Get Glowing on a Trip to Canada’s Northern Lights

From now through March the aurora borealis should be visible in the far north of Canada, and International Wildlife Adventures is offering five-day tours to Churchill in northern Manitoba that include three nights of viewing the celestial phenomenon in specially designed domes away from city lights. Daytime activities will include discussions with naturalists about the wildlife, ecology and cultures of the region; a dog-sled adventure; and a visit to the Eskimo Museum and Parks Canada Visitors Center.

Cost: $1,554 per person, double occupancy, with transportation from Winnipeg, accommodations, meals and guides. Air fare to Winnipeg is extra.

Contact: International Wildlife Adventures; (800) 593-8881, www.wildlifeadventures.com.

Italy: Villas

Springtime displays of azaleas and rhododendrons in the gardens of the Italian Lake District are the focus of a 14-day tour that will depart April 26. The villa gardens on Lake Como and the smaller private gardens in Tuscany and Lazio will be visited. The group will stop at the gardens of the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, known for its fountains.

The tour, limited to 16, features two- and three-night stays in Venice, Florence and Rome.

Cost: $3,595 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, daily breakfasts, most dinners, all sightseeing and entrance fees, private bus and guides. Air fare is extra to Milan and home from Rome.

Contact: Lucas & Randall; (800) 505-2505, www.lucasandrandall.com.

Canada: Rockies

The Canadian Rockies will be explored on a 12-day trip to British Columbia and Alberta with Santa Monica College professor Rich Robinson. The trip will start with a two-night stay and city tour of Vancouver. The group will then travel east to Kelowna, the base for day trips to Glacier, Yoho and Banff national parks.

Heading north to Jasper, participants will ride a snow coach over the Columbia ice field and see Athabasca Falls. In Jasper National Park, participants will canoe on Pyramid Lake and hike. The group will cross the Strait of Georgia to the Gulf Islands to tour Victoria, where they will have tea at the Empress Hotel and go whale watching on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Cost: $1,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Vancouver, hotels, ground transportation, ferry ride to Victoria, some meals, entrance fees and guides.

Contact: Rich Robinson at Santa Monica College; (310) 434-4731.

Minnesota: Art Museums

The private collections and art museums of Minneapolis and St. Paul will be visited on a tour from April 10 to 14 designed by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The group will visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and get a guided tour by the curator of the Asian arts galleries. Also on the itinerary is the Weisman Museum, designed by Frank Gehry; the Walker Art Center, which has a sculpture garden; and several private homes. City tours will also be included.

Cost: $1,885 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations for four nights, some meals, transportation and admissions.

Contact: Santa Barbara Museum of Art; (805) 884-6436.

Japan: Cherry Blossoms

Escapes Unlimited is planning a trip to Japan from March 23 to April 6 that includes stops in Tokyo, Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Matsumoto, Takayama, Nara and Kyoto. In each city, tours will include visits to temples, shrines and historic sites. Guests will stay at Lake Kawaguchi in a spa hotel and at several ryokans (traditional Japanese inns where guests sleep on futons) across the country. Transportation will be by train or bus.

Cost: $3,699 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, lodging, transportation, some meals and guides.

Contact: Escapes Unlimited; (800) 243-7227, www.escapesltd.com.

Austria: Classical Music

If a trip to Austria sounds like music to your ears, the University of Redlands has a tour from July 24 to Aug. 8 to the Salzburg Summer Festival. Opera, chamber music, recitals and orchestra concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic are planned.

The first week will be dedicated to sightseeing in Austria (Innsbruck and Bregenz) and southern Germany (Munich, Lindau and Neuschwanstein castle). The second week will be spent in Salzburg, attending music performances and visiting gardens, parks and shopping areas.

Cost: $3,995 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, some meals, pre-concert lectures, concert tickets, ground transportation and guides. Air fare to Vienna or Munich is extra.

Contact: James Keays, University of Redlands; (909) 793-2121, Ext. 3275.

Baja: Whales

Gray whales arrive each year in Baja’s coastal lagoons from mid-January through mid-March. Baja California Tours will follow the whales on a six-night bus trip departing Feb. 10 from San Diego. Passengers will spend three days whale watching as they journey down the Baja peninsula. Nights will be spent at hotels in Catavina, San Ignacio, Loreto and La Paz.

Cost: $1,299 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, 10 meals, whale-watching boat trips, bus transportation and guides.

Contact: Baja California Tours; (800) 336-5454.

Maine: Water Sports

Canyon Calling Trips of Sedona, Ariz., takes “moderately fit nonsmoking women over 30” on small-group multi-activity trips. One soft-adventure trip planned from June 15 to 21 will be to Maine for kayaking, rafting, sailing and fly-fishing. The group will kayak around the Porcupine Islands off Bar Harbor in Acadia National Park, sail on a schooner overnight along the rugged coast and go white-water rafting on the Kennebec River. After a stay in Camden, the group will hike Mt. Battie.

Cost: $1,750 per person, including accommodations, all meals, guides and ground transportation. Air fare to Portland, Maine, is extra.

Contact: Canyon Calling Trips; (800) 664-8922, www.canyoncalling.com.

Africa: Migration

The migration of wildlife from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara Game Reserve is the highlight of safaris to Kenya this summer. Four 10-day trips are scheduled, departing June 22, July 20 and Aug. 3 and 31. Groups will camp on Masai tribal lands and take walks with Masai villagers. Also planned: a visit to the Jane Goodall sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees.

Cost: $3,995 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations in tent camps, all meals, guides and four-wheel-drive transport. Air fare to Nairobi is extra.

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

Italy: Pilgrimage

Santiago Pilgrimages, a company that specializes in tours for Catholics, will escort a group to Italy from May 5 to 16. The trip will begin in Venice and will continue on to Padua, Pisa, Florence, Assisi, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Rome. Traveling by private bus, the group will see the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside; the medieval city of Perugia; the Leaning Tower of Pisa; and, in Florence, the statue of David by Michelangelo and the “Gates of Paradise” doors by Ghiberti. Ancient Rome’s Forum, Arch of Titus, Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Palatine Hill, Mamertine Prison and Catacombs are a sampling of places included in the Eternal City. On the final day there will be a visit to the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

Cost: $2,458 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, breakfast daily and six dinners, porterage, entrance fees and guides.

Contact: Larry Bishop at Santiago Pilgrimages; (949) 581-9936.

Alaska: For the Birds

Watching birds is the focus of a voyage to Alaska by World Explorer Cruises of San Francisco from June 11 to 25. Experts aboard the 731-passenger Universe Explorer include Mary Stensvold, a U.S. Forest Service botanist, and Robert Armstrong, author of “A Guide to the Birds of Alaska.” Shore excursions will be at Valdez, Juneau and Sitka.

Cost: from $1,496 per person, double occupancy. Second person in cabin gets a 50% discount. Passengers board the ship in Vancouver, Canada. Air fare to Vancouver is extra.

Contact: World Explorer Cruises; (800) 854-3835, www.wecruise.com.

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