Let’s Go Surfing--From Canada to Baja

Lost Coast Adventures of Washington state, which specializes in surfing trips, is offering a “West Coast Surf Surfari,” which will begin on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and end in Baja California 10 days later. The tour runs year-round.

The group will travel south along the Pacific coastline while learning to hang 10 with professional instructors. Students will surf a new beach every day and learn about the history of surfing at several surfing museums.

Surfers will stop at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla to learn about meteorology and waves. The group will surf for two days in Baja.

Cost: $2,250 per person, including ground transportation, instruction, hotel accommodations, snacks and use of equipment.

Contact: Lost Coast Adventures; (360) 681-0789, https://www.lcasurf.com.

East Coast: History

Collette Vacations’ “American Heritage” tour this spring will suit flag-wavers of all ages. The tour will stop in New York, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pa., Williamsburg, Va., and Washington, D.C. Sites on the itinerary include Betsy Ross’ house and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian in Washington. Tours run from March through October.

Cost: from $1,199 per person, double occupancy, including most meals, accommodations, bus transportation and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Collette Vacations; (800) 832-4656, https://www.collettevacations.com.

Tasmania: Biking

A new bicycle tour offered by Cyclevents is the 13-day “Tasmania Explorer” to the Australian island state. Riders will visit restored colonial villages and vineyards in Tasmania.

The ride route will start in the colonial village of Richmond, swing north through the wine country, then follow the east coast.

A visit to the historic town of Launceston is included in the middle leg of the journey. The final leg will traverse the wilder west side of Tasmania, which has few towns. It will wind through alpine valleys, to fishing seaports and back into the mountains.

Cost: $2,095 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, baggage transport, airport shuttles and guide services. Air fare to Hobart, Australia, is not included. Departures are Feb. 4, 2002, and Jan. 6, 2003.

Contact: Cyclevents; (888) 733-9615, https://www.cyclevents.com.

Holland: Barging

Tiptoe through the tulips on two trips to Holland that feature barge cruises. The “Dutch Journey” itinerary includes a seven-night cruise through Holland’s countryside aboard the Viking Neptune barge. Ports will include Amsterdam, Volendam, Arnhem and Rotterdam. Passengers will see Keukenhof Gardens and make a guided excursion to the once-in-a-decade Floriade exhibition.

A longer “Tulips and Windmills” tour incorporates a nine-night cruise to the same destinations as the Dutch Journey but also adds stops at some villages in Belgium.

Departure dates are March 28 or April 4 for the Dutch Journey, and March 31 for the Tulips and Windmills.

Cost: from $1,898 per person, double occupancy, including air transportation from Los Angeles, all meals on board and daily sightseeing excursions. The longer tour starts at $2,498.

Contact: Viking River Cruises; (818) 227-1234, https://www.vikingrivercruises.com.

South: Rail Ride

Join David Brush, an associate professor of anthropology at the Center for Historic and Military Archaeology of Heidelberg College in Ohio, will lead a tour aboard the American Orient Express, which has been renovated in early 20th century style.

Train passengers will learn about the history and archeology of the antebellum South and the Civil War era on the train journey from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans.

Passengers will explore the historic cities of Richmond and Fredericksburg, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; and Vicksburg, Miss. They will also visit such historic sites as Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson; Ft. Sumter, where the first battle of the Civil War was fought; and the Confederate submarine Hunley, the first underwater naval vessel operated in warfare. Travel dates are March 1 to 8.

Contact: Archaeological Institute of America Tours; (800) 748-6262, https://www.archaeological.org.

Greece: History

USC Professor Dick Caldwell and Sporades Tours want to take history buffs to Greece. Participants will visit Volos, where there are mountaintop monasteries; Delphi, site of the ancient oracle; Athens and its Acropolis; and the island of Crete.

A Christmas and New Year’s tour (Dec. 23 to Jan. 7) is $1,790, and a Greek Easter tour (April 25 to May 8) is $1,330. Prices include hotels, most meals, entrance fees and guides. Transatlantic air fare is extra.

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

Paris: Eat, Shop

Paris’ charms and cuisine may lift your spirits on an escorted trip to the French capital. From Jan. 14 to 22 a group of eight to 10 travelers will explore the city’s art, culture, architecture, food and shopping during the January sales. Participants will visit popular museums, such as the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay, as well as other less-known ones.

Cost: $1,495 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, daily breakfast, museum passes, guides and ground transfers. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Enchanted France, (323) 931-1769.

Florida: In-Line Skating

The Sunshine State is one of the best in the country for providing paved trails for in-line skaters, and a five-day outing from GORP Travel rolls along on three of them. Starting in Orlando, skaters will follow the West Orange Trail through fruit tree groves and historic towns, then switch to the Withlacoochee Trail along the Withlacoochee River and, finally, pick up the Pinellas Trail on the Gulf Coast. The trip ends in Tampa.

Cost: $1,040 per skater, double occupancy, for the Dec. 8 tour, and $1,095 for departures March 23 and Dec. 14, 2002. Included are stays in Inverness and Dunedin, all breakfasts and dinners, support van, guides and transfers. Air fare is extra. Participants supply their own skates.

Contact: Gorp Travel; (877) 251-9661, https://www.gorptravel.com.

Asia: Cruise

The ancient temple complex at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is the first stop on a 21-day land and sea adventure departing Jan. 31. The tour will continue to Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the Victory Monument and Wat Phnom. Then two nights will be spent in Bangkok before boarding the 180-passenger Song of Flower for a sailing on the South China Sea. Ports of call include Ho Chi Minh City, Qui Nhon, Da Nang, Halong Bay and Hanoi in Vietnam. A two-night stop in Hong Kong will end the cruise.

Cost: from $7,377 per person, double occupancy, including business-class air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, shore excursions and most meals.

Contact: Acacia Travel of San Diego; (800) 243-6996, https://www.acaciatravel.com.

Baja: New Year’s

Ring in the New Year just over the border in Mexico. Baja California Tours is hosting a two-night trip to Ensenada. Guests will stay at the Posada El Rey Sol and celebrate New Year’s Eve at El Rey Sol restaurant. New Year’s Day, a special breakfast is planned. The bus leaves Dec. 31.

Cost: $363 per person, double occupancy, including bus transportation from San Diego, hotel and most meals.

Contact: Baja California Tours; (858) 454-7166.

Canada: Holiday

For two days in December, families can hop aboard a holiday train, complete with Santa, music and strolling entertainers for children. The train will travel round trip from Vancouver to Banff in Canada, with an overnight stop in Kamloops. Passengers will see frozen lakes, mountain peaks and snow-filled valleys along the way.

Departure dates are Dec. 20 and 27. Cost: $1,518 per person ($296 for children younger than 12), including meals, train fare, hotel and entertainment. Air fare to Vancouver is extra.

Contact: Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours; (800) 665-7245, https://www.winterrailtours.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.