Five Lands in One Trip to See Europe’s Capitals

EF Educational Tours and El Camino College geography professor Matt Ebiner will lead a tour to Europe from April 6 to 15. European capital cities are the focal point of “European Quintet,” from the canals of Amsterdam to Cologne (not the capital) in Germany’s Rhine River Valley. A day will be spent in Brussels, capital of Belgium and the European Union. Three nights will be spent in Paris, and the trip will conclude in England with a visit to Canterbury and two nights in London.

Cost: $1,928 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, continental breakfast and dinner daily, guides, some entry fees and taxes.

Contact: Matt Ebiner, group leader; telephone (310) 660-3369, Internet https://www.edtours.com.

The South: By Train

The American Orient Express has added Vicksburg, Miss., to its 2001 “Antebellum South” trip.

Passengers will journey from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans. En route they will experience the rich history of the South with sights such as Ft. Pulaski in Georgia, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Tidewater region of Virginia and the Carolinas as well as the coastal plains and plantations of the Deep South.

This seven-night journey runs weekly through March and April.

Cost: from $2,290 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, all meals, baggage handling and guides. Transportation to Washington, D.C., and home from New Orleans is extra.

Contact: American Orient Express Tours; tel. (877) 854-3545, Internet https://www.americanorientexpress.com.

England: Holidays

Travel Times is offering “Christmas in the English Countryside” (Dec. 23 to 28) and “New Year in London” (Dec. 28 to Jan. 2). The first tour includes five nights in the English countryside at Hunstrete House, a Georgian manor near Bath, and the second tour offers five nights at the Ritz.

Highlights of the Christmas trip include caroling parties, a traditional English Christmas pantomime show, a Boxing Day hunt meet and sightseeing in Bath to view the Roman Baths, the Pump Room, Bath Abbey and Guildhall.

For the New Year’s trip, theatrical performances in London and visits to Windsor Castle, Salisbury Cathedral, the Courtauld Institute of Art, the new Tate Modern and the Wallace Collection in Hertford House are scheduled. Two black-tie evenings include ringing in 2001 at a formal ball at the Ritz.

Cost: $2,930 for the Christmas tour and $2,995 for the New Year’s tour per person, double occupancy, including hotels, sightseeing, many meals and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: William D. Buckman’s Travel Time; tel. (800) 621-4725, Internet https://www.w-d-b-travel-time.com.

Yosemite: New Year’s

Family Adventure Tours will conduct a family ski trip to Yosemite National Park from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1. The trip includes accommodations in cabins in Yosemite Valley, cross-country ski lessons and tours, and brunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel on New Year’s Day.

Cost: $285 for adults and $100 for children. Transportation to Yosemite is not included.

Contact: Family Adventure Tours, 1164 Alvira St., Los Angeles, CA 90035; tel. (323) 377-7565.

Turkey: St. Paul’s Path

Tursem Tours’ 15-day “In the Footsteps of St. Paul” journey will depart Los Angeles March 1 and 20 for Istanbul.

The tour focuses on Turkey’s ancient Christian heritage. It takes participants to all the destinations of Paul’s missionary journeys cited in the Bible. The tour also visits Hellenistic and Roman sites, including Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Perga and Troy.

A highlight of the tour is a visit to St. Paul’s birth city of Tarsus, whose history reaches back 34 centuries. There tour members visit the Sacred Well, St. Paul’s Arch and the Gate where Antony first greeted Cleopatra. Also scheduled are Cappadocia, Antioch, Pergamum and Ephesus.

A two-day stay in Istanbul includes a cruise on the Bosporus and visits to the Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmet, the Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, the Spice Market, Justinian’s Basilica Cistern and the Grand Covered Bazaar.

Cost: from $1,795 per person, including round-trip air fare from LAX, first-class lodging with daily breakfast, 15 dinners, expert guides, transfers and deluxe ground transportation.

Contact: Tursem Tours; tel. (800) 223-9169, Internet https://www.tursemtours.com.

Italy: Carnevale

A tour to Italy to celebrate Carnival will take place Feb. 18 to March 1. The Italians have celebrated the changing of the seasons from winter to spring for centuries with elaborate and sometimes boisterous festivities.

In the small villages of Sardinia there are street processions with floats, bands and locals dressed in medieval costume. In Venice, guests will attend the celebrations and performances.

Cost: $3,160, per person, including round-trip air fare to Venice from the West Coast, transfers to Sardinia, accommodations, excursion by rail to Carnevale in Verona, some meals and guides.

Contact: Danu Enterprises; tel. (888) 476-0543.

Mexico: Yucatan

Two trips, Dec. 27 to Jan. 6 and Feb. 23 to March 5, are being offered to see the Mayan cities of the Yucatan. Sculpture and mural-covered pyramids are seen at Chichen Itza, Palenque (not in Yucatan) and Uxmal, but the itinerary has been planned to also highlight seldom-seen sites in remote areas, including Becan, Chicanna and Kohunlich. Accommodations are in haciendas and colonial buildings.

A private tour will be given by Peter Schmidt, currently excavating at Chichen Itza.

Cost: $3,495 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Houston, hotels and many meals.

Contact: Far Horizons Archeological and Cultural Trips; tel. (800) 552-4575, Internet https://www.farhorizon.com.

France: The Rhone

Cruise the Rho^ne River on the Princesse de Provence, departing April 25 for a trip that lasts until May 6. Guests will spend two nights at the Grand Concorde Hotel in Lyons.

The group sets sail April 28 for seven nights up the Sao^ne and down the Rho^ne. Stops are made in Avignon and Arles.

Cost: B deck cabins $3,080 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotel in Lyons with breakfast, all excursions and all meals aboard the vessel.

Contact: Claudette Crowther at Summerland Travel; tel. (805) 969- 9014.

Greece and Turkey

Dick Caldwell of Sporades Tours will lead a trip to Greece and Turkey for the millennial holiday season. The Greek segment, Dec. 18 to 30, visits Athens, the Peloponnese, Santorini, Delphi, Meteora, Metsovo (a ski resort in the Pindus Mountains) and the island of Skopelos for Christmas. The Turkey segment, Dec. 29 to Jan. 10, includes Istanbul (for New Year’s) and the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts from Pergamum to Antalya.

Cost: $1,640 for Greece or Turkey, $2,960 for both Greece and Turkey. The price is per person, double occupancy, including hotels, ground transportation, some meals and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Dick Caldwell, Sporades Tours; tel. (800) 695-7176 or (714) 744-9188.

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