Jaguars? A definite possibility

BRAZIL

WITNESS the exotic wildlife and landscapes of Brazil’s Pantanal region -- one of the world’s largest freshwater wetlands -- on a weeklong eco-adventure.

The tour, which begins Sept. 29, travels the wetlands, rivers and savannas of southern Brazil, where participants will search for examples of the 650 species of birds and the many mammals that occupy the 143,000-square-mile ecosystem.

“You have a good chance of seeing jaguars,” said Birgit Winning of the Oceanic Society, which is sponsoring the tour. “It is one of the few places you can see the hyacinth macaw,” the world’s largest parrot, she said.

The group will travel from a lodge overlooking the Pixaim River near Cuiaba on day trips to look for highly sociable giant otters as well as capuchin monkeys, giant anteaters and Brazilian tapirs. Oceanic Society naturalist Wayne Sentman will lead the tour. One full day will be spent at a site known to be a jaguar habitat.

Cost: $3,390 per person, double occupancy ($390 single surcharge), including international airfare from Miami, internal flights, lodging, meals, guided land and river excursions and transfers. Airfare from Los Angeles to Miami is extra.

Contact: Oceanic Society Expeditions, San Francisco; (800) 326-7491, www.oceanicsociety.org.

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FRANCE

In the land of Cezanne

STUDY the art, history and culture of Provence on seven-night campus-abroad tour programs.

The tours, based in Aix-en-Provence, travel to Avignon, the Luberon, Arles and Cassis. Departures are scheduled Aug. 22, Sept. 5 and 26, and Oct. 3, 10 and 17.

Time in Aix-en-Provence is spent studying the work of painter Paul Cezanne, the history of Provence and contemporary culture. The groups tour the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), Notre-Dame des Dom cathedral and the Musee Calvet in Avignon.

From the fishing village of Cassis, participants drive along the coast to see the Calanques, cliffs and coves near Marseilles.

Cost: $3,395 per person, double occupancy ($350 single supplement), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, hotels, all meals, wine with dinner, excursions and seminars.

Contact: AHI International, Rosemont, Ill.; (800) 323-7373, www.ahitravel.com.

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GERMANY

Cyclists pedal into the past

PEDAL along Germany’s Romantic Road on a self-guided cycling tour that begins in Innsbruck, Austria, and leads to Donauworth, Germany.

This onetime medieval trading route is dotted with castles, royal residences, Roman ruins and villages.

The seven-night tours, which depart Sundays through Oct. 10, begin with a tour of Innsbruck. The next morning, cyclists head out on the Treidel Path, picking up the Romantische Strasse in Imst and following it to Fussen.

They hop a bus to Hahntennjoch in the Alps for a downhill trip through the mountains, stopping in the Tyrolian village of Elmen and then back to Fussen.

“It’s nice because you’re in the mountains, but [you don’t have] to bike over them,” said Jim Johnson of Bike Tours Direct.

Cost: $637 per person ($145 single surcharge), including lodging, daily breakfast, daily luggage transfers, route planning, city tours and service hotline. Bike rental is $69. Airfare from L.A. is not included.

Contact: Bike Tours Direct, Chattanooga, Tenn.; (877) 462-2423, www.biketoursdirect.com.

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IRELAND

It’s where Blarney lives

DANCE in Dublin, and sightsee in Connemara on a tour of Ireland that begins Nov. 8.

The six-night tour starts with a shindig at Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin. The following day will be spent touring the city, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College.

The tour then heads to the countryside, stopping at the Blarney Castle near Cork before heading into the mountains of County Kerry.

Along the coastline of County Clare, tour-goers will see the 700-foot Cliffs of Moher.

Cost: $1,525 per person, double occupancy ($270 single surcharge), including round-trip airfare from L.A., hotels, most meals, ground transportation and sightseeing.

Contact: Great Western Tours, Pasadena; (626) 578-1161 or (800) 344-7090.

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