Winging It to Britain for WWII Air Enthusiasts

An air show, aviation collections, castles, cottages and cathedrals are on the itinerary of a trip to England from Sept. 5 to 13. Travelers will visit the Shuttleworth Classical Aircraft Restoration Centre near Cambridge and the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Operations Center in Uxbridge. The tour includes the Duxford Air Show. Also on the itinerary are London and Cambridge. Time is scheduled for shopping and independent sightseeing.

Cost: $2,698 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotels, ground transportation, entrance fees and some meals.

Contact: Jerren Travel Service, 2 Hidalgo, Irvine, CA 92720; telephone (714) 731-8020, Internet https://www.jerrentravel.com.

Yosemite: Photography

A winter photography tour of Yosemite National Park will be conducted from Feb. 23 to 26. It includes guided photo walks and tours of Yosemite Valley.

Cost: $280 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations for three nights and Sunday brunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Guests provide their own transportation.

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

France: Tennis Match

Advantage Tennis Tours has planned a 10-night tour leaving for France April 16. Participants will spend five nights in Monte Carlo and have reserved center court seats for three days at the Monte Carlo Tennis Open. There will be an opportunity to play tennis at a private club.

In the second half of the tour, guests will stay in a country-style home in Provence. Excursions are planned to Avignon, Arles and St.-Remy.

Cost: $2,895 per person, double occupancy, including hotel, daily breakfast, tournament tickets, entrance fees and wine tastings. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Advantage Tennis Tours, 33 White Sail Drive, Suite 100, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677; tel. (800) 341-8687 or (949) 661-7331, https://www.advantagetennistours.com.

Spain: Museums

Covina Hills Travel is offering a tour to northern Spain from March 7 to 19. Travelers will fly from Los Angeles to Barcelona for the first three nights and will visit the Olympic Village, Sagrada Familia, La Rambla and the Picasso Museum.

Tour members will also have a dinner with flamenco entertainment. The tour will continue to Zaragoza and Pamplona before spending three nights in the seaside resort of San Sebastian in the heart of the Basque region. A day in Bilbao for a visit to the Guggenheim Museum is a highlight of this tour.

Participants will also spend two days in La Rioja, Spain’s wine district, where accommodations are in a converted 12th century hospital. The tour ends with a two-night stay in Madrid with visits to the Prado and Royal Palace.

Cost: $2,059 including air fare from Los Angeles. Accommodations are in first-class hotels with daily breakfast, two dinners and one lunch.

Contact: Brian O’Connor of Covina Hills Travel; tel. (626) 967-2755 or (800) 688-8728, https://www.covinahills.com.

England: Flower Show

Visit one of Britain’s most extravagant flower shows with a master gardener and British gardens specialist Celia Baca from May 20 to 27. Participants will spend two days at the flower show. Other time can be used for city tours and shopping.

Cost: $1,467 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to London, airport transfers in London, accommodations in Sloane Square, full English breakfast daily and two-day admission to the Chelsea Flower Show.

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

Costa Rica: Art

Art Trek offers art instruction to painters and art lovers on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica from April 5 to 16. Guests can renew their art skills and spirit at a rain forest retreat with views of the Caribbean coast. Tropical flowers, birds, butterflies and wildlife abound.

The course, titled “Rain Forest as Landscape,” offers instruction in combining water-based media with drawing media. Artist and instructor Pamela Lanza has taught drawing and mixed media painting classes at UC Berkeley and San Francisco Art Institute Extension programs for six years and is represented by the Terrain Gallery in San Francisco.

Cost: $2,650 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, most meals, all transfers and ground transportation within Costa Rica, excursions and instruction. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Carol Duchamp at Art Trek, P.O. Box 1103, Bolinas, CA 94924; tel. (415) 868-9558 or (888) 522-2652, https://www.arttreks.com.

Greece and Turkey

USC classics professor Dick Caldwell’s Sporades Tours has a summer tour that combines Greece and Turkey. Two weeks will be spent in Greece (from June 19 to July 2), with stops in Athens, the Peloponnesus, Delphi and two islands. The Turkey portion (from July 1 to 14) includes Samos, the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, a yacht cruise and Istanbul. Participants don’t have to pay for the tour until their arrival, and they can take part in portions (and pay only for time spent with the tour) or all of the tour.

Cost: $3,410 per person, double occupancy, includes transportation, lodging, admissions, guides and most meals. Air fare is extra. Teachers get a 10% discount.

Contact: Sporades Tours; tel. (800) 695-7176, Internet https://www.sporadestours.com.

Central Coast: Wine

Wine aficionados and novices will visit the heart of California’s Central Coast wine region, escorted by international wine expert Peter Kerr, for a weekend of wine tasting and gourmet dining from April 27 to 29.

The trip will feature private tours and tastings at Cottonwood Canyon, Zaca Mesa, Bedford-Thompson and Bridlewood wineries. Each winery tour will include a visit with the winemaker. Ardison Phillips, winemaker for McKeon-Phillips Winery, will join the group for a dinner at the Santa Maria Inn, where the group will stay.

Cost: $569 per person, double occupancy, including all wine tastings, transportation by private coach in the wine region, meals and deluxe accommodations. Transportation to Santa Maria is not included.

Contact: Martin’s Travel and Tours; tel. (310) 390-7685 or (800) 999-7124, https://www.martinstravel.com.

Britain: Tea Time

“A Taste of Britain: Tea Tour” combines tea parties and history lessons while touring England. The May 21 to June 2 tour will be led by England native Penelope Carlevato, a speaker and writer on tea and relationships. Beginning with four days in London, highlights include afternoon tea at Claridge’s Hotel, a tour of the city and shopping.

The tour then takes off for three days in Bath to see the Roman baths, Royal Crescent and the Jane Austen Centre. Two other highlights are afternoon tea at a Georgian farmhouse owned by Prince Charles and a traditional Sunday lunch in a private home in a village near Bath.

The tour continues to Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of Shakespeare and home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The group will visit Warwick Castle, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Holy Trinity Church and attend a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The remaining time will be spent in the Cotswolds, and the tour will conclude at the Manor House in Castle Combe.

Cost: $3,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, all breakfasts, tea or dinner each day, sightseeing tours and transportation.

Contact: Del Amo Travel and Tours, Marsha Frame; tel. (310) 316-3983 or (800) 553-2744 or Penelope’s Tea Time, P.O. Box 2215, El Segundo, CA 90245; tel. (310) 640-2190, Internet https://www.penelopesteatime.com.

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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.