If you’re in a mood to get...

If you’re in a mood to get away for the holidays but can’t afford to travel far, carolers are tuning up at Christmas House Bed & Breakfast in Rancho Cucamonga. This is an old Victorian mansion set in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Red and green stained-glass windows. Seven fireplaces on which to hang your stocking. A parlor for snoozing and schmoozing. This year for the first time, proprietress Janice Ilsley has engaged a group of performers to enact Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Premieres Dec. 24.

This Queen Anne-style home dates from 1904. Period antiques, a library containing dozens of books. Afternoon tea served in the parlor. Ilsley is selling gift certificates for a night at Christmas House B&B.; The certificates come packaged with a gift basket of fruit, cheese, wine. Rates: Sunday through Thursday, $39/$79. Others: $55/$115.

Christmas House Bed & Breakfast, 9240 Archibald Ave., Rancho Cucamonga 91730 (about 40 miles east of Los Angeles). Telephone (714) 980-6450.

New Hampshire Christmas: At the other end of the nation, the proprietors of Christmas Farm Inn in New Hampshire are gearing up for an old-fashioned holiday. The fireplace is lit. Snow is guaranteed. Sleigh rides, ski touring, ice skating. Hot soup served in the dining room and a harpist to entertain guests. The hosts will pack you a lunch for an all-day outing. They’ll also send you off in a horse-drawn sleigh. Sydna and Bill Zeliff were named “Innkeepers of the Year.” Their inn is about as near as you’re likely to get to a living holiday card.

Christmas Farm Inn, Box CC, Jackson Village, N.H. 63846. Telephone (603) 383-4313. Rates: $68/$90.

Sonoma Valley: In Northern California’s Sonoma Valley, the historic El Dorado Hotel has reopened under new ownership (same people who operate Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley and San Ysidro Ranch at Montecito). A first-class act. Goose down comforters on the beds, terry-cloth robes for the guests. A heated swimming pool. The hotel’s 27 rooms face a Spanish courtyard and the town square. The restaurant is a sister to the highly acclaimed Ristoranti Piatti in Yountville. The original adobe where the hotel stands was built in 1843 by Don Salvador Vallejo (brother of the legendary Mexican general).

El Dorado Hotel, 405 1st St. W., Sonoma, Calif. 95476. Call (707) 996-3030. Rates: $120/$130 plus 8% city tax. A retreat for the holidays.

Napa Valley: A few miles from Sonoma, the Napa Valley Wine Train continues to draw big crowds. Three-hour journeys between Napa and St. Helena. Passengers sample varietal wines and meals served in a dining car (circa 1917) that once accommodated passengers on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. A choice of brunch, lunch or dinner excursions. Round-trip fare, $25. Brunch or lunch costs $20, dinner $45. This is a slick operation. A couple of parlor cars, a dining car and a kitchen car. Mahogany paneling. Brass fixtures. Etched glass. All the elegance of early 20th-Century railroading. Departures from the depot at 1275 McKinstory St.

Reservations required. Telephone (707) 253-2111 or toll-free (800) 552-4142.

Ski Train: In February a ski train will begin operation between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Passengers will board Friday afternoon at Union Station, arrive Saturday morning in Salt Lake City. On these overnight trips, skiers will be accommodated in private compartments. A choice of bedrooms or roomettes. Bedrooms feature daytime seating for two, the roomettes provide seating for one. A full crew (stewards, waiters, bartenders, a chef). Meals will be freshly prepared. None of the plastic and microwave routine. It’s not cheap. The fare, $479, includes the train to Salt Lake City, meals, an open bar and a return by air to Los Angeles. The train will operate weekends during February and March.

Details by dialing toll-free (800) 274-8400.

On the Road: Richard Saul Wurzman has produced a U.S. road atlas that’s organized by region rather than alphabetically by state. Divides the nation into 250-by-250-mile grids. By using Wurzman’s “USAtlas” it’s unnecessary to possess a doctorate in cartography to get a fix on Seattle or San Francisco. Or Savannah or Schenectady. Wurzman is the same guidester who created the city Access guides. (In his “USAtlas” he reserves the margins for travel trivia.) No table of contents. Just a cover map that slices up the nation into numbered grids. Pick a number and turn to the page. It’s as simple as that.

Published by Prentice-Hall: $12.95, paperback; $29.95, hardcover. Available at your bookstore.

Adventure Travel: Free copies of a 92-page catalogue are being mailed by Wilderness Travel of Berkeley, the highly acclaimed adventure specialist. Seventy-seven itineraries, more than 200 departure dates. A wide range of opportunities. Camel safaris in Rajasthan. Journeys to the headwaters of the Amazon. A trek in Tibet to Everest’s North Face. Dozens more. Prices: $990 to $3,390.

Copies from Wilderness Travel, 801-P Allston Way, Berkeley, Calif. 94710, (800) 247-6700.

Off-season Italy: Maiellano Tours is programming journeys through Italy that feature free, unlimited mileage rental cars. Three nights at deluxe/first-class hotels start at $219 per person with two free car days. To qualify, two persons must travel together, flying round trip from the United States with Alitalia. Packages include accommodations, breakfasts, the rental car. Hotels in more than 20 cities, including Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice. For vacationers who already have booked their hotels, Maiellano Tours is offering rental cars for as little as $26 a day or $150 a week.

Your travel agent or Maiellano Tours, 441 Lexington Ave., Suite 1002, New York 10164-0241. Telephone toll-free (800) 223-1616.

Ireland by Bus/Rail: It’s called the Emerald Isle Card, a new bus/rail pass that’s good during 1990 for travel in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Unlimited journeys on trains operated by Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways, plus long-distance and city bus services in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford. This is a first for Ireland--one ticket that takes in all four provinces. Cost for an eight-day pass (good over a 15-day period) is $142 for adults, $75 for children. A 15-day pass (valid for a 30-day period) costs $240 for adults, $125 for children.

Details from CIE Tours. Call toll-free (800) 243-8687.

Travel Gadgets: Here’s another one of those companies that specializes in travel gadgets: pocket-size translators, currency converters, folding travel irons, passport holders, voltage converters, baggage tags, luggage carts, money belts, portable door alarms, road atlas/maps. These and dozens of other items. For a catalogue, write to Before You Go, P.O. Box 931796, Hollywood, Calif. 90093-1796, or call (213) 624-1199.

Reader Recommendations

California--Hal Jones, Los Angeles: “A wonderful new bed and breakfast in San Diego, The Quince Street Trolley, P.O. Box 7654, San Diego 92107. A charming early 1900s trolley transformed into an intimate suite with a splendid view. Rates: $65 single, $75 double.”

Brazil--Gustavo Iglesias, Laguna Niguel: “Had one of the best meals of my life at a little Italian seafood restaurant, Le Streghe Rio, Rua Prudente de Morais-129, Rio de Janeiro.”

England--Dan Connelly, Newport Beach: Praise for a guide in England who specializes in tours of Scotland, England’s Lake District/York/London. Write to Gareth Edwards, 101 Claremont Road, Salford, Manchester M67QF, England. “Experienced, witty, a true scholar of history.”