Travel briefs
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, October 28, 2006
A winter trip to Yellowstone National Park begins Feb. 25.
The five-night tour features two nights in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and three at Old Faithful Snow Lodge in the park.
Participants tour the park in heated, track-driven snow buses in search of elk, moose, Canada geese and a variety of waterfowl.
A trip to the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole and a horse-drawn sleigh ride to the nearby National Elk Refuge are optional.
Travelers can join the tour in Salt Lake City or Jackson Hole.
Cost: $1,175 per person double occupancy ($350 single surcharge), including hotels, some meals, ground transportation, sightseeing and gratuities. Transportation to Jackson Hole or Salt Lake City is not included. Sleigh ride is $18 per person.
Contact: Main Street Tours, Torrance, Calif.; 310-212-0791, www.mainstreettours.com.
New Zealand scenery
Explore the varied landscapes of New Zealand on 16-night trips from Auckland to Queenstown.
The tours, scheduled Nov. 19, Jan. 10 and Feb. 28, visit nature reserves and cities, glaciers and active volcanoes. They are led by “local guides who know the islands like the back of their hands,” said Caren Rapp of Eldertreks, a company that specializes in adventure travel for seniors.
Activities include bird-watching and hiking in Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks.
The group joins the indigenous Maori people for a traditional barbecue in a village, and it tours Parliament in Wellington. The itinerary also includes hiking at the base of the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, cruises of Milford Sound and the Whanganui River, a chance to ride the rapids of the Tongariro River and a jet boat ride at Shotover Gorge.
Cost: $4,795 per person, double occupancy ($1,095 single surcharge), including meals, transportation, lodging and guides. International airfare is not included.
Contact: Eldertreks, Toronto, Canada; 800-741-7956, www.eldertreks.com.
Musical Mexico
Jazz it up on a cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas that begins Nov 4.
The seven-day sailing aboard the Holland America Oosterdam features performances by contemporary jazz musicians, including radio host and saxophone player Dave Koz.
Ports of call include Puerto Vallarta and Ensenada.
Cost: $1,900 to $2,650 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, meals and onboard entertainment. Transportation to San Diego, shore excursions, taxes, port fees and gratuities are not included.
Contact: Jazz Cruises, St. Louis; 877-328-3569, www.jazzcruisesllc.com.
California by rail
Vacation in vintage style on train trips to San Francisco on Nov. 23 or Dec. 25.
Travelers are served Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in a restored California Zephyr rail car as they travel the California coast. The tour spends three nights in San Francisco. Highlights include sightseeing in the city and Napa Valley.
Cost: $1,149 per person, double occupancy ($180 single surcharge), including transportation (with return airfare to Southern California), most meals, Napa Valley tour and home-to-airport shuttles. Taxes ($19) are not included.
Contact: AFC Tours, San Diego; 800-369-3693, www.afctours.com.
Tour British theater
Hit the highlights of the London theater season on a seven-night tour that begins Dec. 28.
Tour participants will see six performances, including Monty Python’s “Spamalot,” starring Tim Curry. The group, led by arts writer Barbara Isenberg, will visit museums and meet actors, historians and critics.
The itinerary includes a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon to see Dame Judi Dench in “The Merry Wives: A Musical.”
Cost: $5,789 per person, double occupancy ($975 single surcharge), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, hotel, some meals, excursions and transfers.
Contact: Susan Holden, Protravel International, Beverly Hills, Calif.; 310-271-9566 or 800-301-3993, www.protravelinc.com.
Hotel help from TripAdvisor
Here’s a handy new online mapping feature to use the next time you’re trying to figure out which hotel to stay in.
The tool is at TripAdvisor.com. On the “Find Hotels” page, type in your destination and then click on “New! Map the most popular area hotels.” A map will appear with the hotels marked by numbers that correspond to their rankings, determined by TripAdvisor reviewers.
At the same time, a list of the hotels appears, and you can click for a pop-up with more information on each hotel, including prices, photos, reservations and links to reviews. You can zoom in and out to see street and road names, and even gauge how far accommodations are from airports or major attractions such as theme parks.
Kellogg tries tourism
When the northern Idaho mining town of Kellogg went bust and the population started moving away, the remaining residents decided the next boom would be tourists drawn by the area’s natural beauty and recreation opportunities.
The town began the transition by voting to build a gondola to the top of the ski area on Silver Mountain, and since then, Silver Mountain Resort has expanded its winter offerings and moved to attract more summer visitors.
Silver Mountain Resort has plans to build condominiums around the base of the gondola along with shops and restaurants, and will replace Terrible Edith’s Bar and Grill with a conference center. It also is building a tubing park at the ski area.
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door holds free travel classes from 10 to 11:30 a.m. most Saturdays at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
* Turkey with Mary Ann Cameron, 10 a.m. Nov. 4.
* Croatia and Slovenia with Cameron Hewitt, 10 a.m. Nov. 18.
Reservations are recommended. Call 425-771-8303, ext. 298, or go to www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
* German for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 19 through Nov. 23.
* Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic, 10 a.m. Nov. 4.
* Slovenia and Croatia: Jewels of the Adriatic, 1 p.m. Nov. 4.
Classes are free; reservations are recommended. Call 425-744-6076 or 877-225-1994 or go to www.savvytraveleredmonds.com.
The Herald is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.
Herald staff and wire services
