Bronx Is Up, Battery’s Down and Spring Tour Is on Broadway

The spring will be rich with culture on a Broadway theater trip from April 29 to May 6. Tourgoers will have orchestra seats at six productions. Also planned are seminars with actors, museum visits and sightseeing. Jay Manley, drama department chairman at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Calif., will lead the tour.

Cost: $2,350 per person, double occupancy, including seven nights at the Renaissance New York Hotel, some meals, tickets and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: New York Theatre Tours; (408) 264-2864.

Maine: On Foot

Some of Maine’s most dramatic coastline will be the setting for a Wayfarers walk in this New England state. Participants will hike around inlets of the Damariscotta River and on Monhegan Island’s nature trails. On the five-night “Coast of Maine” walk, hikers will cover six to 10 miles each day. Departures are scheduled for June 23, July 7 and Sept. 8, 15 and 22.

Cost: $1,850 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, some meals and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: the Wayfarers; (800) 249-4620, www.thewayfarers.com.

Cuba: Cycling

Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city, will be the base for an eight-day cycling trip. Day rides of five or six hours are planned through the countryside, with time allotted for beach breaks.

Cost: $1,190 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, all meals, bike rental and support van. Flight to Cuba, via Mexico, is extra.

Contact: Active Journeys; (800) 597-5594, www.activejourneys.com.

Alaska: Photography

Focusing on Alaska’s scenic terrain and abundant wildlife, Colors of Nature Photo Tours will take camera buffs through Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias and Kenai Fjords national parks. Professional wildlife photographer Rich Reid will instruct photographers of all levels on tours ranging from 11 to 13 days. Tours are limited to six travelers.

Cost: from $4,195 per person, double occupancy, including all transportation from Anchorage, meals, guides and entrance fees to parks. Air fare to Anchorage is extra.

Contact: Colors of Nature Photo Tours; (888) 385-5595, www.colorsofnature.com.

Alaska and Canada

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is combining folklore and natural history on a trip to British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska from May 14 to May 25.

Passengers will travel on a 69-cabin ship, the Yorktown Clipper, to see gorges, glaciers, forests and mountains while learning about the Native American cultures of the Northwest. On shore excursions, guest will see totem poles and visit native villages.

Cost: starts at $2,930 per person, double occupancy, including all meals, guides and an all-day excursion to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. Air fare to Vancouver, Canada, is extra.

Contact: Denver Museum of Nature and Science; (800) 753-8272, dmns.org.

Paris: Cooking

A Pinch of Thyme Abroad of Virginia, which operates culinary tours to Europe for groups of no more than 14, is planning an eight-night tour to Paris beginning April 4. The itinerary includes cooking classes, a tour of Versailles, dining at Paris restaurants and aboard a private yacht, a visit to the Louvre, a day trip to the Reims champagne caves and tours of markets.

Cost: $3,250 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, classes, ground transportation, meals, tours and guides. Air fare to Paris is extra.

Contact: A Pinch of Thyme Abroad; (703) 683-5034, www.robynwebb.com.

Hawaii: Relax

Rest and relax with others who are 18 to 35 on an eight-day island-hopping excursion to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. The Contiki Hawaiian Discovery includes visits to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Waikiki Beach. There will also be plenty of free time for beaches, snorkeling sites and surf spots, including the North Shore of Oahu and the waterfalls of Hana on Maui.

Cost: from $985 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, most breakfasts and dinners, land transportation by air-conditioned bus and guided sightseeing. Air fare is extra. Departures are Dec. 30 and Jan. 10 and 21.

Contact: Contiki Tours; (800) CONTIKI (266-8454), www.contiki .com.

Ireland: Seeing Green

The best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is in the country of its origin. From March 15 to 23, the “Irish Pub and Folk Tour” includes a drive to the Dingle Peninsula, a walking tour of Kinsale, whiskey and Guinness tastings, singing ballads at Laurel’s Pub in Killarney and tours of castles (including Blarney Castle).

St. Paddy’s Day will be spent in Dublin.

Cost: from $795 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, 13 meals, entrance fees and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Travel Connection; (949) 650-8818, www.newportmesatravel.com.

China: Yangtze Cruise

The Three Gorges region on the Yangtze River is scenic and quiet. Tourists can join Regal China Cruises’ five-night sailings that begin in Wuhan and end in Chongqing. On board the 258-passenger ship there will be lectures about Chinese culture and tai chi classes in the morning.

Daily land excursions will explore Wanxian, the Gezhou Dam and villages along the river. Cruises can be booked March through November.

Cost: from $830 per person, double occupancy, including cabin, all meals and shore excursions. Air fare to China is extra.

Contact: Regal China Cruises; (800) 808-3388, www.regalchinacruises.com.

Barbados: Culture

The “Trails and Beaches of Barbados” tour will keep travelers on the move; it’s not your typical beach vacation. Tourgoers will visit Harrison’s Cave, an underground hideaway of waterfalls and streams, and Welchman Hall Gully, a forest of tropical plants; ride a catamaran; and go hiking, snorkeling or diving. And there will be time for a nap on the beach. Departures are Jan. 22 to 29 and Feb. 26.

Cost: $1,392 per person, double occupancy, for oceanfront lodging, all meals and guides. Air fare to Barbados is extra.

Contact: Cross-Culture; (800) 491-1148, www.crosscultureinc.com.

South Pacific: Sailing

Vanuatu, a group of islands west of Fiji, can be explored by yacht with Wilderness Travel, departing Aug. 25 or Sept. 12 for 12 days each on La Violante, a 10-passenger vessel. Passengers will learn about Melanesian culture on shore excursions and can go snorkeling, diving and hiking.

Cost: $3,495 per person, double occupancy, including cabin, all meals and shore excursions. Air fare to Luganville, Vanuatu, is extra.

Contact: Wilderness Travel; (800) 368-2794, www.wildernesstravel.com.

Italy: Tuscany

The pearls of northern Italy, according to Professor Benzi Cultural Tours, are the hill towns of Tuscany and the Cinque Terre. Alberto Benzi, a retired professor of humanities and philosophy, will lead a 15-day tour departing May 9 and a 16-day trip leaving Sept. 2. On the itinerary are walks along the cliffs of the Cinque Terre; a motorboat ride to Portofino on the Mediterranean Sea; Venice; stops at lakes Maggiore and Como; tours of the medieval towns of Siena and Volterra; museum tours in Florence, Pisa, Verona and Padua; and a visit to Lugano, Switzerland.

Cost: $3,758 per person, double occupancy, for the 15-day trip, and $3,885 for 16 days. The price includes round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, bus transportation, hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, boat rides, entrance fees and luggage handling.

Contact: Professor Benzi Cultural Tours; (858) 454-1434.

Northwest: Flowers

Celia’s Getaways of Westminster is offering a flower garden trip to Seattle and neighboring Bainbridge Island, Wash. Bainbridge will host its annual garden show, and tourgoers will visit nurseries and gardens on the island. Then they will spend a few days visiting gardens in Seattle. The tour runs July 11 to 18.

Cost: $2,475 per person, double occupancy, including air fare to Seattle, hotels, entrance fees, daily breakfast, two dinners and airport transfers.

Contact: Celia’s Getaways; (714) 901-3510.

*

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