For Walkers, Trips Along the Mediterranean Coast

Trips ‘n’ Trails is offering four hiking journeys in Europe from May to October. The itineraries are suitable for hikers of all abilities. Each day’s route will start from a picturesque village where clients will stay in family-owned hotels.

A tour of the Amalfi Coast and Sicily is from May 6 to 20. Participants will meet in Rome, where they will sightsee for a day before the hiking begins. Cost: $2,600 per person.

The next trip, July 15 to 29, will be to Switzerland and the Italian Alps, starting in Switzerland’s Engadine region, the setting of the fictional home of Heidi and where the tony town of St. Moritz is located.

Day hikes will start from the village of Pontresina. Hikers will then travel to Verona for an overnight stay and to attend the opera.

A week of hiking in the Dolomites will follow, with one night spent in a mountain hut. Cost: $2,600 per person.

A trip to Greece is planned for Sept. 16 to 30. A day will be spent in Athens before hikers move on to Delphi and Ioannina. A ferry ride to Crete and Knossos will follow. Cost: $2,875.

The “Tuscany Holiday,” Oct. 5 to 19, will include the Cinque Terre and Chianti regions, with days of hiking, sightseeing, grape and olive harvest tastings and local festivals.

The tour will end in Florence with a day of sightseeing. Cost: $2,650.

All tour costs are based on double occupancy and include accommodations, all breakfasts, most dinners and guides. Not included: international air fare.

Contact: Trips ‘n’ Trails; (800) 969-3575, www.tripsntrails.com.

Italy: Wine

Easy hiking and wine tasting are the focus of a women’s walking tour in the Veneto and Dolomites regions of northeastern Italy from Sept. 6 to 17.

The trip will be escorted by wine specialist Gillian Arthur of Piccolo Tours and Linda Van Buren of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Santa Barbara. It will feature visits to wineries, a cooking demonstration, stays in small family-owned inns and daily walking excursions through the hills and vineyards of the Veneto and in the Alpine scenery of the Dolomites. The final two days of the trip will be spent in Venice.

Cost: $3,575 per person, double occupancy, including hotel accommodations, most meals, private wine tastings, all sightseeing fees and guides. Group is limited to 12 women. Air fare is not included but can be arranged.

Contact: Linda Van Buren at Carlson Wagonlit Travel; (800) 359-5919.

Paris and Florence

Splurge on the best art and fashion that Paris and Florence, Italy, have to offer with a small group led by Yale-trained artist Amadea Bailey from Sept. 5 to 15.

Participants will see a range of art, from the Musee d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum in Paris to the Uffizi and Brancacci Chapel in Florence.

Travelers will see fashion from haute couture to cutting-edge boutiques as well as visit the Prada outlet an hour outside of Florence.

The group will stay in luxury hotels and enjoy meals in fine restaurants, including the acclaimed St. George at the top of the Pompidou Centre with views of Paris.

Outings include tea at Laduree, people-watching at the Cafe de Flore in St. Germain des Pres and olive oil tasting in Florence.

Cost: $2,875 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, daily breakfast, a museum and metro pass, welcome and farewell dinners and overnight train to Florence. Air fare is not included

Contact: Amadea Bailey at S.A. Luxury Travel; (310) 822-4504.

Germany: Teddy Bears

The Steiff company of Giengen, Germany, one of the world’s largest makers of plush toys, this year marks the centennial of its teddy bear.

An outing from June 22 to July 3, organized by VIP-Alpine Tours of Cleveland, Ga., will visit tourist highlights in Germany such as Baden-Baden, a resort town on the western border; the Black Forest; the Rhine; and the medieval town of Dinkelsbuhl, which is on the Romantic Road, a highway that connects several historic towns. It also includes a teddy bear shop in Frankfurt, teddy bear exhibits in Ulm and Nuremberg, a cuckoo clock factory and the annual Steiff festival in Giengen.

The Steiff company, established by Appolonia Margarete Steiff, who died in 1909, will be celebrating its 122nd year.

Cost: $1,995 per person, double occupancy, with 11 nights’ lodging, daily breakfast buffet, one lunch, nine dinners and admissions. Air fare to Frankfurt is extra.

Contact: VIP-Alpine Tours; (800) 403-1996, www.alpinetours.com.

Patagonia: Hiking

Trails in Patagonia in Chile and Argentina will lead hikers past dense beech forests, turquoise lakes, abundant wildlife and glaciers in three national parks: Torres del Paine, Los Glaciares and Tierra del Fuego. Dates are Nov. 29 to Dec. 16 or Dec. 19 to Jan. 5.

Cost: from $3,895 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, all transportation in Chile and Argentina, private guides, sightseeing tours, hotels and all meals.

Contact: Andes Adventures; (800) 289-9470, www.andesadventures.com.

Greenland: Cool Stuff

Reindeer and musk oxen sightings, an afternoon of kayaking next to glaciers and a visit to a furrier to shop for a designer sealskin coat are on the itinerary of a trip to Greenland.

“A Week in Sisimiut” is a sampler of this land (Sisimiut lies about 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle). Departures are on Mondays and Tuesdays from June 11 to Aug. 5.

Cost: from $1,827 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Ottawa, Canada, ship and/or air transportation within Greenland, accommodations for one night at Iqaluit on Baffin Island and seven nights in Greenland.

Contact: the Great Canadian Travel Co.; (800) 661-3830, www.greatcanadiantravel.com.

Washington: Surf Camp

Lost Coast Adventures of Washington state is offering a surfing camp for women from Sept. 9 to 13 and Oct. 14 to 18. Gathering on the Olympic Peninsula coast at La Push, students will learn to catch waves while based in a cabin at a nearby camp.

All meals, equipment, instruction and housing in a cabin by the ocean are included.

Students will learn the fundamentals of surfing: ocean safety, marine weather, equipment, paddling techniques, duck diving, environmental concerns and etiquette.

Cost: $800 per person, including ground transportation, instruction, cabin accommodations, snacks and use of equipment. Air fare to Seattle is extra.

Contact: Lost Coast Adventures; (360) 808-8123, www.lcasurf.com.

Britain: WWII History

An air show, aviation collections, castles, cottages and cathedrals are on the itinerary of a trip to England from Sept. 4 to 12. Travelers will visit 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 planned are stops in London and Cambridge, with free time scheduled for shopping and sightseeing.

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

Contact: Jerren Travel Service; (714) 731-8020, www.jerrentravel.com.

Adriatic: History

A scenic and educational tour to Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and San Marino includes six UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One is the Plitvicka Jezera Park in Croatia, with 92 waterfalls and 16 lakes.

A cruise will take passengers to the island of Hvar (Croatia) and then across the Adriatic Sea to Italy for a medieval dinner show in a 9th century castle and a tour of the Frasassi caves.

Tour dates are Sept. 7 to 26.

Cost: $2,600 per person, double occupancy, including 20 nights in luxury hotels, some meals, ground transportation and two cruises. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Adventureland Travel and Tours; (818) 980-3730, www.adventurelandtours.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.