Search for bear by air, sea in Kodiak
Search for Alaskan brown bears in the rugged wilderness of Katmai National Park on an eight-day nature expedition by floatplane, sea cruiser and kayak.
The July 31 trip, which will be led by animal behaviorist JoAnne Simerson of the San Diego Zoo, will be based aboard the 65-foot Coastal Explorer.
“I’ve never experienced brown bear viewing as I have in this incredible wilderness,” Simerson said. “You may see 20 to 40 different bears in any given day: huge males, sub-adults play-fighting, females teaching their cubs how to dig and eat clams, bears racing through the streams catching salmon.”
The trip begins and ends in Kodiak, Alaska, where participants gather before catching a floatplane to rendezvous with the Coastal Explorer at Katmai National Park and Preserve. While on the Explorer, daily trips ashore are made on a 25-foot skiff. Kayaks also are available.
Cost: $4,110 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $60), including two nights in a lodge in Kodiak, five nights aboard ship in bunks, most meals, guided excursions and floatplane transfers. Airfare is not included.
Contact: Acacia Travel, San Diego; (800) 243-6996, www.acaciatravel.com.
California’s Yosemite Park by rail: Get into training on a four-day Amtrak and Sugar Pine Railway tour to Yosemite National Park.
The June 20 trip, which departs from most California Amtrak cities, will include a visit to the Mariposa Groves to see Giant Sequoias, a tour of Yosemite and lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel. The Sugar Pine tour is a four-mile ride on a steam train on a narrow-gauge line south of the park.
Cost: $479 per person (single surcharge $190) with a $199 fee for children 2 to 13 when sharing a room with two adults. Included are round-trip rail and bus transportation, three nights at Yosemite View Lodge and three meals.
Contact: Farr Discovery Rail Tours, Santa Fe, N.M.; (800) 225-8728, www.farrrailtours.com.
Costa Rica’s diverse geography: Explore the volcanoes, beaches and rain forests of Costa Rica on 13-day summer tours.
The tours, planned July 7 and 21, include visits to Arenal Volcano, Manuel Antonio National Park and Tortuguero.
Cost: $1,295 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $300), including accommodations, most meals, and activities. International air transportation is not included.
Contact: Tropical Eco-Tours, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; (888) 900-1326, www.tropicalecotours.com.
Follow flotilla Along The Mississippi: Join the revelry along the upper Mississippi River on a summer tour that will accompany the Grand Excursion Flotilla, the largest parade of steamboats and paddleboats to travel up the Mississippi in more than a century.
The nine- to 16-day bus tour will visit various cities along the route of the flotilla as it steams upriver from the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The tour also will visit the river’s headwaters in Itasca State Park, in Minnesota. The tour begins June 23 or June 30, depending on the length of the trip.
Cost: Prices range from $970 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $285) to $1,895 per person (single surcharge $420). Included are ground transportation, accommodations and some meals. Airfare is not included.
Contact: STEP Inc. Tours, Palos Verdes, Calif.; (310) 377-1601.