Most of these pages every week are devoted to helping readers answer the question, "Where to go?" But not this page, not today.
The theme of today's column is where not to go in 1998, and when. Or--to put a friendlier spin on it--where you shouldn't go without careful consideration ahead of time. On the dates listed below, grand events or whopping crowds (or both) are expected in locales worldwide. These are occasions that will pump up demand, crowd the streets (or hiking paths), frequently escalate prices and probably make your life uncomfortable if you're caught unaware.
Of course, the reasons these places are crowded is that many people see a good reason for being there. You may too. So ponder these dates and ask yourself: To be there, or not to be there?
Jan. 24 to 25: The Super Bowl XXXII takes over San Diego. Especially on Saturday the 24th, the day before the big game, the city's top hotels and restaurants will be jammed, and navigating Mission Valley, where the stadium lies, may be complicated. Expect a similar scene on game day.
Feb. 7 to 22: The Winter Olympics lay siege to Nagano, Japan, about 100 miles northwest of Tokyo. Events will be staged in Nagano (population: about 360,000) and neighboring Yamanouchi, Hakuba, Karuizawa and Nozawa Onsen. The trade paper Travel Weekly reports that 2 million visitors are expected to attend the Games--and that there are only about 16,000 hotel rooms within a half an hour's drive of Nagano. There is, however, a bullet train between Tokyo and Nagano.
Olympic tickets and travel packages are available through Manhattan Beach-based Cartan Tours (tel. [800] 818-1998). Figure-skating events were sold out by early December.
Feb. 26: Throughout the Caribbean, islanders and tourists will be gathering to look skyward at a rare solar eclipse. The moon's position in front of the sun is expected to create a halo-like corona effect in the darkened skies above the "zone of totality." Cruise lines, already a prominent presence in the area, have set up programs around the event on about a dozen ships. Four of them, arrayed near Guadeloupe, will belong to Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. The Star Clipper, sailing from Antigua, also will be near Guadeloupe, and is scheduled to have aboard astronomers Alan Hale and Tom Bopp.
