Discount travel costa rica

A selection of escorted tours

"SPARKLING SCANDINAVIA" is a 14-day Brendan Gold tour to Copenhagen, Frederiksborg, Oslo, Geilo, Bergen, Flam, Balestrand and Stockholm.

Highlights include the adult home of Hans Christian Andersen, Rosenborg Palace (home of the Danish crown jewels), Frederiksborg Castle, Hadeland Glassworks, Voringfossen Waterfall, Troldhaugen (home of the composer Edvard Grieg), the Flam Mountain Railway, the Viking Ship Museum, Baroque Drottningholm (where the Swedish Royal Family resides) and the hills, villages and fjords of the countryside.

Includes buffet breakfasts, most dinners, entrance fees, accommodations, cabins on the ferry, first-class rail tickets and porterage of two bags per person.

Prices, start at $3,658; single supplement starts at $690. Departures May-September 2001.

Brendan Tours, Inc., 15137 Califa St., Van Nuys, CA 91411; phone 800/803-9496 or visit www.brendangold.com.

FIVE AZOREAN ISLANDS

--For those of you who like to travel independently, here is a 15-day tour on which you will visit the islands of Terceira, Faial, Pico and Sao Miguel plus a fifth of your choice. The tour will be in taxis with English-speaking drivers.

Start with several days on Terceira, including an island tour, then, fly to Faial to see its mountains and unique windmills plus a part of the island that was added in 1957 with the eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano. Take a ferry to Pico and visit the Artisan School and the Whaling Museum, then return to Faial.

Next comes your choice of islands among Flores, Graciosa and Sao Jorge for a full day of sightseeing, followed by a few days on Sao Miguel, where you'll see the city of Ponta Delgada and visit a pottery factory, the Furnas Valley, Terra Nostra Park and the blue and green lakes of Sete Cidades. Return from Terceira.

Cost from Oakland, CA, is $2,750; single supplement is $890.

Con Ginny-Al Tours, 101 First St., PMB 417, Los Altos, CA 94022; phone 800/842-4955 or fax 650/964-0406.

"!VIVA ESPANA!" is an 11-day, 6-city tour of SPAIN.

In Madrid, you'll visit the shopping and dining area of Salamanca, the Prado Museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the Royal Spanish Academy as well as Paseo del Prado with its 18th-century monuments.

In Toledo, the old imperial capital, free time will allow you to explore its cathedral, synagogues and churches. In Aranjuez, walk through the 18th-century palace.

A high-speed train (AVE) will take you to Cordoba for a tour of the three walled cities built by Roman, Moslem and Christian rulers plus the "Fernandinas churches" of La Magdalena and San Lorenzo Continue to Seville to see the Giralda Tower and the Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz.

Tours of Granada include its monuments, cathedral, Royal Chapel, Monastery of La Cartuja and baroque Alhayzina in addition to the Alhambra and Alcazaba.

End in Torremolinos with its clean beaches.

$1,499 land only ($1,399 in December) or from $1,799 with round-trip airfare (from Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.; departures also from New York and Boston). Single supplement is $250, and departure tax is $59.

Price includes transfers, 3-star hotels with private baths, two lunches and six dinners.

Blue Heart Tours, Inc., Box 16930, Alexandria, VA 22302; phone 800/882-0025, fax 703/329-6777 or visit www.BlueHeart.com.

"PEOPLE OF THE WIND" is a 16-day journey that takes you to western IRAN, location of the world's largest concentration of nomadic peoples. Travel is by 4-wheel-drive vehicles at a relaxed pace.

The journey features four nights of camping with the Quashquai, Bakhtyari and Luri nomads. The groups are know for their hand-woven rugs, kilims, gagims and saddle bags. Close contact with tribal groups and examination of their rug-weaving process are high points of the trip. You will also visit Shiraz and Isfahan, the ancient capitals of Darius and Cyrus the Great.

Land cost is $2,595, with a departure date of Sept. 25, '01. Group size is limited to 16.

Worlds Apart, 730 29th St. #C-12, Oakland, CA 94609; phone 510/836-2952 or visit www.worldsapart.org.

THE CAPITAL & THE SOUL OF JAPAN - respectively, Tokyo and Kyoto - are featured on a 7-day/5-night tour that includes half-day city tours of each.

In Tokyo, tour highlights include the Tower Observatory, the Imperial Palace and the outer garden of the Empress Dowager's residence, a drive through Akihabara (the electric-appliance discount center), the arcade and shops of Asakusa Kannon Temple, a drive through Ginza, and Tasaki Pearl.

