TOURS & CRUISES

Recline your Amtrak seat and watch the scenery slide by on your way to a New Year’s stay in San Francisco. Participants stay at the Hilton at Fisherman’s Wharf. Dec. 31 dinner and cocktails are at Caesar’s Italian Restaurant. Then gather at the Ferry Building or along the pier to view the fireworks show over San Francisco Bay. There’s also time for hopping around town. An upgrade of $99 per person puts participants aboard a yacht for New Year’s Eve dining and to view the fireworks from the bay.

Info: Wanderlust, Oakland, (877) 625-1717, www.wanderlustevents.com.

Itinerary: San Francisco.

CALIFORNIA

New Year’s ride

Dates: Dec. 30 to Jan. 2.

Price: $895 per person, double occupancy (single supplement $400), includes round-trip train fare to Emeryville, Calif., accommodations, transfers to and from hotel, New Year’s Eve dinner and drinks, New Year’s Day dinner.

--

YELLOWSTONE

Wildlife in winter

Trek through Yellowstone aboard a heated snow coach on the lookout for buffalo, elk, coyotes, Canada geese and other wildlife on a deep-winter tour. Tour-goers will stay at Old Faithful Snowlodge. Also, a horse-drawn sleigh will take visitors to the National Elk Refuge, where thousands of the animals winter.

Info: Main Street Tours, Torrance; (800) 300-6246, www.mainstreettours.com.

Itinerary: Jackson Hole, Flagg Ranch, Yellowstone National Park.

Dates: Feb. 17 to 22.

Price: $1,250 per person, double occupancy (single supplement $350), includes airport transfers and transfers to and from Flagg Ranch, accommodations, tours, some meals, guide and tips. Does not include round-trip airfare to Jackson Hole or the excursion to the elk refuge ($18).

--

EUROPE

Christmas markets

Sail, shop, sail and shop some more on a Rhine River cruise that stops at some of Europe’s unique Christmas markets. In France, visitors can sift through the stalls at the annual market in front of Strasbourg’s Gothic cathedral. And in Germany, Heidelberg hosts a distinctive holiday bazaar, with its Christmas Pyramid, a rotating tower featuring historic figures. Also, visitors will take a canal cruise through Strasbourg and a walking tour of Koblenz and will explore Cologne Cathedral, a Gothic monument.

Info: Uniworld Grand River Cruises, Palm Beach, Fla.; (800) 733-7820, www.uniworld.com.

Itinerary: Basel, Switzerland; Strasbourg, France; Speyer, Heidelberg, Mainz, Rudesheim, Koblenz and Cologne, Germany.

Dates: Dec. 14 to 22.

Price: Fares start at $2,498, double occupancy (single supplement $1,698), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Basel and home from Cologne, the cruise aboard the River Queen, all onboard meals, eight shore excursions with English-speaking guides and airport transfers. Port taxes of $84 are not included.

--

INDIA

Historic highlights

Toast the New Year during a cocktail cruise on Lake Pichola in Udaipur during a tour of the subcontinent. The 13-day excursion is led by Sy Scheinberg, history professor at Cal State Fullerton. Highlights include visiting the country’s largest mosque, Jama Masjid in Old Delhi; seeing Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, said to be among the largest medieval observatories in the world; riding an elephant to the Amber Fort; and seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

Info: EastWest International Tours, Laguna Beach; (800) 359-6719, www.eastwest-tours.com.

Itinerary: Includes Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi.

Dates: Dec. 28 to Jan. 9.

Price: $6,390 per person, double occupancy (single supplement $1,990), including ground transportation, flights within India, accommodations, most meals, all sightseeing tours and entrance fees, transfers, porterage and taxes. Doesn’t include round- trip airfare from L.A. to Delhi.

-- Amy Hubbard

--

Send information to travel @latimes.com.