The 15-year Iranian government policy against issuing visas to American tourists is loosening. In May, Iran allowed three Americans and an Iranian guide to travel through the country, and has approved a second trip, this one to Teheran and other historic cities in late October.
InnerAsia Expeditions, with the help of a sister organization in Iran, was able to secure permission for both journeys, according to Ann Aylwyn, InnerAsia country director, despite the U.S. State Department’s travel warning.
Some spaces still remain for the trip, which will leave Oct. 25. In Tehran, the dozen or so travelers will see the Archaeological Museum, where artifacts from the ancient city of Persepolis are kept; the Sa’adabad Palace, summer residence of the shah; markets, bazaars and a factory where Persian rugs are made. Other destinations include the many Islamic monuments of Esfahan; the tombs at Naksh-e Rustam, near Shiraz, where Kings Xerxes, Artaxerxes and Darius II are believed to be buried; shrines at Kerman; Zehidan, Mashhad and resort cities along the Caspian Sea.
The price of the 22-day trip is $4,990, twin occupany ($425 single supplement), includes first-class accommodations, all meals and ground transport, sightseeing, Iranian guides and support personnel, a medical and accident insurance plan and a duffel bag. Airfare is extra. Call 800-777-8183.
Wintry wonderlands
Members of the Lincoln Park Zoological Society will fly from Miami to Santiago, Chile, on Nov. 27, then fly to the Falkland Islands where they`ll board the 138-passenger World Discoverer, especially designed for polar voyages, for Antarctica. The 16-day trip coincides with the austral summer, when newborn seals, penguins and killer whales are most evident in the Antarctic. Polar historians, marine biologists and ornithologists will join the expedition. Society members get $100 off the regular rates of $4,865 to $8,515, which includes a $250 donation to the society in the member’s name; they also get discounted airfare from Miami. Cruise price includes accommodations aboard ship and in Santiago, all meals, excursions, lectures, a parka for use during the trip, and a natural history log. Non-members can get the same discounts, and the cost will include society membership. Call the society at 312-935-6700 or Clipper Adventure Cruises at 800-325-0010.
A three-day trip can bring travelers within shouting distance of polar bears in the wild, about as close as can be recommended. Air Canada and the Great Canadian Travel Co. Ltd. began the brief treks in 1991, which begin with an early-evening flight from Chicago to Winnipeg on Oct. 31, an overnight hotel stay and an early-morning chartered flight north to Churchill, at the edge of the Arctic tundra on Hudson Bay. Travelers will visit the Northern Studies Centre, devoted to researching Arctic flora and fauna and the aurora borealis. Then a driver and naturalist will guide the group for a five-hour rendezvous with polar bears during the peak season of their annual migration north. (Experts put the probability of such a meeting at 95 percent.) After an overnight in Winnipeg, there will be an early-morning or late-afternoon return to Chicago. Included in the $999 price are all airfares and accommodations, Churchill tour, breakfast, lunch and dinner and transfers. Call 800-661-3830.
Little guides
Five walking tours of Paris are mapped out in a “Just Marvelous” guide, a 20-page booklet that folds and slips into a plastic holder for easy toting. Lots of information on things to see and do are included, plus maps of the Louvre and other museums, a quick explanation of art terms and a thumbnail sketch of Parisian and European history. “Just Marvelous” guides also are available for Rome and Florence, Italy. Each is $10, including shipping and handling; make check payable to Just Marvelous, 560 Greenwood St., Glencoe, Ill. 60022.
An unusual wallet-sized guide provides ample information on “How To Get Around in Paris.” How do you board an accordion bus? Do you have to pay an extra fare for your accordion? What is a terminus, and will Raid get rid of them? Answers are all here for $5.95, postage paid. Write to Tour Eiffel Presse, P.O Box 4212, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif. 90274.
Even more compact is Artemis press’ new guide to recent architecture in London, 320 pages in a 4-inch-square format. Black-and-white photos and renderings accompany architect Samantha Hardingham’s informative, opinionated text on more than 100 structures built in the last decade. Cost is $14.95 plus tax. Available at Prairie Avenue Bookshop, Rizzoli Book Store and Waterstone’s Booksellers.
B&B sources
A new service can help travelers track down bed-and-breakfast inns around the country. The Bed & Breakfast Central Information (BBCi) is endorsed by nearly three dozen state B&B associations, and travelers can obtain listings of association members in participating states by sending for a free detailed order form from BCCi. Send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to Bed & Breakfast Central Information, P.O. Box 38279, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80937-8279.
Those seeking B&Bs in Florida now can call 800-524-1880 to request a 1993 brochure listing members of Inn Route, the Association of Smaller and Historic Lodging Properties of Florida. Each listing includes a short description and a regional map. Many of the inns were built at the turn of the century and recently have been restored.
Beyond the pale
Even increases in the incidences of melanoma couldn’t stop the American Sunbathing Association from publishing the 18th edition of the North American Guide to Nude Recreation. With more than 400 color photographs in 224 pages, the guide contains details on nudist clubs, parks, resorts and beach areas. Cost is $24.95 plus $4 shipping and handling; for information or to order, call the ASA, 800-879-6833.
Point of ordering
For strange travel companions, the Daxel Pointer Menu takes the cake, literally. To eliminate stumbling over pronunciations in Hindi-Urdu or Lithuanian, this menu includes no words, just tiny pictures of many familiar dishes: steaks done rare, medium rare, medium and well done; five preparations of potatoes, a banana, what appears to be an egg-salad sandwich, pizza, coffee, pie-you get the idea. Diners just point to what they want and thus eliminate embarrasing pantomimes and dishes of steaming pig brains mistakenly brought to your table when you thought you were ordering a crumpet. In the back (without any accompanying explanation) are international symbols for men’s and women’s restrooms, a baffling symbol for what looks like a flying saucer, and a symbol for a doctor, the latter a happy face wearing a stethoscope. Send $5 (includes shipping and handling) to Daxel Inc., P.O. Box 605, Arlington Heights, Ill. 60006-605. A great party gift!