Arriving via Shinkansen (Bullet train) in Kyoto, you'll visit Nijo Castle (Tokugawa Shogun's former family palace), the Golden Pavilion, the Kyoto Imperial Palace (former residence of the Imperial family) and the Kyoto Handicraft Center.

Prices start at $1,520 (single supplement, $440), including airfare from San Francisco or Los Angeles, hotels, Bullet train transfer, airport transfers, room tax and service charges. Departures through March 31, '01.

Pacific PROTOUR, 139 Kinder-kamack Rd., Park Ridge, NJ 07656; phone 800/776-8882, fax 201/782-1883 or e-mail protour@earthlink.net.

COSTA RICA ADVENTURE - Choose the tour that's right for you.

* The 10-day "Eco Paradise" tour includes soft adventures such as kayaking, naturalist-guided eco-walks and rainforest hikes. See mist-enshrouded cloud forest, volcanoes, coral reefs and pre-Columbian relics. Accommodations are in luxury hotels and lodges. Prices start at $3,195 from Miami, with a minimum of two passengers.

* For the "active traveler," the 9-day "River and Rainforest" tour explores three of Costa Rica's most isolated wilderness areas and ends with a 2-day whitewater rafting trip on the Pacuare River and overnight camping on the riverbank. It is accompanied by an expert naturalist and rafting guide. From $1,545, land only, including most meals.

* The leisurely paced 9-day "Luxury Hideaways" has you in boutique hotels, lodges and country estates, with your choice of daily activities. Starts at $3,095 from Miami.

Big Five Tours & Expeditions, 1551 SE Palm Ct., Stuart, FL 34994; phone 800/244-3483, fax 561/287-5990 or visit www.bigfive.com.

"LAKE DISTRICT & TORRES DEL PAINE" is a 12-day/11-night, easy to moderate walking tour on which you'll roam coastal villages, meet gauchos and sample the seafood and wines of CHILE.

From Santiago, with its local restaurants and art galleries, fly to the Lake District and the Andean forests of southern Chile, visiting Ensenada near the snow-topped cone of Osorno Volcano.

A ferry ride across the Gulf of Ancud will take you to Chiloe Archipelago to see the Humboldt and Magellanic penguins as well as small fishing villages. Hike along coastal cliffs and seaside farms, walk through forests and explore tidal pools and desolate Mar Brave Beach.

In Patagonia, among granite towers, high glaciers and lakes, each day you'll walk a new section of Torres del Paine National Park.

Accommodations will be at the Hosteria Ancud and small, 3-star hotels. Cost is $3,695, plus $300 for internal flight. Departure, Jan. 15, 2001.

Whole Journeys, 1500 E. 128th Ave., Thornton, CO 80241; phone 303/474-2347, fax 303/474-2720 or visit www.wholejourneys.com.

For your perusal...

In order to give readers a wider selection of travel options, ITN offers the following brief descriptions of some upcoming tours.

HONG KONG, BANGKOK & SINGAPORE -- This escorted 11-day "Asia Sampler" spends three nights in each city with a "mix of included features and free time."

From $2,499 including airfare from Los Angeles and membership in the General Assist Network.

TBI Tours, 53 Summer St., Keene, NH 03431; phone 800/223-0266 or e-mail info@generaltours.com.

AUSTRALIA -- The 12-day "Relaxed Australia" includes Melbourne, Sydney, Port Douglas and Cairns with four days of free time. Opt for a 3-night extension to see Ayers Rock, Olga Gorge and Alice Springs.

Land-only prices from $1,399 to $1,449 and, with the 3-night extension, $1,787-$1,839; air-inclusive prices from Los Angeles, $2,462-$3,033 and, with the extension, $3,466-$3,920. Single supplement is $546 and, with the extension, $723.

Departures through February '01.

Globus & Cosmos, 5301 South Federal Circle, Littleton,. CO 80123-2930; phone 303/703-7000 or fax 303/795-0962.

PERU -- On this 12-day adventure, you'll hike for five days on the Inca trail to the Lost City, mountain bike for three days, whitewater raft, for 2 1/2 days through river canyons, then have 2 1/2 days to yourself. Rated moderate. Porters carry backpacks.

From $1,750; single supplement, $250. Departures dates, Nov. 14 and Dec 22, '00.

The World Outside, 2840 Wilderness P1., Ste. F, Boulder, CO 80301; phone 800/488-8483, fax 303/413-0926 or visit www.theworldoutside.com.

BRAZIL -- "Heart of Amazonia" is a 10-day journey into the rainforest. From Manaus, the motorized yacht Tucano will take you over 200 miles up the Rio Negro, with accomplished, naturalists, to view wildlife and explore tributaries in canoes.