Travel Briefs
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, January 22, 2005
What’s the best month to climb Mount Fuji? When is Antarctica accessible? Where can you go skiing in the summer?
For the answers to these and many other questions as you plan your journeys for 2005, consult the February issue of Men’s Journal. The magazine features an adventure travel planner, organized by month.
In February, you can watch migrating whales in Baja. March is a good time to catch bonefish in the Bahamas. Go whitewater rafting in April from Asheville, N.C., on the Nolichucky River. In May, take a tour of a Madagascar rain forest to glimpse lemurs.
Go skiing at Whistler in British Columbia in June, and in New Zealand in August; in between, in July, climb Mount Fuji. September is a good time to mountain-bike the trails around the Nebraska National Forest. October is truffle season in Italy; in November the snow starts falling at some resorts in Colorado, and December is prime kite-surfing weather in the Dominican Republic – as well as the window of opportunity for those intent on visiting Antarctica.
And if you’re planning ahead to 2006 already, next January would be a good time to climb do some climbing in Red Rock Canyon, Nev. For more suggestions for each of the next 12 months, including recommendations for visiting national parks, check out the story in Men’s Journal.
Powwows
If you’re interested in American Indian culture, consider attending a powwow or tribal cultural festival this year.
MotorHome magazine’s February issue lists 14 of them around the country, including the Circle of Hope Ozark Regional Intertribal Pow Wow in West Plains, Mo., planned for Feb. 25 to 26; the Chambers Farm Spring Pow Wow in Fort McCoy, Fla., scheduled for April 1 to 3; the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, N.M., April 28 to 30; and the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival, June 3 to 5, in Oklahoma City.
To find a festival near you, the magazine also recommends searching several Web sites that list hundreds of other gatherings showcasing Indian culture. They are www.powwow-power.com; www.whisperingwind.com; www.gatheringofnations.com and www.indiancountry.com.
Snow report
If you need to know about the snow, there’s a new free service that will get you the latest on where the best powder is around North America.
The reports are provided as text messages delivered to cell phones. To register, go to www.skimag.com or www.skiingmag.com. Options for customizing your reports include new snow alerts, weekend forecasts, type of snow, base inches, and percentage of snowmaking at any given resort.
More than 475 resorts in North America are participating in the service, which is a partnership between Mountain Sports Media, publisher of Ski and Skiing magazines and other snow sports information, and RubberSNOW.com, which distributes ski and snow reports to mobile phone users.
Fish and chips
You don’t have to go to England to get great fish and chips.
Seattle has one of the best, according to Coastal Living’s January-February issue, which recommends five restaurants around the United States where a dish of french fries and battered fish is served up just right.
They are Chinook’s at Salmon Bay, 1900 W. Nickerson St., in Seattle; The Lucia Lodge, 62400 Highway 1, Big Sur, Calif.; Alexander’s Fish, Chicken &Chips, with two locations in Maui, Hawaii, at 1913 South Kihei Road, Kihei, and 840 Wainee St., Lahaina Square, Lahaina; Seagrove Village Market Cafe, 3004 South Highway 395, in Seagrove Beach, Fla.; and A Salt &Battery, at 112 Greenwich Ave. and 80 Second Ave. in Manhattan.
Ancient artistry
View ancient petroglyphs Feb. 12, March 12 or April 9 on a guided six-hour walking tour in the Valley of Fire near Las Vegas with the Nevada Rock Art Foundation.
The petroglyphs are thought to have been the work of ancient indigenous people and are 2,000 to 5,000 years old, said Alanah Woody at the Nevada State Museum.
Tourists are advised to take plenty of water, bring a lunch and wear a hat and sturdy walking shoes.
Cost: Free. Transportation is not included.
Contact: The Nevada Rock Art Foundation, Reno; 775-782-5990. To register for the tour, call Woody at the Nevada State Museum, 775-687-4810, ext. 229, or evenings, 775-782-5990, www.nevadarockart.org.
For love of mushrooms
Find fungi on a mushroom hunt as part of a two-night stay at the Ventana Inn &Spa in Big Sur, Calif.
