British Columbia and the Rockies at Christmastime

Victoria, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies are the backdrops for a Yuletide excursion Dec. 21 to 29. The eastbound trip begins in Vancouver and ends in Calgary. (A westbound version operates on the same dates.) Victoria is reached via BC Ferries, and once there, guests have a city tour that includes the Butchart Gardens. Members will take in the city’s seasonal festivities and a Christmas dinner during the next three days. Then it’s back to Vancouver to board the Rocky Mountaineer for a run through the Fraser Valley and a night in Kamloops. The second train day is passed in the Rockies. Disembarkation is at Banff National Park.

Cost: from $1,119 per person, double occupancy, including all meals during the trip’s rail portion, an additional six breakfasts, two lunches and dinners, eight nights’ lodging and transfers. Air fare to Vancouver is extra.

Contact: Rocky Mountaineer Railtours of Vancouver; telephone (800) 665-7245.

Costa Rica: Nature

Nature and national parks are the focus of a package offered by Escape Tours of Costa Rica. The tour, April 14 to 27, starts in San Jose and moves on to Braulio National Park, Cahuita National Park and Puerto Viejo Sarapiqui via a boat ride on a river canal. Next, guests will take a bus to the Arenal volcano. On the Pacific Coast, the group will stay at a resort near Guanacaste and later visit Manuel Antonio National Park. Time is set aside for shopping, swimming and relaxing.

Cost: $2,400 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, daily breakfast, some meals, guides and ground transportation. The price does not include air fare.

Contact: John Clark (booking through Escape Tours of Costa Rica); tel. (760) 747-3628.

Mexico: Baja

Adding sunshine to Christmas, Baja California Tours is offering a “Christmas Across the Border” trip to Ensenada on Dec. 23. Guests will take a motor coach from San Diego and stay three nights at the Hotel Villa Marina. Included is lunch at Casamar Restaurant, a tour to La Bufadora (a sea geyser) and Christmas dinner at El Rey Sol Restaurant. Optional activities include golf, fishing and whale watching.

Cost: $199 per person, double occupancy, including bus transportation, hotel, some meals and guides.

Contact: Baja California Tours, 7734 Herschel, Suite O, La Jolla, CA 92037; tel. (800) 336-5454.

Europe: Environment

Interested in the environment? Zachary Smith, a professor at Northern Arizona University, will lead a group May 12 to 27 to London; Amsterdam; Hamburg, Germany; Copenhagen; and Oslo to meet with individuals working for government agencies, private activist groups and educators who are involved in some capacity with environmental management, policy or protest. Time for sightseeing is included.

Cost: $2,890 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, breakfasts and ground transportation.

Contact: Avenues of the World, tel. (800) 230-3322, or Zachary Smith, tel. (520) 523-7020.

Italy: Holidays

Travelers who haven’t made holiday trip plans can still join the Christmas or New Year’s festivities in Rome on Insight Vacations’ nine-day “Amazing Italy” tour. Departures scheduled for Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 will spend Christmas Eve and Day, as well as New Year’s Eve and Day, in Rome, complete with a holiday dinner.

Christmas and New Year’s days will be at leisure. A morning walking tour of Rome’s highlights, including the Forum, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, is scheduled on Day 3, along with a drive north through the Apennine Mountains to Florence, where the tour spends the following two nights. A morning sightseeing trip acquaints tour members with the Renaissance city, followed by free time in the afternoon.

The route next leads to Verona and the vineyards of Soave en route to Venice, the central attraction for two more nights. Insight passengers stay at the Principe Hotel on the Grand Canal and enjoy a canal tour by private launch, along with a visit to a glass showroom and a demonstration of Venetian glass-blowing. The final day is devoted to a drive back to Rome and an overnight stay.

Cost: $699 per person, double occupancy, including first-class accommodations, airport-to-hotel transfers, tour manager services, motor-coach transportation and some meals. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Call a travel agent to book this trip. For brochures, contact Insight Vacations; tel. (888) 562-0111, Internet https://www.insightvacations.com.

Italy: Skiing

Carlucci Tours is hosting its annual ski trips to the Dolomite region of northern Italy. Seven-day trips begin Jan. 12 and Jan. 19. Skiers of all levels are invited to the slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo, about two hours north of Venice.

Cost: $999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, daily breakfast, ski-lift passes, tour leader assistance and ground transportation.

Contact: Carlucci Tours; tel. (520) 854-3081.

Africa: Film Fest

International film buffs can join the Pan-African Film and Television Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in West Africa. Participants will watch features and short films and have the opportunity to meet African filmmakers. Time is included for sightseeing, shopping at local markets and day trips.

Cost: from $1,899 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, hotel, daily breakfast and festival events.

Contact: The African Festival hotline; tel. (310) 726-9230.

Ireland: Seeing Green

Seeing some of the west of Ireland can be accomplished on both four wheels and four hooves in an excursion by Destinations Ireland and Great Britain of New York. The six-night trip (which runs year-round) begins at the Sheen Falls Hotel in Kenmare, County Kerry. There guests will ride horses on 10 miles of trails on the Sheen Falls estate. Next is a drive to Adare Manor in County Limerick.

Another half-day of riding is spent at the Clonshire Equestrian Centre. Instruction in advanced equestrian techniques is available there. The last stop is Ashford Castle at Cong, County Mayo, for a morning of riding on a 3,000-acre tract between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. The region’s familiar tourist sites make up the balance of sightseeing.

Cost: from $1,990 (more in 2001) per person, double occupancy, including rental car, six nights’ accommodations and daily breakfast.

Contact: Destinations Ireland and Great Britain; tel. (800) 832-1848, Internet https://www.digbtravel.com.

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