On Iona, Scotland’s Lore and Legends Come Alive

The tiny Scottish isle of Iona is so remote that you need to take a train, two ferries and a bus to reach it from Glasgow or Edinburgh. Once there, you find it has just two roads, one pub and a few working farms.

So what kind of tour group would spend six days in such a place? A tour group for people who appreciate the art of storytelling.

Although the Hebridean island of Iona might lack big-city excitement, it makes up for it with an abundance of mysticism and history. Legend has it that Macbeth is buried there, along with a host of other Scottish kings, saints and Viking warlords. Legend also has it that when the world is covered with water at Judgment Day, only Iona will rise above.

Maryland resident Bob Wilhelm, who has a doctorate in storytelling, regularly leads tours to Iona. “We set out each morning with our walking sticks and go to different parts of the island,” he said. Once there--on the cliffs or moors or sandy beaches--stories are told: Celtic and Viking stories, folk tales, legends and myths.

The tour is scheduled Oct. 5 to 10. Other upcoming Storyfest Journeys include Ireland, March 9 to 15; and Iceland, May 27 to June 2.

Cost: $2,271 per person, including lodging, meals and seminars on the island. Transportation to the island and air fare from Los Angeles to Scotland are not included.

Contact: Storyfest Journeys; (301) 791-9153, www.storyfest.com.

Mexico: Seeking Whales

Set sail on an exploratory cruise from San Diego to Baja, Mexico, in search of migrating whales and dolphins during a series of eco-tours planned for winter and spring 2003.

The tours, aboard a converted 95-foot fishing vessel, cruise the Pacific Ocean off the Baja coast, entering the waters of Mexican ecological reserve Laguna San Ignacio, a protected bay where gray whales nurse their young each year. Tours conclude in Cabo San Lucas, near the tip of Baja.

Among the activities usually offered are whale-watching from small boats, hiking on offshore islands and snorkeling. Besides gray whales, participants often see humpback, blue, fin, sperm, killer and Bryde’s whales.

Three tours, from nine to 12 days, are planned by Searcher Natural History Tours, a San Diego-based tour operator. The 11- and 12-day tours include visits to the southern Gulf of California. The tours depart Feb. 3 and 16 and March 30.

Cost: Prices range from $2,200 to $2,950 and include the cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, meals and fees. Return air fare from Cabo San Lucas is not included.

Contact: Searcher Tours; (619) 226-2403, www.bajawhale.com.

New England: Shopping

If you like antiques and love to shop, you may be interested in a series of September trips for women that will visit some of New England’s prime antiquing areas.

The three trips begin with a Nantucket, Mass., weekend Sept. 6 to 8, which focuses on sightseeing, sailing and shopping. Next up, Sept. 11 to 14, is a visit to the giant Brimfield Antique Shows, an annual six-day event featuring 5,000 dealers, about 100 miles from Boston. Tour participants will get a chance to spend three days at the show or may combine trips to the show with sightseeing.

The final trip in the series, Sept. 14 to 19, will visit coastal Maine, with stops at antiques malls and outlet centers. Sightseeing is included. The trips are being organized by an Alameda tour operator.

Cost: Nantucket weekend, $795 double occupancy; Brimfield Antique Shows, $895 double; coastal Maine, $1,595 double. Included are accommodations, guide and some meals and activities. Air fare from Los Angeles is not included, nor is transportation to Nantucket from the mainland.

Contact: Armstrong and Hedges Ltd.; (877) 838-5142, www.teagardentravel.com.

Kenya: On Safari

You can practice yoga, eat vegetarian meals and track migrating wildebeests across Kenya by foot on an unusual safari and beach tour.

The safari, Sept. 10 to 22, takes place at the Masai Mara National Reserve, an area of wooded, rolling hills near the Serengeti plains of Tanzania. Participants stay in tented lodges at the base camp and in bush tents while on safari. Kenyan guides and rangers lead the walking safari, which takes place during the annual migration of wildebeests. After the wildlife segment of the tour, the group moves to Hemingway’s Resort in Watamu, Kenya, on a stretch of beach fringed by barrier reefs.

The tour is being organized by Veggie Vacations, so meals are vegetarian. And yoga is practiced each morning.

Cost: $2,890 per person, double occupancy. Included are transportation within Kenya, accommodations, meals on safari, breakfast and dinner during the beach segment, park fees on safari, game drives and tours in Watamu. Round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Kenya is extra and will run about $1,184.

Contact: Veggie Vacations; (800) 443-9216, www.veggievacations.com.

Canada: For Runners

Runners headed for British Columbia can tour Vancouver or spend a luxury weekend at neighboring Whistler or Victoria--without missing their daily run.

Pacific Running Guides, a Vancouver company, offers tours and vacation packages that focus on providing out-of-town visitors with a safe guide to the area’s best running routes.

Kate Milne said she founded the company because she traveled frequently for a previous job “and I didn’t feel safe in most cities just stepping out of a hotel with a guidebook in my hand.”

Guests can tour Vancouver, visiting such sites as Stanley Park, or choose a three-day getaway with guided runs that focus on Victoria city trails or Whistler Lakes-area trails.

Cost: Victoria, $502; Whistler, $470; three-hour dash-and-dine tour of Vancouver, $68. Three-day tours include accommodations at the Westin Whistler or Magnolia Hotel in Victoria, transportation from Vancouver, breakfasts and guided runs. The Vancouver tour includes dinner or breakfast, towels, water, sports beverages and transfers.

Contact: Pacific Running Guides; (877) 72-TO RUN (728-6786); www.pacificrunningguides.com.

Brazil: Exploring Rio

A seven-day package to Rio de Janeiro can put legendary Copacabana Beach within reach of visitors from the Los Angeles area for slightly more than $100 a day, including air fare and hotel.

The low-cost special is available from Aug. 15 until Dec. 9 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday departures.

Rio, Brazil’s largest city, is known for its beaches, night life and annual pre-Lenten celebration of Carnival.

Cost: $749 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from LAX on Varig Brazilian Airlines, five nights’ accommodations at the Ibiza Hotel with breakfast, transfers and a city tour that includes the Corcovado and the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city. Departures on Mondays and Fridays are $779; weekend departures are $809.

Contact: Sunny Land Tours; (800) 783-7839, www.brazilhotdeals.com.

Turkey: Slice of History

Two fall tours will visit Turkey, a land of historic treasures. Both itineraries include Istanbul, the only city in the world built on two continents.

The first tour, from Sept. 20 to Oct. 6, concentrates on central and western Turkey. It includes sightseeing along the Mediterranean and visits to several historic sites such as the city of Troy, immortalized by Homer, and Bodrum, site of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

There will be cruises on the Mediterranean and the Bosporus, the winding strait that separates Europe from Asia. Four days are spent in Istanbul, which straddles Europe and Asia.

The second tour, Oct. 5 to 17, focuses on the Black Sea and eastern Turkey and visits various archeological sites and ruins. The itinerary includes Dogubeyazit, in the foothills of Agri Dagi (Mt. Ararat), believed by some to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark. The tour will also visit Trabzon and the Sumela Monastery, a Byzantine monastery carved in the face of a steep cliff. One day is spent in Istanbul.

Cost: $1,995 (Sept. 20) and $1,775 (Oct. 5). Prices are per person, double occupancy. Included are transfers, bus transportation within Turkey, some meals, accommodations and English-speaking guide. The air fare add-on from Los Angeles is about $1,045.

Contact: Newport International Travel; (949) 719-2800, www.newportinternational.net/turkey.html.

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