Dodger Blue in Florida; Kayaking in Mexico

Root for the Dodgers on a spring training tour to Vero Beach, Fla., that includes a private tour of Dodgertown, attendance at Dodger workouts, an exhibition game and dinner at the Dodger Pines Country Club with some of the players. The tour runs March 1 to 7. Participants will also get a three-day pass to the Magic Kingdom, including Epcot, Disney World and MGM studios.

Cost: $1,375 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotel accommodations, Disney World tickets and baseball activities.

Contact: Lakeside Travel, 4108 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91505; telephone (800) 782-4898.

Mexico: Kayaking

Five- and six-day kayaking, camping, hiking and snorkeling trips are being offered by Idaho-based Sea Kayak Adventures on various dates Dec. 19 to April 26.

Marine mammals are the main attractions in the “Baja’s Pacific Lagoon” wilderness sea kayaking excursion. From a base camp on a secluded desert island, kayakers will observe dolphins and whales up close in quiet lagoons. Miles of uninhabited beaches and sand dunes are a short hike from camp. Also available is a “Sea of Cortez” trip in which guests can paddle and snorkel among colorful tropical fish. Encounters with dolphins as well as fin and blue whales are possible.

Kayaking expeditions depart from and return to Loreto, 700 miles south of the U.S. border. No previous paddling or camping experience is necessary. Stable two-person kayaks, paddling gear and camping supplies are provided. Guides set up camp and prepare meals.

Cost: from $925 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, meals, airport transfers, all meals and guides. Air fare not included.

Contact: Sea Kayak Adventures, 1315 Indiana Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; tel. (800) 616-1943, Internet https://www.seakayakadventures.com.

Baja: Christmas

Spend “Christmas Across the Border” on a three-night tour to Ensenada, Mexico. The tour departs Dec. 23. Guests will tour La Bufadora, a sea geyser, and have Christmas dinner at El Rey Sol restaurant.

Cost: $163 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip transportation from San Diego, accommodations at the Hotel Villa Marina and some meals.

Contact: Baja California Tours, 7734 Herschel Ave., Suite O, La Jolla, CA 92037; tel. (619) 454-7166.

Mideast: Biblical Sites

A 12-day pilgrimage to Israel scheduled Feb. 19 to March 2 will take participants to Bat Yam, Jaffa, Caesarea, Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias at the Sea of Galilee, the upper Jordan Valley and Jerusalem.

Excursions in and around Jerusalem include the Old City, Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Via Dolorosa, the Garden of Gethsemane (eight olive trees more than 2,000 years old), the Holy Sepulcher, the Tomb of David on Mt. Zion, Bethlehem, the Caves of Qumran, Masada and Jericho.

Visitors will see where biblical stories are said to have taken place, including the sites of Jonah and the whale, Mt. Carmel, the Holy Family’s house, Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary, St. Joseph’s carpenter shop, the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the Transfiguration and Jacob’s well (where Jesus met the Samaritan woman).

Cost: $1,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from LAX, hotels, two meals daily, guides, ground transportation, transfers and entrance fees. Land-only cost: $1,300.

Contact: Larry Bishop, Knights of Columbus pilgrimage director; tel. (949) 581-9936.

Germany: Elbe Cruise

Visit the eastern part of Germany and Prague, Czech Republic, on a cruise down the Elbe River from May 6 to 16. The journey starts in Berlin with a city tour before boarding the Koenigstein river barge in Potsdam. Passengers will see castles and villages along the Elbe and stop in Magdeburg and Wittenburg, Germany, home of Martin Luther. A day and night are spent in Dresden to attend a performance at the Dresden Opera. In the Czech Republic, guests stop in Lietmeritz and Melnick before a two-day visit in Prague.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare to Berlin and return to LAX from Prague, hotel accommodations, cabin and meals on board the barge, city tours and escorts.

Contact: Claudette Crowther at Carlson-Wagonlit Travel; tel. (800) 676-8994.

Europe: Composers

Cleora Leist of the Music Teachers’ Assn. of California will host a “Famous Composers Tour” July 20 to Aug. 3 to visit places where composers (including Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mahler, Mozart, Schonberg, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss and Wagner) lived and worked. The tour begins in Vienna and continues to Eisenstadt and Salzburg, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; and Leipzig, Bayreuth and Munich, Germany.

Cost: $2,728 per person, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, two meals a day, city tours, museums and palaces. Details will be set up by Mandrake Tours.

Contact: Cleora Leist, 14862 Ansford St., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745; tel. (626) 333-3422.

China: Study

“Contemporary Life in China” is a study tour that will leave June 21 and return July 12. In addition to opportunities to see the terra-cotta warriors museum in Xian; the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall in Beijing; the Bund in Shanghai; and West Lake in Hangzhou, participants have the opportunity to travel on the Silk Road (stopping at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Turpan and Urumqi), visit a family’s city apartment in Shanghai and see a rural village 40 miles outside Hangzhou.

In Hangzhou, there will be five days of lectures on different aspects of life in China presented by faculty members at Hangzhou University, Hangzhou College of Education, the College of Traditional Medicine and Zhejiang University.

Cost: $3,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, excursions via motor coach and entrance fees.

Contact: Centers for Academic Programs Abroad (CAPA), P.O. Box 514617, Los Angeles, CA 90051; tel. (800) 999-4992.

Mexico: Cooking

Learn to create authentic Mexican recipes with the help of experienced chefs on a tour to Guadalajara, Mexico. Participants will also tour charming villages and cobblestoned plazas, quaint shops and cafes. They will stay at a lakeside hotel with its own thermal spring. Jalisco Culinary Tours offers one-week culinary getaways geared toward novice and expert cooking enthusiasts from Jan. 13 to May 4.

Guests spend four mornings and one afternoon preparing Jalisco-style dishes. Recipes from Veracruz, Oaxaca, Michoacan and Yucatan are also discussed. There will be excursions to open-air markets to look for herbs, cheeses, fish and exotic fruits and vegetables.

Cost: from $1,395 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, transfers, most meals, ground transportation and excursions.

Contact: Jalisco Culinary Tours; tel. (800) 638-2701, Internet https://www.fspronet.com/jca/.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.