TOURS & CRUISES : B&Bs; on Wheels Double the Fun in Rural England

Double-decker buses that have been converted into B&Bs; on wheels will take guests on tours of the English countryside and Yorkshire. Five-day tours are available year-round. The buses are fully equipped with four twin cabins, bunk beds, showers, restrooms and a dining room. Passengers will tour the coastal towns of Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, and the walled city of York and Castle Howard.

Cost: $468 per person, double occupancy, including cabin and breakfasts. Air fare to England, additional meals and entrance fees are extra.

Contact: Britain Bound Travel Services, 900 Avenida Acaso, Suite G, Camarillo, CA 93012; telephone (800) 747-3302.

Mexico: Pottery

Buy colorful Mexican pottery on a Christmas shopping trip Dec. 1 to 5 to Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua, Mexico. Guests will meet master potter Juan Quezada, whose work is sought by international collectors. He will demonstrate his techniques. The tour of the village includes visits to potters’ home studios. There also will be a visit to the archeological site of Paquime and the Museo de las Culturas del Norte. Accommodations will be at the Adobe Inn in Mata Ortiz.

Cost: $575 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, land transportation, entry fees, lodging and most meals.

Contact: Vanessa Acosta at the Southwest Museum, Cultural Arts Tours and Workshops; tel. (323) 344-9064.

More Mexico: Oaxaca

Spend this Christmas in Oaxaca, the grand old colonial city in the southern highlands of Mexico where ancient Zapotec rites blend with Christian traditions to produce a unique blend of Christmas festivities and rituals. The “Jean Grimm Millennium Art Tour” to Oaxaca is from Dec. 22 to 30, with an optional three-day extension to include the turn of the millennium. Guests will attend the annual radish festival and enjoy a Christmas dinner and party in the gardens of a private Oaxaca home.

They will visit the archeological sites of Monte Alban and Mitla and attend a gala performance of regional dances. Next they will visit the Oaxaca studios of painters and the workshops of artisans who will demonstrate their crafts. Stops are also made at museums, galleries and markets.

Cost: $1,395 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, airport transfers, ground transportation, guides and entrance fees. Air fare is extra. New Year’s supplement is $475, double occupancy.

Contact: Jean Grimm Art Tours, 1233 E. Baker Drive, Tempe, AZ 85282; tel. (480) 730-1764.

Ireland: Cruise

The Emerald Isle comes alive on the ninth annual Irish Festival Cruise Jan. 22 to 29. The ship will be Holland-America’s Westerdam, sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. John, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay in the Virgin Islands. Two dozen Irish singers, bands and dancers will provide entertainment. In addition, there will be workshops on such subjects as traveling theater, rhymes, poetry, ballads, Celtic spirituality, the Gaelic language, Gaelic sports, drumming (on a goatskin drum), whistling (on a tin whistle) and Irish dancing.

Cost: from $1,299 to $2,499 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from L.A.

Contact: Irish Festival Cruises; tel. (800) 441-4277.

Southeast Asia: Culture

UC Berkeley Extension is offering an insider’s look at the cultural heritage of Indochina Dec. 28 to Jan. 17.

Led by UC Berkeley Southeast Asian historian Peter Zinoman, participants will visit Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The itinerary will balance visits to key museums, archeological sites and temples with time spent at tribal villages and markets. Zinoman’s lectures will examine the history and cultural heritage of these countries.

The program will begin in Vietnam, where participants will visit Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Da Nang, the fishing village of Hoi An and the imperial city of Hue, as well as Hanoi. Participants will also attend a folk performance of water puppets and enjoy a private sampan cruise among the limestone peaks and islands of Halong Bay, a World Heritage Site.

The program will continue to Laos with a visit to its capital, Vientiane, and its religious center, Luang Prabang, one of the best-preserved cities in southeast Asia. Participants will also sail up the Mekong River to explore the thousands of Buddhist statues inside the Pak Ou caves.

The program will conclude with a four-day visit to Cambodia, highlighted by a visit to Angkor Wat.

Cost: $5,400 per person, double occupancy, including hotel rooms, most meals, admissions, field trips, local guides, ground transportation and in-country flights and visas. International air fare is extra.

Contact: Travel With Scholars; tel. (415) 252-5229, Ext. 19, Internet https://www.unex.berkeley.edu.

Caribbean: Biking

Bike and Cruise Tours of Oregon is offering an end-of-the-year Caribbean cruise Dec. 12 to 19.

Guests will board the Norwegian Dream in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and sail to St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Croix and St. Thomas.

Riders will spend days bicycling on different islands in the Caribbean, and nights cruising to the next port. Ample time will be allotted each day for exploring the islands by bike. A daily picnic stop at a local beach will offer time for snorkeling and swimming. Tour guides, local island riders and a support vehicle will accompany the group. Riding is moderate to hilly, 25 to 30 miles per day.

Cost: $560 to $745 per person, double occupancy, for the cruise only. The bicycle tour fee is $425, including bike rental. Air fare to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and port taxes are extra.

Contact: Bike and Cruise Tours, P.O. Box 3256, Gresham, OR 97030; tel. (503) 255-3880, Internet https://www.bikeandcruise.com.

Paris: Shopping

Get Christmas shopping done early and tour Paris on a trip to France Nov. 8 to 15. Adventure Vacations of La Jolla is sponsoring its annual “Christmas Shopping Tour” to Paris. Included is a fashion show, a discount card for the Galeries Lafayette department store, a city tour, a three-day Metro pass and a tour and discount card to the Lorenzi Diamond Museum and store.

Cost: from $629 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, airport transfers, five nights’ hotel, dinner at an Eiffel Tower restaurant and daily breakfast.

Contact: Adventure Vacations, P.O. Box 1836, La Jolla, CA 92038; tel. (800) 600-5587.

England: Theater

A trip to London for theater fans is being offered Nov. 13 to 21. It includes visits to the Globe Theatre, the National Portrait Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Kensington Palace.

Four evening performances are scheduled in the London theater district.

Cost: $1,895 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, daily breakfast, transfers, tickets to four shows and ground transportation. Round-trip air fare is extra.

Contact: Gurnham Group, P.O. Box 6, Hilton Head Island, SC 29938; tel. (800) 475-0004, Internet https://www.gurnhamgroup.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.