TOURS & CRUISES

Cherry blossoms beckon

Take time to smell the cherry blossoms this spring on a 12-day tour of Japan sponsored by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Pacific Asia Museum of Pasadena.

The tour, March 25 to April 6, will begin with five days in Tokyo.

Other stops will be Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone, Atami, Nara and Kyoto.

The trip will focus on the country’s gardens, temples and museums.

“The gardens will be fantastic; cherry blossom season in Japan is legendary,” said Theresa Payne, special program coordinator at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Meher McArthur, curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum, will accompany the group.

Cost: $5,795 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $900), including accommodations, most meals, ground transportation and guides. Round-trip airfare from LAX to Japan is $850 more.

Contact: Santa Barbara Museum of Art; (805) 884-6436, www.sbmuseart.org.

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GERMANY

Film scholar Berlin bound

Find good beer and good cheer on a weeklong reel-life tour to Germany that focuses on the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Feb. 7-15 trip, sponsored by UCLA Extension’s Department of Entertainment Studies, will be led by film scholar Tamas Ungvari, former chairman of theater and film studies at the Hungarian Academy of the Performing Arts.

The program will include admission to screenings, festival parties and post-screening discussions with industry professionals.

Cost: $2,950 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $995), including accommodations, most meals and film-related admissions. Round-trip airfare from LAX to Berlin is not included.

Contact: Crown International Travel Inc., Los Angeles; (800) 421-9537 or (310) 475-5661.

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ITALY

History, food, art in Tuscany

Explore the history, art and cuisine of Tuscany on an eight-day women’s tour based in Montecatini, site of several health spas.

The March 15 tour will include day trips to Florence, Perugia, Assisi, Siena and Pisa.

Cost: $1,850 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $200), including round-trip airfare from LAX to Rome, accommodations, most meals, tour activities and guide service.

Contact: Menopausal Tours, San Francisco; (866) 468-8646, www.menopausaltours.com.

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MEDITERRANEAN

Conductor will go to sea

Strike up the band for two weeklong back-to-back luxury cruises in the Mediterranean with John Mauceri, principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

The April 24 and 30 tours will be aboard Seabourn Cruise Lines ship the Legend. Mauceri will host private cocktail parties and discussions.

The first cruise begins in Barcelona, Spain, and includes stops at the French ports of Port-Vendres, Cassis, Nice and St. Tropez.

The later trip includes stops outside Rome and at Calvi, Corsica, Portofino and Florence, Italy.

Cost: Rates begin at $4,891 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $2,052), for the April 24 cruise and $5,277 (single surcharge $2,253) for the April 30 voyage. Included are round-trip air transportation from LAX; accommodations; meals, alcohol and caviar aboard ship; transfers; ship gratuities; and city tours.

Contact: Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Santa Clarita; (800) 522-7576, www.carlsontravel.com/scv.

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PATAGONIA

Tour covers land, lake, sea

Dance a sultry tango in Buenos Aires, then head for the backcountry to see the natural wonders of Argentina and Chile on a 13-day tour to Patagonia.

The March 13 trip, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is by land, lake and sea.

While in Buenos Aires, participants will visit museums and other landmarks, including the Teatro Colon, which was modeled after the Paris Opera House.

Leaving the city, they will spend a day at a ranch in the pampas, take a catamaran tour on lakes in the Andes and travel four days by ship through the fiords of Tierra del Fuego.

Cost: $5,995 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $1,350), including accommodations, most meals, entrance fees, guide services and tour manager. Flights within Chile and Argentina are included, but transportation to South America is not.

Contact: National Trust Study Tours, Washington, D.C.; (800) 944-6847, www.nationaltrust.org.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. Send information to Tours & Cruises, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or write via e-mail to travel@latimes.com.