GLIDE through Arctic waters, where polar bears and other wildlife live, on 11-night expeditions to Spitzbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway.
The trips, which start July 5 and 14, feature two nights in Oslo and nine nights aboard the 385-foot Akademik Sergey Vavilov.
Zodiac landing craft, staffed by polar bear experts, naturalists and guides, will take passengers ashore for a closer look at the wildlife.
"The Arctic islands of Norway, within the Arctic Circle, are home to two national parks, 15 bird sanctuaries and two plant reserves," said Karen O'Neill of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
"These islands are a spectacular wildlife destination -- and because of this, the Spitzbergen cruise has been our most popular educational tour," she said.
Cost: From $3,995 per person, triple occupancy, to $8,395 per person, double occupancy, including cabin accommodations, hotels, meals, lectures and slide presentations, and transfers to Longyearbyen Airport, Spitzbergen.
International airfare and airfare from Oslo to Spitzbergen are not included.
Contact: Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, Mass.; (800) 289-9504, www.massaudubon.org.
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MID-ATLANTIC
Trace history, north to south
EXPLORE U.S. history on nine-day tours from New York to Washington, D.C. The bus tours, scheduled June 3 and every Saturday from Sept. 2 through Oct. 21, include stops in Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa., and the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville and Williamsburg, Va.
Participants will tour the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pa., and Manassas, Va., George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Va., and the Smithsonian museums in Washington.
Cost: $1,349 to $1,719 per person, double occupancy ($500 single surcharge), including hotels, ground transportation, some meals and admission fees. Transportation from Los Angeles to New York is not included.
Contact: GeoPassage of Austin, Texas; (800) 246-3429; www.geopassage.com.
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FRANCE
Photo shoot in postwar Paris
GRAB a camera and head for Paris on an eight-night trip for photo buffs.
The trip, which begins Sept. 11, will seek unspoiled vistas off the beaten path to re-create vignettes of historic Paris.
Photographer and tour leader Barbara van Zanten will demonstrate the use of sepia filters, black-and-white film and other techniques to mimic the look of postwar Paris made famous in the photographs of Eugene Atget and Robert Doisneau.
