Save Up for Hong Kong, London Shopping Sprees

When you’ve exhausted the local malls, you can join two shopping trips abroad: one to London from Jan. 8 to 15, which includes Harrods’ renowned annual sale, and another to Hong Kong and Beijing from May 8 to 26, which includes a 12-day luxury cruise on the Crystal Harmony.

Both trips will be hosted by Phyllis Brown, a retired retail executive who knows where the hot shopping spots are in each country. The London excursion is limited to 25 participants.

The Asian shopping odyssey includes one night in a Hong Kong hotel before the cruise departs, an escorted shopping tour in Hong Kong and a three-day tour of Beijing. The cruise itinerary includes Taipei, Taiwan; Kagoshima, Japan; and Shanghai, China.

Cost: for London, $1,590 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, transfers, accommodations, breakfast, a London Pass for museums and attractions, a citywide transportation pass, tea at Harrods, escorted shopping in London, porterage and trip cancellation/interruption insurance. For Asia, from $5,570 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from Los Angeles, transfers, a shopping tour and the Crystal cruise.

Contact: Hager Travel Group; (800) 537-5743, https://www.special-escapes.com.

Belize: Fly-fishing

“Fly Fishing for Life,” a series of weeklong outdoor fishing adventures, will begin the winter fishing season with a trip to Belize. The trip, from Feb. 16 to 23, is open to anglers who want to catch bonefish, tarpon and snook, which populate the tidal flats and Caribbean coastal waters off Belize. Fishermen will stay aboard two yachts. Kenny Fischer, an avid fly fisherman, will lead the tour, which will be limited to eight anglers. Beginners, spouses and business associates are invited.

Cost: $4,900 per person, including transfers from Belize City airport; use of a high-quality fly rod, reel and line; accommodations; and meals. Air fare to Belize is extra.

Contact: Fischer at (310) 826-5875, https://www.flyfishingforlife.net.

East Coast: Study

The Atlantic Coast from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Newport, R.I., can be studied on three tours arranged by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The first, June 2 to 8, focuses on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts. From Providence, R.I., participants will ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for two days of walking tours. They then go to Nantucket, where they will visit the Whaling Museum and the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies.

Cost: $2,495 per person, double occupancy.

From July 19 to 23, the second tour includes Newport mansions and museums, three concerts at the annual Classical Music Festival and Old Sturbridge Village, Mass. This outing will be based at Newport and costs $3,445.

Maine’s Mt. Desert Island will be toured Sept. 25 to 29. The trip includes tours of seaside homes and gardens and the Rockefeller Carriage Roads. The starting point will be Bangor, Maine; the tariff is $1,495.

Rates include lodging in historic hotels, daily breakfast and most lunches and dinners. Air fare to the East Coast is extra.

Contact: National Trust for Historic Preservation; (800) 944-6847, https://www.nationaltrust.org.

California: Blossoms

Travel California’s 85-mile “Blossom Trail” (California Highway 99 south of Sequoia National Park) from Feb. 17 to 20 to see the pink petals of apricot trees, the pinks and reds of peaches and nectarines, and the white blossoms of almond and plum trees. Other points of interest include lunch at the historic 1903 Reedley Opera House in Reedley, the Mennonite Quilting Center, a visit to the Sun-Maid raisin factory in Fresno and a guided tour and box lunch in Sequoia National Park.

The tour includes motor coach transportation and three nights at one of California’s oldest dude ranches, Wonder Valley Ranch in the Sierra foothills. The ranch has a swimming pool, horseshoe pits, meals and entertainment each evening.

Cost: $515 per person, double occupancy, including ranch accommodations, all meals, baggage handling and gratuities for driver and guides.

Contact: Main Street Tours; (800) 300-6246, https://www.mainstreettours.com.

New Zealand: Two Islands

From Auckland to Queenstown to Christchurch and beyond, travelers can soak up scenes of New Zealand and its Maori culture on a trip offered by ATS Tours. On departures through Dec. 16, the 12-night “New Zealand Spectacular” tour visits the North and South islands.

Three nights each will be spent in Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown and Christchurch. From Auckland, a motor coach will take travelers to Rotorua, known for its hot springs and spas. A tour of the Waitomo Caves for an up-close look at the stalactite formations and the glowworm grotto is included. Another motor coach will take travelers from Queenstown, site of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range, to Christchurch, passing Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain.

Cost: from $1,819 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles on Air New Zealand, all domestic flights and sightseeing excursions.

Contact: Accommodation Downunder Specialists; (800) 423-2880, https://www.atstours.com.

Canada: Kayaking

New kayaking expeditions in Canada have been planned by Mountain Travel Sobek of El Cerrito, Calif. The more distant trip offers sea kayaking at the virtually uninhabited Ellesmere Island in the Arctic Ocean. Paddlers will fly from Resolute on Cornwallis Island in the Northwest Territories to Eureka, Ellesmere Island. From there they will spend 11 days kayaking eight to 15 miles daily in the Gr eely and Canon fiords.

Participants may see whales, seals, caribou, wolves and polar bears. There will be a day and a half for hiking or relaxing. Experience in long-distance kayaking is required.

Closer to the U.S. border is a hiking-canoeing-kayaking adventure around Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula. Travelers on this outing will fly from Quebec City to Mt. Joli. On the itinerary are Gaspesie Park, the Chic Choc Mountains, Mt. Albert, Mt. Jacques Cartier, Bonaventure Island and the Forillon coast. No kayaking experience is required, but the hikes will reach altitudes of about 4,000 feet.

Cost: For the Ellesmere Island trip, $3,190 per person for nine or 10 travelers, $3,390 for seven or eight. Air fare to Canada is extra. Included are all meals and two nights in hotels. Tour dates are July 27 to Aug. 10 and Aug. 10 to 24.

Cost: For the Quebec trip, $2,090 each for 10 to 12 participants, $2,290 for six to nine. Seven nights in hotels are included. Internal air fare is $320 more. Dates are July 14 to 21, Aug. 4 to 11, Aug. 11 to 18 and Sept. 1 to 8.

Contact: Mountain Travel Sobek; (888) 687-6235, https://www.mountaintravelsobek.com.

Greece: Islands

OPA Tours Greece is celebrating its 17th year of operating tours to that country with a 15-day “Captain Corelli Tour,” named after the character in Louis De Bernieres’ novel “Corelli’s Mandolin,” which is set on the island of Cephallonia. Other stops will be Odysseus’ island of Ithaca, Athens, Delphi, Ossios Loukas, Olympia, Corinth, Nemea, Epidaurus and Mycenae. Optional extras include cruises to Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Patmos, Rhodes and Ephesus.

Cost: $3,975 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, accommodations, most meals, baggage handling, admission to sites and a guide who is an archeologist and art educator.

Contact: OPA Tours Greece; (800) 672-7155.

China: Photography

Travel and wildlife photographer Michele Burgess will escort photography buffs to China and Tibet from April 22 to May 10. The China segment of the tour includes the little-visited coastal city of Xiamen; the ethnic minority villages of Guizhou Province; Chengdu’s monasteries, markets and ancient parks; the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base; and the Giant Buddha of Leshan. A cruise will take participants from Wuxi to Suzhou. Finally, the group will travel to Lhasa, Tibet, the center of Tibetan Buddhism.

Cost: $3,975 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations, most meals, guides and entrance fees.

Contact: In Focus With Michele Burgess; (714) 536-6104, https://www.infocustravel.com.

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