Chuck Bancroft, a California state ranger and member of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz, will lead a morning class Feb. 9 followed by a wild mushroom-themed lunch at Cielo restaurant and a cooking class with Wendy Brodie.
Cost: $475 a night. Includes mushroom hunt for one person ($90 for additional person), mushroom lunch, dinner for two, two spa treatments, daily continental breakfasts, daily afternoon yoga sessions, classes and guided walks. Must include a Wednesday night stay. Transportation is not included.
Contact: Ventana Inn &Spa, Big Sur; 800-628-6500, www.ventanainn.com.
Walk in Portugal
Take the road less traveled on an eight-day walking tour of the Algarve area of Portugal.
The Easy Rider tour begins April 2 in Faro and heads to Tavira for two nights at a former 17th-century convent, then continues through the Ria Formosa nature reserve along the coast and into the foothills to Malhada do Peres, an ancient village.
Participants will spend two nights in Querenca and visit the Barrocal countryside and hike the cliffs of Rocha da Pena.
Tour participants also will take a boat cruise through the sea grottoes in Lagos and walk the beaches near Senhora da Rocha.
Cost: $2,295 ($490 single surcharge). Includes accommodations, dinners with wine, breakfasts and two picnics, guides and ground transportation. Transportation to Faro is not included.
Contact: Easy Rider Tours, 800-488-8332, www.easyridertours.com.
Flora and fine art
Experience the Flemish landscape and the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age on a nine-night tour and river cruise sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The 120-passenger riverboat Heidelberg will sail April 6 from Amsterdam to various ports, including Middleburg and Arnhem, and the Belgian cities of Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp.
Nadine Orenstein, curator and specialist in 16th- and 17th-century Dutch drawings at the Met, will lead the tour to museums and architectural sites along the route, such as the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem and the Mauritshuis in Amsterdam.
Anna Pavord, British garden expert and author, will join the tour as guest lecturer, providing insights into many gardens.
Cost: $3,995 to $5,995 per person, double occupancy, depending on cabin ($1,500 single surcharge). Includes two nights in hotels in The Hague, seven nights’ ship accommodations, all meals aboard the cruise and most meals on land, escorted sightseeing, entrance fees, gratuities, taxes and porterage charges. Air fare is not included.
Contact: Academic Arrangements Abroad, New York, 800-221-1944, www.arrangementsabroad.com.
Prices, dates or itineraries may change. These should be confirmed with travel agents or tour operators.
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
Jan. 29 – Spain and Portugal.
Feb. 5 and 6 – Tour alum reunion party and “Test Drive a Tour Guide,” features free travel classes.
Feb. 19 – Italy’s art treasures.
Feb. 26 – Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
March 5 – France.
March 12 – Village Italy.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers free travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
Jan. 29 – 10 a.m. How to pack a weeks wardrobe in a carry-on, $5.
Feb. 5 – 10 a.m. Jewels of the Adriatic: Venice, Slovenia and Croatia.
Feb. 12 – 10 a.m. Maasailand safaris in East Africa.
Feb. 12 – 1 p.m. England and Ireland’s B&Bs.
Feb. 26 – 10 a.m. Greece and the coast of Turkey.
Feb. 26 – 1 p.m. France.
March 5 – 10 a.m. Wild Alaska.
March 5 – 1 p.m. Undiscovered China.
March 12 – 10 a.m. Paris and Provence.
March 19 – 10 a.m. How to pack a weeks wardrobe in a carry-on, $5.
March 26 – 10 a.m. Tuscany and Umbria.
March 26 – 1 p.m. Southern Italy and Sicily.
April 2 – 10 a.m. Game trekking in South Africa.
April 9 – 10 a.m. Scotland: Islands and Highlands.
April 9 – 1 p.m. Ultimate Italian vacation.
April 23 – 10 a.m. Slovenia and Croatia.
April 23 – 1 p.m. Eastern Europe: The best kept secret.
May 7 – 10 a.m. How to pack a weeks wardrobe in a carry-on, $5.
Learn Italian for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays March 17 through April 4, $10 each or $35 for series.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076 or 877-225-1994.
