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.
The group will travel from a lodge overlooking the Pixaim River near Cuiaba on day trips to look for 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 air fare from Miami, internal flights, lodging, meals, guided land and river excursions and transfers. Air fare to Miami is extra.
Contact: Oceanic Society Expeditions, San Francisco; 800-326-7491, www.oceanicsociety.org.
Eyes on Provence
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 air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, all meals, wine with dinner, excursions and seminars.
Contact: AHI International, Rosemont, Ill.; 800-323-7373, www.ahitravel.com.
Cycle to the past
Pedal 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 hot line. Bike rental is $69. Air fare is not included.
Contact: Bike Tours Direct, Chattanooga, Tenn.; 877-462-2423, www.biketoursdirect.com.
Tripping on Blarney
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.
Cost: $1,525 per person, double occupancy ($270 single surcharge), including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals, ground transportation and sightseeing.
Contact: Great Western Tours, Pasadena; 626-578-1161 or 800-344-7090.
New Frommer’s out
A new series of Frommer’s guidebooks is coming out – but these will carry the name of Pauline Frommer rather than her famous father, Arthur.
The books are geared to “the adult budget traveler – but not the backpacker,” Pauline Frommer said at an event in Manhattan to celebrate the launch of the series.
The event was attended by her 76-year-old father, whose “Europe on $5 A Day” demystified overseas travel in the 1950s for average Americans on a budget.
Pauline Frommer said the books have a bigger focus on alternative accommodations – ranging from bed-and-breakfasts to monasteries – than most guidebooks, and also include recommendations for how to rent apartments, homes and villas. There is also advice on where the locals eat, when to get the best deals and how to use Web booking services to your advantage.
Contest for Ireland trip
Want to win a free trip to Ireland this fall?
Tourism Ireland is looking to send three Americans on a weeklong trip. But winners will have to work while they’re there – creating podcasts to tell other Americans about their travels.
No podcasting experience is necessary, but you must apply by Aug. 31.
Each winner gets to bring a guest.
The prize includes round-trip airfare, accommodations, ground transportation, an MP3 player and other logistical support in Ireland.
The podcasts – which are audio files that you can download from the Web – will be available for downloading from Tourism Ireland’s Web site.
To enter the contest, fill out the entry form at www.discoverireland.com, briefly describing why you’d like to visit Ireland and what would make you a good podcaster. The completed entry form should be submitted electronically no later than 7 p.m., Aug. 31.
Travel deals
Seniors heading into the California desert receive up to 30 percent off at the Furnace Creek Inn &Ranch Resort in Death Valley National Park. Travelers 60 and older can take 10 percent off the rate for one-night stays during the week, 20 percent off two nights Sunday-Thursday, and 30 percent off three nights or more. Doubles at the Furnace Creek Inn start at $260 per night; rooms at Furnace Creek Ranch begin at $108. Stay Oct. 15-May 10 at the inn, year-round at the ranch. Add taxes of 9 percent and a nightly $2.50 per-room energy charge. Info: 760-786-2345, www.furnacecreekresort.com.
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is awarding teachers and straight-A students (of any grade) with half-off rooms. Nightly rates are $155 per room until Sept. 4; usual rate is $349. Teachers must show their school ID at check-in, and students must present their perfect report card. Taxes of 11.5 percent are extra. Info: 800-227-1500, www.swandolphin.com; ask for the “Teachers and Student” special.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is piling on the incentives for its inaugural Mediterranean sailings. For select fall and winter trips, cruisers can take $1,000 off the price – on top of a 20 percent discount. For instance, the seven-night Sept. 23 trip on the Seven Sea Voyager – which sails from Civitavecchia, Italy, to Piraeus, Greece – goes for $4,276 per person double. The deal is also available Sept. 30, Oct. 7 and Nov. 4. Passengers pay $245 more in surcharges. Info: 877-505-5370, www.rssc.com.
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.
* Venice, Florence, Rome, Reid Coen, Aug. 19.
* Greece, Colleen Murphy, Aug. 26.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit 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.
* Packing like a savvy traveler, 10 a.m. Oct. 7.
* German for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 19 through Nov. 23.
* Explore Northern Italy, 10 a.m. Oct. 21.
* Southern Italy and Sicily, 1 p.m. Oct. 21.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076, 877-225-1994, or visit www.savvytraveleredmonds.com.
Traveler’s Language Cafe: The NW Language Academy presents nine-hour language intensives, designed to conversational travel language.
For information, call 360-914-0391 or visit www.nwlanguageacademy.com.
* Simple Italian for Travel, 9:30 to 4 p.m. Aug. 19, Harbor Inn, 130 W. Dayton, Edmonds.
The Herald is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.
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