Path of the Solar Eclipse From Hungary to Turkey

Fugazy International Travel of North Brunswick, N.J., and the American Hungarian Foundation are hosting a tour to Hungary to see the total solar eclipse. The tour will depart Aug. 9. On Aug. 11 at 10:50 a.m. the group will be in the city of Sarvar in western Hungary, where participants will see the eclipse, which will last two minutes, 22 seconds. The last total solar eclipse in Hungary was observed in 1842.

The 12-day tour includes visits to 15 cities. Five days in Budapest culminate in a fireworks celebration on the Danube River. This event will take place during the St. Stephen’s Day national holiday Aug. 20.

Cost: $2,879 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, entrance fees, baggage handling and guides.

Contact: Fugazy International Travel; telephone (800) 828-4488.

Turkey: More Eclipse

Twilight Tours of Woodland Hills is offering a land-based tour of Turkey, where participants will observe the total solar eclipse. The tour runs Aug. 6 to 13. The tour will visit the cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Kusadasi and Elazig, with sightseeing tours of the Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar, Dolmabahce Palace, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica of St. John and Topkapi Palace. The eclipse will be observed near ancient Harput Castle by the shores of Keban Lake.

Cost: $2,950 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Chicago or New York, domestic flights within Turkey, hotels, most meals, baggage handling, transfers and guides.

Contact: Twilight Tours, 22307 Algunas Road, Woodland Hills, CA 91364; tel. (818) 615-0889.

England: Warplanes

See the flying legends of World Wars I and II at the Duxford Air Show in England on a tour that runs July 7 to 16. Aviation enthusiasts will see classic European and American aircraft flown over historic Duxford. Optional flights are available in a Spitfire, Beech 18 or DeHaviland Dragon Rapide. In addition, the group will visit some of the historic WWII strategic planning sites such as Churchill’s War Cabinet Rooms and the underground Battle of Britain Operations Room (not normally open to the public). There is time for shopping and sightseeing in London, plus a tour of Leeds Castle in Kent.

Cost: $2,295 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare on Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles, all ground transportation, hotels with breakfast daily, museum fees, baggage handling and guides.

Contact: Jerren Travel Service, 2 Hidalgo, Irvine, CA 92620; tel. (714) 731-8020.

Hawaii: Millennium

Celebrate the new millennium in Hawaii on a trip that runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 2. The tour is for those who wish to immerse themselves in nature and celebrate the new millennium on the Big Island of Hawaii. Guides will conduct hikes to some of Hawaii’s hidden bays and rain forests, with snorkeling opportunities at Kealakekua Bay. The group will also visit a macadamia nut processing plant. Travelers will stay in state-park-maintained cabins and celebrate the millennium while watching fireworks over a bay.

Cost: $895 (if booked before April 15) or $1,085 after April 15, per person, double occupancy, including ground transportation, rustic cabins, most meals and sightseeing. Air fare to Hawaii is extra.

Contact: Crane Tours, 22351 Mission Circle, Chatsworth, CA 91311; tel. (818) 773-4601, Internet https://home.earthlink.net/~bilguana/HAW2000.htm.

Spain and Portugal

A study tour of Spain and Portugal focusing on the historic and modern Jewish community will be led by Moshe Lazar, a USC professor. The tour, June 20 to July 4, is sponsored by the University of Judaism. Participants will explore Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Toledo, Marbella, Granada, Cordoba and Seville in Spain; and Castelo de Vide, Lisbon and Tomar in Portugal. A trip will be made to Belmonte in the mountains to meet members of this small-town community of onetime Crypto Jews (Jews who secretly observed aspects of Jewish life while living outwardly as Roman Catholics).

Cost: $3,985 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, sightseeing and guides.

Contact: Freedman Habush Associates; tel. (818) 994-0213.

South: Civil War

The struggle to capture New Orleans will be the initial focus of “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 First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery, Ala.; the Civil War battlefield at Blakely, Ala., and Selma, Ala.; and 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, Internet https://www.visi.net/historyamerica.

Italy: Cooking

The Tuscany Institute for Advanced Studies is offering a culinary arts tour of southern Tuscany from June 7 to 12. Carla Capalbo, author of “A Food Lover’s Companion to Tuscany,” will give daily cooking classes. Guests will visit nearby wineries and farms renowned for such regional specialties as pecorino cheese and cold-pressed olive oil. Accommodations are at Colombaiolo, a centuries-old farmhouse. Participants will also tour the surrounding medieval and Renaissance hilltop towns and the pristine countryside.

Cost: $1,975 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip transportation from Chiusi (a railway hub between Rome and Florence). Enrollment is limited to eight. International air fare is extra.

Contact: Tuscany Institute; tel. (800) 943-8070.

Italy: Creative Writing

A creative writing tour for women, led by poet-novelist Terry Wolverton, is being offered May 26 to June 7 in Italy. The tour goes to Rome and Umbria, where guests stay in a hilltop inn with its own frescoed, 17th century church and restaurant. There are also excursions to Spoleto and Assisi. Writing classes are scheduled each morning, and afternoons and evenings are open for exploring.

Cost: $3,150 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare to Rome, ground transportation, hotels, writing classes, some meals and tours.

Contact: Anne Block at Take My Mother Please Tours; tel. (323) 737-2200.

England: Gardens

The Chelsea Flower Show is the highlight of a tour of English gardens known for their displays of azaleas and rhododendrons. The 10-day tour departs May 18 and features visits to classical landscape gardens and smaller, more intimate gardens in southern England. Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, Stourhead and Hampton Court are among the garden highlights, and the sightseeing program includes London, Salisbury, Rye and Arundel.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, daily breakfasts, most dinners, all sightseeing and entrance fees, private motor coach and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Lucas & Randall; tel. (800) 505-2505.

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