Over Dale and Dune in the Mojave Desert

Traverse rock and land formations in the Mojave on a five-day adventure crossing the Mojave Desert by rail, bicycle and kayak. Guests will go cycling through the canyons, valleys and passes, kayak the Colorado River, then relax in a natural hot spring. Participants camp under the stars, except for one night in a motel. Tours departs throughout the year on full moon weekends.

Cost: $429 per person, double occupancy, including train transportation from Union Station in Los Angeles, most meals, camping fees, one night’s lodging and support vehicle. Rental bikes available for $70. Contact: EccoLA Tours; telephone (818) 287-2483.

Ancient Italy

Dig deeper into the layers of Rome and other Italian cities in a search for ancient civilizations. The 15-day tour leaves May 8. Participants will visit the Isle of Capri, then move on to Mt. Vesuvio and the ancient cities that volcano destroyed. Members will spend two nights in Sorrento, with a day trip to Paestum to find three intact 4th century BC Greek temples and frescoes.

Returning north, participants will stop at the Cumae ruins and spend two nights in Assisi. On the way to the Lake of Bolsena, members will visit an ancient mithraeum, a worship area hollowed out of solid tufa, the local volcanic rock. The cult of Mithras was Christianity’s principal rival at the time of Constantine.

The final portion of the tour will be spent on the Lake of Bolsena, Italy’s largest volcanic lake, and the center of Etruscan civilization. Each day, private water taxis will take the group to and from Isola Bisentina, once a retreat of popes. The island is dotted with monuments and works of art from every era of Italian history. Guests may spend all day on the island with the freedom to explore the nearby Etruscan sites or the village of Bagnoregio, which can only be reached on foot by a suspension bridge.

Cost: $3,500 per person, double occupancy, including air fare, daily breakfast, some dinners, ground transportation, entrance fees and guides. Contact: Creative Travel Unlimited (ask for Jeffrey Kennedy), 17383 Sunset Blvd., Suite B240, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272; tel. (310) 454-4463.

Pen In Pennsylvania

The Palladian Society is sponsoring an upcoming trip focused on gardens and decorative arts in Pennsylvania and the Brandywine Valley from April 15 to 20. Participants will visit private homes and gardens not open to the public, including that of an artist who specializes in museum-quality miniature houses. The trip coincides with “Historic Houses in Flower,” an annual event sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, when the area’s garden clubs are invited to decorate seven historic houses in Fairmount Park.

A day will be spent in nearby Bucks County, where participants will have time for antiques shopping and will visit a private 24-acre estate with 10 theme gardens. In the Brandywine Valley, participants will visit Longwood Gardens.

Cost: $1,404 for this six-day trip includes hotel accommodations for two nights in the Brandywine Valley, four nights in Philadelphia, some meals, transportation by charter bus, special event tickets, admissions and gratuities.

Contact: Spectrum Tours, P.O. Box 50608, Santa Barbara, CA 93150; tel. (805) 969-9665.

Upper Crust Ireland

Two luxury decorative-arts tours to Ireland are scheduled for May 29 to June 12 and Sept. 4 to 17. Private dinners and receptions are held in grand settings, such as the Kildare Hotel and Country Club near Dublin and Dromoland Castle in County Clare.

Designers and owners of the great Irish houses provide insight into architecture, history and furniture. Guests meet artisans for Tiffany & Co., and visit owners of private houses, castles and gardens. The group stays in Glin Castle as guests of the Knight of Glin, who is president of the Irish Georgian Society; and dines with Desmond Guinness, authority on Irish houses and furniture, at his Leixlip Castle home. Dame Sybil Connolly, internationally renowned interior designer, entertains at her private home in Dublin.

Participants can also play golf at some of Ireland’s best courses.

Cost: $5,900 per person, double occupancy, including most meals and wines, motor coach transportation, Irish guide, baggage handling, all tips and limousine from Dublin Airport. Not included: air fare to Ireland. Contact: Patsy Brady Malone at Ireland . . . Behind the Scenes, Box 50812, Montecito, CA 93150; tel. (888) 610-6000.

Irish Celebrations

Roger Barkley, a Los Angeles radio personality, will host a St. Patrick’s Day tour to Dublin, Ireland, departing March 12 to 19. The tour includes a sightseeing tour of Dublin, the Boyne River Valley, Malahide Castle, Glendalough and theWicklow mountains and an opportunity to march in Dublin’s own St. Patrick’s Day parade.

On St. Patrick’s Day evening, members of the tour will attend the Lord Mayor’s Ball. Entertainment at the ball features traditional Irish singers and dancers plus performances by the winners of the International Marching Band competition. The farewell dinner is at the historic Abbey Tavern, located in the fishing village of Howth.

Cost: $1,865 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, six nights’ accommodations at the new four-star Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin, daily Irish breakfast, two dinners, entrance fees, service charges and taxes. Contact: Lakeside Travel, 4108 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91505; tel. (818) 953-9399.

African Art

A visit to Eritrea, Africa, sponsored by the Thirst for Learning Foundation, a nonprofit group that rebuilds schools damaged by war, leaves Feb. 19 and returns March 5. The tour will feature meetings with Eritrean artists, sketching tours and visits to historical sites with ancient church paintings.

Cost: $2,300 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals, ground transportation and sightseeing. Air fare is not included. Contact: Thirst for Learning Foundation; tel. (503) 581- 0522.

Canadian Rockies Tour

Main Street Tours is offering a tour to western Canada Aug. 1 to 16 that includes sites in the Canadian Rockies.

Guest enjoy two-night stays in Waterton Lakes National Park, Banff and Victoria. Participants also tour Banff and Waterton Lakes national parks with a local guide, ride a snow coach on the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Ice Fields, cruise on Waterton Lake across the international border and enjoy an evening at Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Among the meal stops included are the Banff Springs Hotel, the Chateau Lake Louise, the Empress Hotel in Victoria and Shenanigan’s on the Willamette River in Portland, Ore.

Cost: $1,675 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip motor-coach transportation from Southern California, deluxe accommodations, four dinners and sightseeing. Contact: Main Street Tours at 1751 W. Torrance Blvd., Suite N, Torrance, CA 90501; tel. (800) 300-6246.

French Open

Advantage Tennis Tours is offering a variety of tour packages for the early, middle and final rounds to the French Open. Six tour packages are available between May 24 and June 10, and participants can choose four to seven nights. After attending matches, travelers can enjoy a Paris city tour and Seine River cruise. Guests also can play tennis on red clay courts at a private tennis club.

Cost: from $1,695 per person, double occupancy, including hotel accommodations in Paris, daily continental breakfast, Metro pass, Seine River cruise, Paris city tour and farewell group dinner. Air fare is not included. Contact: Advantage Tennis Tours, 33 White Sail Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677; tel. (800) 341-8687.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with travel agents or tour operators.