Vintage Aircraft, Scenery and Wine in New Zealand

The alpine town of Wanaka, home to the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum and a large collection of World War II aircraft, is hosting its “Warbirds Over Wanaka” air show April 22 and 23, which is autumn in New Zealand. See the scenery and vintage aircraft on a tour April 15 to 26 with Jerren Travel Service.

Participants will fly to Auckland and visit beaches on the west coast, vineyards for wine tasting and the Museum of Transport. Then they will travel south through the farmlands of the Waikato to see the Glow Worm Caves and visit Rotorua, where the local Maori will prepare a feast.

Also scheduled is a sheep-shearing show, a thermal reserve and a jet boat ride. Guests will travel to Queenstown and Milford Sound for a luncheon cruise. After the air show, the group will stay in Christchurch and take a city tour.

Cost: $4,150 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, daily breakfast, entry fees, porterage and ground transportation.

Contact: Jerren Travel Service, 2 Hidalgo, Irvine, CA 92620; telephone (714) 731-8020, Internet https://www.info@jerrentravel.com.

China: Yangtze River

Explore China with Bob Feldman, a California State University history professor emeritus who has been leading tours to China since 1986. Two tours, April 14 to 30 and Oct. 15 to 31, include a luxury Yangtze River cruise.

The tour begins in Beijing to see the Forbidden City, Imperial Palace, Ming Tombs and Tiananmen Square and walk atop the Great Wall. Also included is an Old City hutang tour, which features a visit with a Chinese family in their home.

The next stop is Xian to see the terra-cotta army and visit a peasant market. In Wuhan, guests will board the luxury Victoria cruise liner for a five-day Yangtze River cruise to Chongqing, with daily side excursions into the heart of China. Guilin follows, with its rock formation along the Li River, and the tour ends in Shanghai to see the Children’s Palace, the old quarter’s Yu Yuan Gardens, the Shanghai Museum and visits with a Chinese family in their home.

Cost: The April tour is $3,990, and the October tour is $4,090 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, ground transportation, deluxe hotels, all meals, cruise and excursions, four theater performances, all taxes and porterage.

Contact: East-West International Tours, 925 Acapulco St., Laguna Beach, CA 92651; tel. (800) 359-6719, Internet https://www.east west-tours.com.

Ireland: Mystical Sites

Step out of linear time and journey into sacred space in Celtic Ireland on a trip that focuses on the myths and mystery of Neolithic sites. The tour runs June 25 to July 5 and is based in the rural village of Blessington, where guests stay in a B&B.;

Day trips include ancient grave sites, domed cairns and stone circles in Wexford, Newcastle, Seefin and Castleruddery. Also planned: a stop at Brigid’s holy well in Kildare; a free day in Dublin; Irish music and a dinner at West Wicklow Inn; a campfire night with music, song and ritual; a Neolithic heritage lecture with slides; and a shamanic evening. The group is limited to 12. Two Irish guides who practice ancient Celtic traditions will guide the tour.

Cost: $2,450 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals and ground transportation. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Meg Easling at Deep Journey Tours, P.O. Box 1837, Ojai, CA 93024; tel. (805) 646-3800.

Europe: Desserts

Eat chocolate in Brussels and pastry in Paris on a sweets trip April 22 to 30. The “Epicurean Explorer” holiday will be led by “Room for Dessert” cookbook author David Lebovitz, former pastry chef at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley.

The tour starts in Brussels, where guests will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Callebaut chocolate factory. They will also visit the Museum of Chocolate and an outdoor antique market and take an Art Nouveau walking tour of the neighborhood and former home of architect Victor Horta.

Then it’s off to Paris aboard the high-speed Thalys train for a visit to a pastry school. A special lunch at the school will follow. Time is set aside each day for independent exploration and relaxation. The tour concludes with a day trip to Normandy and Giverny to visit Monet’s home and gardens in full bloom, and afterward to savor lunch prepared for the group by chef Susan Herrmann Loomis, author of “The French Farmhouse Cookbook,” in her restored 15th century home and cooking school.

Cost: $4,100 per person, double occupancy, including eight nights’ deluxe hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and some meals, guided excursions and museum admission fees, train ride from Brussels to Paris, private motor coach transport to Normandy, Paris transport pass, Paris museum pass. Transatlantic air fare is extra.

Contact: Anne Block of Take My Mother, Please Tours: tel. (323) 737-2200.

Mexico: Art Workshops

Cultural Arts Tours and Workshops is leading a five-day shopping trip, March 1 to 5, and two 10-day pottery workshops April 5 and May 12 to Oaxaca, Mexico. Participants will meet and work with master potter Juan Quezada, whose work is collected internationally. There also will be a visit to the archeological site of Paquime and the Museo de las Culturas del Norte. Accommodations will be at the Adobe Inn in Mata Ortiz.

Cost: Shopping trip is $775; pottery workshops are $1,195 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, land transportation, entry fees, lodging and most meals.

Contact: Rose Figueroa, Southwest Museum, tel. (323) 221-2164, Ext. 240, or Vanessa Acosta, Cultural Arts Tours and Workshops, (323) 344-9064.

Peru: Andes Hiking

A wilderness hike through the Andean highlands, guided by a Peruvian American, is being offered April 21 for 12 days and May 5 for 17 days. Participants will travel along Inca-engineered trails, exploring Inca ruins and visiting native villages and traditional markets that feature original Peruvian ceramics, textiles, art and handicrafts.

Guests can interact with Quechua herders of llamas and alpacas in remote mountain communities. The trip includes rafting on the Urubamba River, visits to Cuzco, the sacred valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu.

Cost: $2,475 for the 12-day April trip and $2,775 for the 17-day May trip, per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, all transportation and flights in Peru, sightseeing tours, hotels, all meals, trekking and camping gear.

Contact: Andes Adventures, 1323 Keith St., Suite F, Santa Monica, CA 90401; tel. (310) 395- 5265, Internet https://www.andesadventures.com.

Mississippi: Pedal Power

A seven-day bicycle tour, much of it along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, allows its 20 to 24 participants to lodge in inns that were antebellum mansions; to visit Civil War battle sites such as Vicksburg Military Park; and to view the eerie 23 Corinthian columns left from Windsor mansion, which survived the war but not a fire during an 1890 party.

Cost: $1,429 per person, double occupancy, including Jackson airport transfers, six nights’ accommodations and daily breakfast and dinner. Bicycle rental is $110. Air fare is extra. Departures are March 25, April 1, Oct. 9 and 16.

Contact: Classic Adventures; tel. (800) 777-8090.

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