THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503030072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
EVER FANTASIZE about galloping across the desert or cantering along a tropical seashore? Check out the new Equitour catalog. It describes dozens of horse-related vacations from Vermont to the Gobi desert. Among destinations are Turkey, India, Ireland, Spain, Kenya, Egypt and Italy. Info: Equitour, Box 807, Dubois, Wyo. 82513; (800) 545-0019.
Similarly, Boojum Expeditions is a U.S.-based adventure travel company that offers seven- to 10-day guided horseback pack trips to Tibet and Mongolia in central Asia. This is ``roughing it'' with tent accommodations. Info: Boojum, 14543 Kelly Canyon Road, Bozeman, Mont. 59715; (406) 587-0125.
Two four-day horseback rides through Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley, Ariz., will take place April 14 and April 18. Hosted by a Navajo family in their own canyon at the Canyon de Chelly National Monument, guests stay in the canyon and sleep in the family's 40-foot hogan at Antelope Ruins. Day rides of three to six hours will take riders to parts of Canyon de Chelly not open to the public, where they will see ancient ruins with wall art and archaeological sites of the Anasazi and Navajo civilizations. Groups are small (maximum 12) and horses are provided. Cost: $1,150, including horse, guides and lodging at the hogan. Not included: transportation to Arizona or meals. Contact: Judith Connelly, Bastrop Farms, Route 1, 1390 Cardinal Drive, Paige, Texas 78659; (512) 303-0378. BONJOUR, FRANCE
The French Government Tourist Office in New York has a new address: 444 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; phone (212) 838-7855. Tourism information requests can go to that location or to France-on-Call, (900) 990-0040, a service that costs 50 cents a minute. OPEN-DOOR POLICY
Russia has opened a national tourist office in New York, part of a capitalist plan to draw more visitors to the country whose promotion has become fragmented with the breakup of the Soviet Union and its umbrella Intourist operation. The Russian National Tourist Office is at 800 Third Ave., Suite 3101, New York, N.Y. 10022; (212) 758-1162. KEEPING 'EM IN LINE
Police in Singapore are cracking down on in-line skating on roads, on pavements and in public places, so whatever you do, don't try to skate and chew gum - which is banned in the country - at the same time. GAINS AND LOSSES
Two-thirds of vacationers spending two to four weeks away gain an average 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, but some gain up to 9 pounds. Those rotund results are part of a study by Maria Simonson, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University, published in Travel & Leisure magazine. Other findings: Only about 13 percent lose weight while on vacation, and the average loss is 6 pounds. TWO FOR THE POLE
Santa is back at the North Pole; soon, even you - if you bring a sack full of money - can head there, too. Award Travel in California, which offers tours to the North Pole between April and June, reports that fewer than 3,000 people have stood at 90 degrees north, a point at which from wherever you look it is south. The $9,999-per-person, 12-day adventure starts in St. Petersburg, Russia, and includes a stay at Prima, a Russian scientific station near the pole; then Russian helicopters take you to the North Pole. Info: (800) 595-AWARD . . . that's (800) 595-29273.
. . . Or just drop in. That's the climax of an odyssey being offered by Polar Expeditions Inc. of Pennsylvania. A tandem parachute lets participants fall with an expert to the ice, from which a helicopter carries you to an airport for return to civilization. Other features of the trip include Moscow, a flight to a former Russian missile base in northern Siberia, a visit to a gulag, snowmobiling, volleyball and hobnobbing with the locals. The trip is scheduled for April 13-23. The whole package from Moscow - including tandem jump - costs nearly $10,000. If you want the North Pole but not the jump, the price is $5,300. Info: (610) 940-1467. ATTENTION, VETERANS
Air France has extended its World War II veterans' fare discount through the end of 1995 - a 30 percent savings off nearly all its fares to France, including Concorde, first class, business class, economy, excursion and advance purchase fares. The fares are available to eligible veterans and up to three accompanying family members. They are good from any Air France U.S. gateway. Air France originally introduced the discounts in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion and says it now will be commemorating the anniversary of the war's end. Special Apex fares purchased by March 31, for instance, can be as low as $447 round trip. Info: (800) 237-2747. CLEOPATRIA'S ROUTE
Nabila Tours & Cruises has Nile cruise twofers. A four-day cruise from Luxor to Aswan (or reverse), usually $396 per person/double occupancy May 1-Sept. 30, is now $198. Seven-day cruise is now $282 pp/double occupancy. Info: Nabila Tours & Cruises, 605 Market St., Suite 1310, San Francisco, Calif. 94105; (800) 443-NILE. HANDICAPPED WELCOME
The physically handicapped will find Israel more welcoming. Tour buses have been adapted to handle travelers in wheelchairs; people with visual impairment are encouraged to bring guide dogs; and the needs of other travelers, such as the hearing-impaired, are being met. Among sites that have been improved is Yardenit Baptismal Site on the Jordan River, where a lift takes participants directly into the water. El Al, too, has an improved elevator called the ELALLIFT, which transports physically impaired passengers from the terminal to the aircraft in Tel Aviv. Info: El Al (212) 852-0628. SPRING BREAK AND MORE
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a tourism campaign that includes travel packages featuring 28 hotels in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood. A booklet describing the hotels also has information about attractions and activities in Broward County. Info: (800) 227-8669. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The
Virginian-Pilot/The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804)
446-2904. by CNB