Sample the Food of the Gods in Oaxaca, Mexico

Savor the vibrant flavors of Oaxaca during a seven-night tour to Mexico’s sixth annual Food of the Gods Festival, beginning Oct. 5.

Known for its diverse dishes, the state of Oaxaca is fast becoming southern Mexico’s food capital. Its cuisine has become a popular topic for American TV cooking shows, magazines and cookbooks.

The tour, operated by Travel 360, will introduce visitors to the markets and restaurants of the region. Participants can attend cooking classes and go on market and tasting tours at a chocolate factory, coffee mill, ice cream manufacturer and mescal plantation. Also included are a trip to the Zapotec ruins at the city of Monte Alban, a demonstration of the fundamentals of Oaxacan cooking and meals at five Oaxacan restaurants.

Cost: land package from $756, including hotel accommodations, breakfasts and taxes. Round-trip air fare from Los Angeles is $483.

Contact: Travel 360; (800) 241-5429, www.travel360.com.

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New Zealand: Set Sail

Sailing fans with deep pockets can mix luxury with a chance to watch America’s Cup action up close as it unfolds off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, this fall through February.

The seven-night America’s Cup package, sponsored by the Kiwi firm Luxury Adventures, will include four days aboard a chartered vessel watching the international sailing competition, meals, activities and hotel accommodations at the Boatshed, a nautically themed lodge on an island near Auckland. Transfers to and from the lodge are by helicopter.

America’s Cup competition begins in October when 10 yachting syndicates from around the world, including three from the U.S., converge on Auckland to challenge for the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The winning team will race against Team New Zealand, the defender, in a contest for the America’s Cup, world yachting’s greatest prize.

Racing takes place over five months, and the Luxury Adventures tour is available at any time during that period.

Cost: $7,000 per person, based on shared twin accommodations. Meals, charter vessel, activities and helicopter transfers included. Single person cost is $8,500. Air fare from the U.S. is not included.

Contact: Luxury Adventures; 011-64-9-361-3874, www.luxuryadventures.co.nz.

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Ireland: On the Coast

Ballad sessions in pubs and whiskey-tasting at the Old Bushmills Distillery will be on the itinerary for a low-cost two-week tour exploring the Irish coastline from west to north and east to west.

Departures are scheduled Sundays and Fridays through Oct. 20.

The itinerary, which begins and ends at Shannon, includes Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara, Donegal, Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Waterford, Blarney, Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, besides other sites. The trip, organized by CIE Tours International, will include a medieval-style banquet in a 15th century castle and a catamaran cruise of Killary Harbour. CIE specializes in tours of Ireland and has led them for 70 years.

Cost: from $1,822, double occupancy, including air fare from LAX, hotels, meals, admissions, travel by bus within Ireland, taxes and service fees.

Contact: CIE Tours International; (800) 243-8687, www.cietours.com.

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New Mexico: Market Days

The world’s largest American Indian art market, held annually in Santa Fe, will be the destination of a seven-night tour departing Aug. 17. The two-day market, which drew an estimated 100,000 visitors last year, features artwork by about 1,200 participants from 100 tribes. Collectors from around the world can buy directly from Indian artists during the event, held in the Santa Fe Plaza.

Sponsored by Golden Circle Cruises and Tours of Irvine, the tour will not be in Santa Fe for the first day of the market but will arrive for the second day.

The itinerary includes a night performance at the Santa Fe Opera, visits to various Santa Fe museums, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and a sightseeing tour that winds its way to Taos.

Cost: $2,099 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from L.A. to Albuquerque, transfers, one night at the Sheraton Old Town in Albuquerque and six nights at the Old Town Hilton in Santa Fe. Entrance fees, 12 meals and insurance are included.

Contact: Golden Circle Cruises and Tours; (949) 837-4900, www.travelgc.com.

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Caribbean: Shape Up

If you love the idea of cruising but hate thinking about the pounds you’ll gain in the dining room, you might like the Do Something Good for Yourself cruise sponsored by Lean Cuisine Foods.

The Nov. 30 cruise is one of three health and fitness cruises this fall on Norwegian Caribbean Line ships. All will offer seminars and programs designed to help you get into shape.

The Lean Cuisine cruise follows a western Caribbean itinerary, departing from Miami and sailing to Grand Cayman; Roatan, Honduras; Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Miami. Fitness seminars and aerobics programs will be held. Cooking Light magazine menus will be offered in the dining room.

Other cruises in the series:

* On Oct. 26 the emphasis will be on fitness after 50, with a western Caribbean itinerary.

* On Nov. 3 the focus will be on cooking light, Caribbean style. This cruise will sail southern Caribbean waters, departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and visiting St. Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and St. Thomas.

Cost: Oct. 26, from $769, double occupancy, for an outside cabin; Nov. 3 and 30, from $679, double occupancy, for an outside cabin. Round-trip air fare from Los Angeles is $541 to Miami and $698 to San Juan.

Contact: Food and Wine Trails Travel Group; (800)367-5348, www.foodandwinetrails.com.

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Italy: At the Cinema

Film buffs can get an insider’s look at the International Venice Film Festival Aug. 28 when Los Angeles film critic and author Stephen Farber leads a seven-night tour that will include screenings and meetings with filmmakers.

The Venice Film Festival, in its 58th year, is the longest-running event of its kind in the world and draws an international cast of stars and moviemakers. Farber, a critic for Movieline magazine, will lead post-screening discussions.

Tour members will stay at the Hotel La Fenice et Des Artistes, next to the historic opera house in the center of Venice.

Cost: $2,550 per person, double occupancy, including passes to film festival screenings, special events, vaporetto passes, breakfast and four other meals. Round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, at $1,150, is extra.

Contact: Crown International Travel Inc.; (800) 421-9537, (310) 475-5661, www.crown-international.com

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Wine Country: On a Roll

Bike your way through the premier wine regions of Northern California on four- or six-day tours planned this fall.

Sponsored by Bicycle Adventures, both tours wind through Napa and Sonoma counties and visit redwood forests along the Russian River. A highlight is a seven-course wine tasting dinner at Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. The tours, which cater to all levels of bike riders, cover an average of 30 miles a day, with accommodations in inns and bed-and-breakfasts along the route. Although pricey, the tours put experienced wine country guides at cyclists’ disposal throughout the trip, according to a company spokesman.

The six-day tour begins in Bodega Bay, with the first night’s accommodation at the Inn of Tides, overlooking the Pacific. Also on the itinerary are Calistoga, Sonoma, Napa, Healdsburg and Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. Departure dates for this tour are Sept. 8 and 29, Oct. 13 and 27 and Nov. 24.

The shorter tour begins in Santa Rosa, visiting many of the same locations as the longer tour. Departures are Sept. 16, Oct. 7 and 21 and Nov. 4.

Cost: the four-day tour is $1,488, plus $104 for bicycle rental. The six-day tour is $1,968, with $126 for bicycle rental. Both tours include accommodations, guides, all meals, gratuities and park entrance fees. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Bicycle Adventures, (800) 443-6060, www.bicycleadventures.com.

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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.