Ancient Temples and Holy Shrines in India

An India-born California State University professor will lead a group to India from Jan. 4 to 26. The trip starts with a city tour of Singapore, where the group stops for a night on the way to the subcontinent. In India, participants will visit New Delhi; Varanasi (Benares), India’s holiest city, on the Ganges River; Khajuraho and its temples; Agra with the Taj Mahal; Ranthambhore Game Reserve; Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur; Bombay; and Madras.

Guests will be able to play tennis and golf at private clubs.

Cost: $5,450 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, airport tax and transfers, deluxe hotels, ground transportation, all meals, entrance fees and lectures. Sita World Travel is booking the tour, which is limited to 16.

Contact: Simon George; telephone (562) 985-4848, e-mail georges@csulb.edu.

Southwest: Back Roads

The Sanctuary, a native plant and bird sanctuary in Laguna Beach, is hosting a fall journey to capture the spirit of the Southwest through sketch pad, palette or film. Group co-leader and Native American artist Anne Weiler will lead the back-roads tour of her homeland: the canyon lands of southern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

The eight-car, 20-person caravan will travel Nov. 3 to 14. Highlights include the deep canyons and waterfalls of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, the red mesas of Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah, and red rock canyons filled with Anasazi ruins. Three home bases include accommodations at a bed-and-breakfast, a trading post and a ranch. Each base offers a daily choice of photo shoots, a vigorous hike, a mountain-bike or horseback ride or short walks or drives to majestic views for sketching and painting.

Cost: $1,600 per person, including three meals a day, accommodations and guided tours.

Contact: the Sanctuary; tel. (949) 494-7734.

Mexico: Colonial Gems

A nine-day architectural and culinary tour into the cities of old Spanish Mexico is available from Oct. 6 to 15. Participants will visit several private colonial homes and haciendas. Dinner each night will be hosted in a different historic colonial patio restaurant.

While participants are based in a monastery-turned-hotel in the hillside town of San Miguel de Allende for six nights, there will be side trips to Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo and Queretaro.

Guests will also stay in Morelia in a 250-year-old hotel. A side trip to Lake Patzcuaro is planned.

Cost: $1,595 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, airport transfers, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner, and all sightseeing and entrance fees.

Contact: Frank Tysen Private Adventures, 15012 Del Gado Drive, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403; tel. (818) 501-4100.

New Mexico: Cooking

Join Williams-Sonoma cooking instructor Linda Steidel for a trip to the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 in New Mexico. Participants will attend a cooking class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, take historical and art tours and enjoy two wine-tasting dinners. Then they will visit the food and wine-tasting event at the Santa Fe Opera House, where chefs from more than 200 restaurants are expected.

Cost: $1,200 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, a three-night stay at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa, cooking class, some meals, tours and airport transfers.

Contact: Sharon Ryan at Robinson Travel; tel. (310) 379-2495 or (800) 379-2495.

Ireland: Birds

This one is for the birds--of Ireland. From Oct. 7 to 15, Banner Tours is offering an ornithologically focused trip to the rugged west side of the country. Guests will make their home base in Carrigaholt, a village on the Loop Head Peninsula. Five days of the visit are devoted to bird-spotting. The guide, John Murphy, estimates that participants will see 150 species. Sites include the Bridges of Ross, Quilty Beach, the Burren, Corofin Lakes and Poulnasherry Bay. One day in Galway and one day in Ennis for shopping are scheduled.

Cost: $1,299 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, seven nights’ lodging, daily breakfast and ground transportation.

Contact: Banner Tours; tel. (877) 262-5273 or (631) 363-8040.

China: Yangtze

Explore China with Bob Feldman, a university professor emeritus who has been leading tours to China since 1986. This 17-day tour scheduled for Nov. 3 includes a Yangtze River cruise.

The tour begins in Beijing with an exploration of the Forbidden City, Imperial Palace, Ming Tombs and Tiananmen Square, and a walk on the Great Wall. Guests will also visit the old section of Beijing where families live in courtyard houses.

Next stop is Xian to see the terra-cotta army and visit a peasant market. Then it is on to Wuhan, where guests board the luxury Victoria cruise liner for a five-day Yangtze River cruise to Chongqing with daily side excursions into the heart of China. Guilin follows with its unique rock formations along the Li River. The tour ends in Shanghai with the Children’s Palace, the Old Quarter’s Yu Yuan Gardens, the new Shanghai Museum and visits with a Chinese family in their home.

Cost: $3,990 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare and in-country flights, ground transportation, deluxe hotels, all meals in China including four Western dinners, cruise and excursions, tours, four theater performances, all taxes and portage.

Contact: East-West International Tours; tel. (800) 359-6719, Internet https://www.eastwest-tours.com.

Europe: Cruise

A “Wine Lover’s Cruise” Aug. 2 to 9 to France, Spain and Portugal begins in Southampton, England. The Minerva sails along the English Channel to the town of La Rochelle, France, where passengers explore the quaint street cafes or take a full-day excursion to Cognac. Minerva then makes its way to Bordeaux, where guests can visit the vineyards in the Medoc wine region before heading to Bilbao, Spain, to visit the Guggenheim Museum and sample Rioja wines in the coastal town of San Sebastian. Guests then cruise to Oporto, Portugal, where they can tour the ancient cathedral and a port wine lodge before making their way to Lisbon to see the Jeronymos Monastery and the Maritime Museum.

Cost: from $2,224 per person, double occupancy. Air fare to London is additional.

Contact: Swan Hellenic Cruises; tel. (877) 219-4239, Internet https://www.swanhellenic.com.

Europe: Flea Markets

Join an art connoisseur and an antiques dealer as they lead a tour to the Netherlands, France and Belgium from Oct. 17 to 31. Visits to historic sites and wine-tasting rooms are scheduled between flea market days. The tour begins in Amsterdam, then transfers to the Champagne region of France. It continues on to the cha^teaux and villages of the Loire Valley. Next, three nights in Paris to spend time at a flea market are followed by three nights in Brussels, with day trips to Bruges and Antwerp. The final two nights are spent again in Amsterdam.

Cost: $2,800 per person, double occupancy, including hotel rooms with private bath, daily breakfast, two dinners, admissions, ground transportation and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Sally Knudson English Antique Market Tours and Other European Destinations, P.O. Box 141, Amador City, CA 95601; tel. (888) 322-5250.

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