TOURS & CRUISES

CALIFORNIA

Riding the Indian trails

RIDE the trails of the wild northern coast of California this spring and take the kids for free.

The five-day excursions, astride Tennessee walking horses, are held weekly. Riders travel through wilderness areas inaccessible to most other means of transportation. The terrain includes secluded beaches, rugged bluffs, redwood forests and rolling hills.

“It’s a great way to see California.... You’re going through the old Indian trails. It’s completely unspoiled,” said Karen Alexander, of Cross Country International Equestrian Tours. “And the best way to see it is on a horse.”

Riders spend four nights at the Costanoa Lodge near Pescadero and one night at the Pescadero Creek Inn.

Trips begin on Sundays. The kids-ride-free special, which applies to those ages 8 to 16, expires May 31. Rides are held year-round.

Cost: $1,650 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge not available; up to two children can ride free when staying in the same room with two adults). Included are bed-and-breakfast accommodations, lunch daily on the trail, five days of guided trail riding, horse and western tack. Transportation to Pescadero is not included. Airport transfer from San Francisco or San Jose costs $50 for a family or group of two children and two adults.

Contact: Cross Country International Equestrian Vacations, Millbrook, N.Y.; (800) 828-8768, www.equestrianvacations .com.

ITALY

The Tuscan color palette

PAINT -- and tour -- the Tuscan countryside during a weeklong workshop at the Tuscany Institute for Advanced Studies in Val d’Orcia near Pienza.

The May 16 program will be directed by artist Olivia Batchelder of Laguna Beach. She will teach a water-based dye-on-silk technique in a studio on a 14th century estate and farm.

The half-day sessions leave time free for excursions led by institute staff.

Cost: $2,295 ($350 single surcharge), including six nights’ lodging at the estate, most meals, five days of instruction, tours and class materials. Airfare from Los Angeles and airport transfers from Rome or Florence are not included.

Contact: Olivia Batchelder, (949) 497-2703, www.oliviabatchelder.com.

SCOTLAND

Teeing off with a Giant

PLAY golf in the country where the game was invented.

The weeklong Scottish tour, which begins April 1, includes three days of play at Carnoustie Golf Links, St. Andrews Links Old Course and Alisa Course, Turnberry.

New York Giant kicker Steve Christie will accompany the group. Part of the proceeds will go to Camp Good Days and Special Times, children’s charities that Christie supports. A percentage of the fees will be tax deductible.

Cost: $3,500 per person, double occupancy ($450 single surcharge), including accommodations, breakfast, greens fees, soccer match and reception, ground transportation, airport transfers and some taxes. Airfare from Los Angeles is not included.

Contact: Celebrity Tours Inc., Yonkers, N.Y.; (914) 751-2198, www.celebritytours.net.

KENYA

On safari with photographer

SHOOT pictures of big game on a photo safari to Kenya’s wildlife reserves beginning June 6 with Orange County photographer Michele Burgess.

The three-week journey includes visits to a refuge for orphaned elephants in Nairobi and the 8,000-square-mile Tsavo National Park, home to 60 species of mammals, including the black rhino. The group will visit Samburu Game Reserve, the Masai Mara Game Reserve near the border of Tanzania, and will take a balloon ride over the park, in search of herds of antelope, zebra and wildebeest.

Cost: $6,550 per person, double occupancy ($800 single surcharge), including airfare from Los Angeles, deluxe accommodations, most meals, flights and ground transportation in Kenya.

Contact: Michele Burgess, Huntington Beach; (714) 536-6104, www.infocustravel.com.

NETHERLANDS

Tiptoe through tulips

STROLL the Keukenhof Gardens near Lisse and see fields of tulips in bloom on April tours of the Netherlands.

The seven-day walking tours, planned for April 17 and 24, will explore Amsterdam and visit a new satellite location of L’Hermitage Museum.

The group will visit several national parks, including the Waterleidingduinen Nature Preserve, the dunes of De Kennemerduinen on the North Sea coast and De Hoge Veluwe, home to the Kroller-Muller Museum.

Other stops include the Franz Hals Museum in Haarlem and the Utrecht Dom, Utrecht’s famous cathedral.

Walkers average six miles a day.

Cost: $3,398 per person, double occupancy ($525 single surcharge), including accommodations, meals, ground transportation, tour guides and airport transfers. Airfare from Los Angeles to Amsterdam is not included.

Contact: Country Walkers, Waterbury, VT; (800) 464-9255, www.countrywalkers.com.

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