Finding Lost Empires and Antiquities in Italy

Discover the great empires of ancient Italy on a tour that explores history at a leisurely pace. The tour, May 3 to 18, will be led by Luis Cardenas, an expert on Roman and Greek antiquities. The itinerary includes Rome, Naples, Positano, Taormina and Palermo. Two days in Positano (which overlooks the Bay of Sorrento) and several afternoons are open for guests to explore the cities independently.

Cost: $5,190 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, motor coach transportation, deluxe accommodations, most meals, lectures and entrance fees.

Contact: EastWest International Tours, 1248 Montevideo Ave., Placentia, CA 92870; telephone (800) 359-6719.

California: Llama Hikes

The Broken Wheel Ranch in Northern California offers llama pack trips (usually three to six days) into the remote Marble Mountains and Russian and Siskiyou wilderness areas in the Klamath National Forest. Participants will enjoy spectacular views, meadows of wildflowers and high mountain lakes. Also available are hikes along the coastal trail in Northern California’s remote Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. The trip gives guests the opportunity to view whales and sea lions, and play in tidal pools. The group will see herds of Roosevelt elk and giant sequoias. All camping gear and meals are provided. Guests just bring a warm sleeping bag and personal items.

Cost: $130 per person, per day. Group size is limited to 10. Transportation to Northern California is extra.

Contact: Broken Wheel Ranch, 3708 Scarface Road, Fort Jones, CA 96032; tel. (530) 468-2559, Internet https://www.llamapacktrips.com.

Ireland: Nature

Harvard University’s natural history museum is sponsoring a June 12 to 24 jaunt to Ireland that mixes bird watching, flower walks, castle visiting and poetry reading. There are stops in various counties, and participants will join in the celebration of Bloomsday in Dublin on June 16, with readings from James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” The tour leader is Shaun O’Connell, a professor of literature at the University of Massachusetts.

Cost: $4,950 per person, double occupancy, which covers air fare from New York, 11 nights’ lodging, daily breakfast, six lunches and five dinners.

Contact: Harvard Museum of Natural History; tel. (617) 495-2463.

France: Art Classes

“Paris Sketchbook and Watercolor Excursion” is a nine-day tour of Paris for art enthusiasts who would enjoy sketching, drawing or seeing this city through artists’ eyes. Dates are June 22 to 30 or Sept. 19 to 27.

The days on the excursion are divided into half sketching and half art history walking tours. Sketching sites include the Louvre (to copy master paintings), the Tuileries Gardens, Montmartre and riverside views of Paris. Other museum visits include the Impressionist collection at the Musee d’Orsay and the Musee Delacroix. The tour includes visits to artists’ studios and galleries.

Also included are guided day trips to the cha^teau of Vaux-le-Vicomte and the town of Chartres, both an hour away from Paris.

Cost: $1,545 per person, including ground transportation, art classes, sightseeing and entrance fees. Air fare, hotels and meals are not included.

Contact: Ileanna Szmidt, 48 Rue Damremont, Paris, France 75018; tel. (301) 961-1062.

New Mexico: Golf

Aventura Artistica is offering a “Real-Time Scoring for Golf in New Mexico” tour Sept. 22 to 27. This golf tournament excursion is designed for the avid golfer and will introduce a state-of-the-art real-time tournament scoring system called Active Scoring at a new golf course. A special one-day golf tournament will offer participants the opportunity to compete. Players’ scores are calculated and broadcast on a leader board and on a clubhouse television. Guests will play at other New Mexican courses. The group will be attending some autumn activities, such as the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta and the San Juan Pueblo Harvest Dances. Guests will partake in a private catered dinner in a museum and visit Pecos National Historical Park and Bandelier National Monument.

Cost: $1,000 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, land transportation, all guides and guest speakers, 10 meals, tournament costs and entrance fees to museums and pueblos. Air fare to New Mexico is extra.

Contact: Christy Rojas, Aventura Artistica, 151 Sherry Lane, Del Mar, CA 92014; tel. (800) 808-7352.

Canada: Sailing

Join a small group of adventure travelers Sept. 13 to 19 on a sailing trip from Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, through the maze of waterways off Johnson Strait. The focus is on observing wildlife: orcas, dolphins, salmon, bears and birds. A naturalist on board will also lecture about other marine life. Participants will learn about the culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, who still live in Alert Bay and preserve their heritage in carvings and masks.

Cost: $1,895 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, all meals and sightseeing. Transportation to Port Hardy is extra.

Contact: Outings Department of the Sierra Club; tel. (415) 977-5588.

Europe: Arts

Spend three weeks in France, Belgium and the Netherlands from June 20 to July 11 on a trip sponsored by the Art Institute of Southern California. Paris, Dijon, Bruges and Amsterdam will be the major cities seen. Sights will focus on the art and architecture of Northern Europe. Drawing and painting lessons will be conducted by artists Betty Shelton and Vito-Leonardo Scarola.

Sites include: the Louvre, Pompidou Center, Picasso Museum, Rodin Museum, Moreau Museum, Grand Palais, Arc de Triomphe, Chartres Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower. Day trips to the medieval French abbey in Fontenay, Vezelay’s 12th century Basilique Ste.-Madeleine and the Ho^tel-Dieu in Beaune are scheduled. While in Amsterdam, guests will visit Rembrandt’s house, the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum.

Cost: $3,975 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air transportation, hotel accommodations with private bath, daily continental breakfast, 18 dinners, private motor coach transportation between each of the major cities, Paris Metro pass, Paris, Amsterdam and Bruges cruises, tours and entrance fees to museums.

Contact: Betty Shelton; tel. (949) 362-3228.

Africa: Safaris

Kenya Study Safaris is offering two summer safaris to see wildlife in East Africa and a December tour to celebrate the new millennium either in Masai Mara game reserve or atop Mt. Kilimanjaro. The two 20-day safaris start June 12 and July 10.

In Kenya, the guests will visit the Mount Kenya Safari Club, the chimpanzee sanctuary at Sweetwaters private game reserve and the game parks of Samburu, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. Itineraries for Tanzania include the game parks of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.

The millennium safari runs Dec. 22 to Jan. 4.

The itinerary includes visits to Treetops Lodge, Sweetwaters private game reserve, Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha. Guests will spend Christmas Day at Mount Kenya Safari Club and New Year’s Day 2000 in Masai Mara. The mountain climbers will leave the tour on Dec. 28 for a six-day expedition to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and celebrate New Year’s Day on its summit. Previous experience in climbing is not required, but good physical fitness is important.

Tour leader Leonard Moite has planned visits to museums, African villages and markets, and tea and coffee plantations.

Costs: about $6,000 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare to Nairobi, ground transportation, hotels, most meals, museum and park entrance fees.

Contact: Kenya Study Safaris, 30037 Via Borica, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275; tel. (310) 377-6790.

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