TOURS & CRUISES

TANZANIA

On safari to the Serengeti

PROWL the plains of the Serengeti as tens of thousands of wildebeests, zebras and antelope make their annual migration, shadowed by lions and hyenas, on a 12-day safari to Tanzania with the Santa Ana Zoo.

The May 26 tour will visit Lake Manyara National Park -- known for its elephants, tree-climbing lions and other wildlife -- and the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken caldera in the world.

“The Serengeti migration is a rare spectacle of nature, a vestige of the real unspoiled Africa,� said Ron Glazier, director of the Santa Ana Zoo. “This wildlife viewing tour combines it with a region known as Africa’s Garden of Eden.� Glazier will lead the tour.

Accommodations will be in lodges and luxury tent camps. An optional five-day extension to the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar is available.

Cost: $4,795 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $395), including round-trip air from LAX, lodging, most meals and guides.

Contact: Ron Glazier, Santa Ana Zoo, (714) 647-6598.

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WASHINGTON

Inside Seattle’s garden gates

STROLL some of Seattle’s most colorful gardens on a six-day tour of the city’s private gardens.

The May 18 trip will visit estates and gardens rarely open to the public, including an urban garden, a collector’s garden and a Japanese garden. Noted area horticulturalists and landscape designers will lead tours and discussions with the group.

The trip is sponsored by the Lotusland Foundation, which owns and operates the 37-acre Montecito estate and display gardens of the late Ganna Walska.

Cost: $2,065 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $550) including accommodations, some meals, transportation and guide service. Round-trip airfare is not included.

Contact: Deanna Hatch, Ganna Walska Lotusland; (805) 969-3767, Ext. 121, www.lotusland.org.

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EUROPE

Spain, France and Italy on the menu

Pack a collection of European cultural highlights into a two-week educational tour sponsored by the Santa Monica College Community Services department.

The July 31 tour stops two nights each in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; Aix-en-Provence and Cannes, France; and Montecatini and Rome, Italy.

Cost: $2,899 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $480), including international round-trip airfare, transfers, accommodations, daily breakfast and five dinners, transportation, taxes and tips for hotel and dining staff.

Contact: Richard Robinson, Santa Monica College professor of geology, (310) 434-4731.

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CHINA

A Far East education

Explore China’s best-known cities on an 18-day spring tour.

The May 20 trip includes visits to Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The itinerary also includes Jiuzhaigou, a valley of nine villages built by Tibetan immigrants.

William Pang, a longtime educator in Chinese culture and language, is organizing the trip. Arrangements will be made through China Travel Service.

Cost: $2,888 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $380), including round-trip airfare, accommodations, meals, excursions and English-speaking

guides.

Contact: William Pang, (714) 998-3976.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.

Browse landmarks in the capital

TAKE time to smell the cherry blossoms this spring on a seven-day trip

to Washington, D.C.,

Virginia and Maryland.

The April 13 trip includes visits to the Capitol, National Cathedral, most memorials and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The itinerary also includes stops at Arlington National Cemetery, Mt. Vernon and Alexandria, all in Virginia.; Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania; and the Annapolis

Naval Academy in Maryland.

Another seven-day trip is planned May 25 to coincide with the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Cost: $1,599 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $500), including round-trip airfare, pickup at home, accommodations, 10 meals and tours. The May 25 tour is $70 more per person.

Contact: AFC Tours and Cruises, San Diego; (800) 369-3693, www.afctours.com.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. Send information to Tours & Cruises, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or write via e-mail to [email protected].