BCT Scenic Walking is offering three walking tours to Spain in 1998–Moorish Memories in Southern Spain, The Enchanting Basque-Lands and The Pilgrims’ Route to Santiago–along trails selected for their historical significance and dramatic views.
Moorish Memories is a seven-night sojourn in Andalucia that includes fiestas, flamencos, sangria and tapas. You’ll be hiking 6 to 8 miles per day through farmland, olive groves and coastal trails overlooking the Rock of Gibraltar. Next year’s tours run April 20-27, May 13-20 and Oct. 12-19. The tour costs $1,885 per person double occupancy (single supplement $285) from Seville.
Your eight-day, seven-night Basque Lands trip begins in Hondarribia, just east of San Sebastian, and during the next week your hikes will range from Atlantic seaports to Pyrenees villages. Covering 6 to 8 miles per day, you’ll visit prehistoric caves, medieval monasteries and historic towns such as Roncesvalles, winding up in Pamplona. Tours run May 30-June 7, Sept. 19-26 and Oct. 10-17 and cost $1,815 per person double (single supplement $200).
As befits a pilgrimage shrine, the tour to Santiago de Compostela is the longest and most arduous of the three. You’ll cover 12 to 15 miles per day on the 10-night tour, arriving in Santiago as officially recognized pilgrims. The tour costs $2,185 per person double (single supplement $265), starting in Leon and ending in Santiago.
Prices for all tours include accommodations in first-rate hotels, inns and historic paradors, all breakfasts and dinners. Call 800-473-1210 or visit the BCT Web site (www.bctwalk.com).
Northern lights
Icelandair Holidays is introducing special four-day, three-night packages to the capitals of Sweden and Iceland. The tours emphasize museums by day, restaurants in the evening and dance clubs all night–of which there is little else during the winter months in these northern climes. You’ll leave New York at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and arrive in Stockholm or Reykjavik Thursday morning. Return departures are on Sundays.
The price for either Stockholm and Reykjavik is $499 double (single supplement available) and includes air fare from New York, daily breakfast, sightseeing cards for free transportation on buses and subways and entry into most museums, and a restaurant and night-life club guide. The tours are available through March 1998. Call 800-223-5500 or try the Web site (www.gosweden.org).
Educational expeditions
Some of the more fascinating tours you’ll find are led by museums and other nonprofit organizations. The Educated Traveler publishes a Directory of Museum Sponsored Tours for organizations ranging from the American Museum of Natural History to the World Wildlife Fund. The tours are listed by sponsoring organization, and the descriptions are cursory at best–only destination, dates and sometimes a line or two describing the itinerary–so if something catches your eye, you’ll have to call the organization for more information. The price is $12.95. Call 703-471-1063, 800-648- 5168 or explore its Web site (www.educated-traveler.com).
Foreign rentals
Tired of French hotels with bathrooms down the hall? The next time you’re in France, splurge and let Ville et Village connect you with holiday rentals apartments anywhere in the country. Whether you’re looking for a two-bedroom apartment for four to six people in the first arrondisement in the heart of the Paris ($2,100-$2,400 per week depending on the season) or a renovated three-bedroom farmhouse that sleeps six on the edge of a winery and village in Provence ($850-$980 per week), you would be hard-pressed not to find something suitable in the Ville et Village catalog. Call 510-559-8080.
Nice party
Parades, concerts, masquerades and other festive events will fill the streets of Nice, France, for its two-week 1998 Carnaval. This year’s theme for the Feb. 14-March 1 festival is “King of Circus.” The Nice Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering five-night vacation packages at three- and four-star hotels for the event. The package rate is $300 double (single supplement $150) for a four-star and $260 double (single supplement $120) for a three-star. The price includes daily American breakfast and tickets to Carnaval events. Call 800-847-4249 or visit the Nice Convention and Visitors Bureau site on the World Wide Web (nice.coteazur.org).
Island hopping
Just in time for winter getaways, MapEasy has added the northern and southern Caribbean to its excellent catalog of travel maps. The Caribbean Northern Islands ($5.50) covers the Virgin Islands south to Guadeloupe and Marie Galante while the Southern Islands (also $5.50) covers the islands from Dominica to Grenada. Each map lists hotels, restaurants, shopping districts and sightseeing highlights, including capsule descriptions, pricing information and phone numbers. The maps are available in travel and book stores, or call 888-MAP-EASY (888-627-3279). You also can find MapEasy on the World Wide Web (www.mapeasy.com).
