Wining and Dining in Chile and Bolivia

Join wine lovers in exploring the wines, cuisine and culture of Chile and Bolivia. The Feb. 4-to-15 trip, led by wine expert Peter D. Kerr, begins in Chile with a visit to Santiago and four Andean wine valleys and two nights at a lodge on Lake Llanquihue in Chile’s southern Lake District.

Then guests will travel to Bolivia to tour vineyards 6,000 feet above sea level. Tours include the wine region of Tarija, the ancient ruins of Tiwanaku and the capital city of La Paz.

Participants will attend private tours and tastings at nine wineries, sample wines before they are bottled and dine with winemakers.

Cost: $4,995 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe accommodations, motor coach transportation, most meals, all flights within South America, tips and most taxes. International air fare is extra.

Contact: Peggy Bryans at Travel Associates; telephone (800) 548-5488, Internet https://www.tvlassoc.com.

Rivers: Barging

The River Explorer is two linked barges plus a 3,000-horsepower towboat. One barge has 98 staterooms; the other holds the public rooms, including a replica of a pilothouse and a two-story entertainment facility.

From January to December the vessel cruises the intracoastal waterway from New Orleans to the Texas-Mexico border, the Mississippi River from the Louisiana bayous to St. Louis, the Missouri River as far west as Omaha, the Ohio River as far east as Marietta, Ohio, and the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Embarkation ports include Galveston, Texas; New Orleans; Cincinnati and Nashville.

Cost: from $750 per person, double occupancy, for the Nov. 10-13 Cumberland-Tennessee excursion, to $3,145 for nine nights on the Missouri Aug. 11 to 20. Air fare is extra.

Contact: RiverBarge Excursions; tel. (888) 462-2743, https://www.riverbarge.com.

North Korea: War Sites

Adventures Abroad of Vancouver, British Columbia, is offering a nine-day trip to North Korea that begins in Beijing, where travelers board an overnight train to the Yalu River border.

Two days are spent in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The next destination is the port of Nampo, where the Victorious Fatherland Liberation Museum is located, to see exhibits on the communists’ view of the Korean War and the struggle to end the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. Other stops are at scenic Myohyangsan Mountain, the ancient Pohyon Temple and Panmunjom on the border with South Korea. Trip dates are Aug. 11 to 19 and Sept. 8 to 16.

Cost: $2,590 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from the West Coast, seven nights’ lodging, guided tours, and breakfast and dinner daily.

Contact: Adventures Abroad; tel. (800) 665-3998, https://www.adventures-abroad.com.

China: Kung Fu

Learn kung fu from a master at the Shaolin Temple in Zhenghouall, where monks 1,000 years ago were some of the earliest teachers of this art. A five-day course is included for all skill levels.

The tour also includes three nights in Beijing, a stop in Luoyang to see 10,000 Buddhas carved into grottoes and a cruise on the Yellow River. The trip ends with two nights in Shanghai. This 14-day tour departs monthly starting June 16.

Cost: $1,699 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, four-star hotels, comprehensive sightseeing and martial arts lessons.

Contact: Travel Design/China Discovery Tours, 20407 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503; tel. (310) 371-3228, Ext. 126 or (888) 371-3228, Ext. 126, https://www.chinadiscoverytours.com.

Siberia: River Cruise

The Yenisey, at 2,543 miles, is among the world’s longest rivers. It divides western and eastern Siberia and passes through steppes, taiga, tundra and arctic desert by the time it empties into the Kara Sea. Russian traders reached the Yenisey in the 16th century.

You can reach it this summer via north-or southbound trips arranged by Viking River Cruises of Los Angeles. The 17-day trip includes sightseeing in St. Petersburg and Moscow and walking tours of the river cities of Krasnoyarsk, Yenisseisk, Ust Port and Dudinka. There are 10 departures June 6 to Sept. 8.

Cost: $3,398 to $3,498 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York.

Contact: Viking River Cruises; tel. (877) 668-4546, https://www.vikingrivercruises.com.

France and Italy: Art

“Majestic Art of France & Italy” (July 21 to Aug. 5) is sponsored by the art departments of Cal Poly University and Rio Hondo College. The tour focuses on art, architecture, history and culture and will be led by two art professors.

The program begins in Paris with visits to the Louvre Museum to see the Mona Lisa, the Musee de l’Orangerie for Monet’s “Waterlilies,” the Musee d’Orsay to see the Impressionist paintings and the Picasso Museum. At night participants will take a Seine River cruise, visit the Eiffel Tower and shop along the Champs-Elysees.

A French art expert will join the group for a tour of the lavish Versailles palace.

The group will travel to Nice on the fast express train. Besides relaxing in the sun and spending an evening at the Casino in Monte Carlo, tour members will visit the Chagall Museum in Provence.

Next, the group travels along the Mediterranean into Italy to Pisa and Florence. In the Accademia Galleries in Florence, the group will see sculptures by Michelangelo, including his “David.” The group will continue on to Orvieto, and the last five days will be spent exploring the art treasures of Rome.

Cost: $2,499 per person, double occupancy, including first-class accommodations, daily breakfast and many meals, motor coach transportation, entrance fees and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Cal Poly Art Department; tel. (909) 869-3512.

Paris: On Skates

It’s faster than walking but slower than the Metro. It’s a five-day tour of Paris on in-line roller skates. On Day 1 the group buzzes through city neighborhoods; Day 2 is for landmarks; Day 3 for museums; Day 4 for seeing where famous people lived; and Day 5 for skating along the Seine. The group also will join Parisians in the weekly Friday Night Skate.

Cost: $1,345 per person, double occupancy, for four nights’ lodging, daily breakfast and restaurant dinners, support van and guides. Air fare is extra. Trip dates: Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.

Also available are skating tours in Holland, Switzerland, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

Contact: Zephyr Tours of Red Lodge, Mont.; tel. (888) 758-8687, https://www.skatetour.com.

Mexico: Spicy Cuisine

Cookbook writer Jane Butel (“Hotter Than Hell: Hot & Spicy Dishes From Around the World,” 1994) is leading a tour of colonial Mexican cities that includes three lessons in preparing Mexican food. The July 3 trip begins in Guadalajara and ends in Leon. Classes will be held at restaurants in Patzcuaro and San Miguel de Allende.

Cost: $1,690 per person, double occupancy, including eight nights’ lodging, daily breakfast, two lunches and four dinners. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Jane Butel Cooking School in Albuquerque, N.M.; tel. (800) 472-8229.

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