed catamaran Quicksilver to Agincourt Reef, the Atherton Tableland and Billabong Sanctuary. The stop on Hamilton Island offers an optional afternoon cruise to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. The beach features nearly 4 miles of sugary white-silica sand.

In Proserpine the group joins the “Queenslander” train for the 24-hour journey to Brisbane. First-class sleeper accommodations are provided for the ride through subtropical Queensland.

Cost: $1,739 per person, double occupancy, including first-class accommodations and 16 meals. Air fare to Australia is extra.

Contact: AAT King’s Australian Tours; tel. (800) 353-4525.

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England and France

A nine-day tour to England and France offered by Back-Roads Touring Co. of London takes a look at history spanning the 11th to 20th centuries. In England, guests will visit Winston Churchill’s home, the Cabinet War Rooms and Imperial War Museum in London, the Portsmouth D-Day Museum and Gen. Eisenhower’s headquarters, where Operation Overlord was planned.

In France, they will see the Somme, the beaches of Arromanches-les-Bains, Pegasus Bridge, war cemeteries and the Caen Peace Memorial Museum.

Starting and ending in London, each tour will have a maximum of 11 people. There is one departure each month, ending in October.

Cost: from $1,699 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, some meals and entrance fees. Air fare is extra.

Contact: International Travel Marketing, 1492 W. 6th St., Suite E, Corona, CA 91720; tel. (800) 830-1083.

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France and Austria

A small-group tour to France and Austria is available from Sept. 20 to Oct. 5. The French itinerary visits Reims, Tours, the Perigord region (southwestern France) and Lyons. In Austria the tour continues to Lake Constance, Innsbruck, Vienna and Salzburg. The trip ends in Munich, Germany, allowing for an optional visit to the Oktoberfest.

Cost: $3,075 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from any city in the U.S., hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, motor coach transportation and all entrance fees.

Contact: Sabine, sales and marketing, Nonstop Travel; tel. (310) 324-5500.

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Europe: Shrines

A pilgrimage to some of the most celebrated shrines in Portugal, Spain and France is planned for Oct. 4. Participants can join the processions at Fatima, Portugal, and Lourdes, France, and visit Santiago de Compostela, a cathedral in the Finisterre region of northern Spain. Guests will also visit the cathedral at Burgos, a World Heritage Site.

In France, participants will also travel to Avignon from the Loire River Valley. Two nights will be spent in Paris, with a guided city tour included. There will be an all-day excursion through the French countryside to Lisieux, where the family home and basilica of St. Therese are situated.

Cost: $2,595 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from LAX, hotel, daily breakfast, nine dinners, motor coach transportation, all gratuities and fees.

Contact: Betty Leonard at Shamrock Travel; tel. (949) 858-2278.

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Ireland: Heritage

Join a group of Americans of Irish descent for an “Irish Heritage Tour” Oct. 17 to 25. The journey will be of interest to those who wish to learn about their family’s origins. Guests will sleep in the 12th century Kilkea Castle near Castledermot; visit the port of Cobh, where millions departed for America; kiss the Blarney Stone; see the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Galway; and visit the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford. The tour concludes in Dublin, with time to explore the city.

Cost: $1,875 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare between LAX and Dublin, ground transfers, hotels, daily breakfast and five dinners, admission fees, taxes and guest speakers.

Contact: Lakeside Travel, 4108 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91505; tel. (818) 953-9399 or (800) 782-4898.

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Europe: Eclipse

SITA World Travel is offering a 16-day “Total Solar Eclipse Tour” to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic from Aug. 8 to 23.

Participants will witness a total solar eclipse in Bucharest (where the eclipse will be visible for the longest time) and visit many of Eastern Europe’s highlights. The program will be led by two veteran eclipse viewers, one of whom is an astronomy professor.

Also planned: visits to Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, the scenic Carpathian Mountains, Hungary’s wine country and three other capital cities rich in history: Budapest (Hungary), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Prague (Czech Republic).

Cost: $3,395 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe and first-class hotels, two meals per day, seven dinners with folk music and entertainment, three theater and opera performances, a river cruise in Prague and all baggage handling. Air fare is extra.

Contact: SITA World Travel, 16250 Ventura Blvd., Suite 300, Encino, CA 91436-2211; tel. (800) 421-5643, Internet https://www.sitatours.com.

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