Pushing the Pedals Through Ireland

Brendan Tours is offering a nine-day cycling tour of Ireland’s scenic west coast on various dates from June 1 through Sept. 30. The tour features daily rides of approximately 35 miles at a pace geared for enjoying the scenery. The itinerary includes the rocky coastline of Galway, the town of Clifden, Kylemore Abbey, Renvyle, Oughterard, the village of Doolin, the towering Cliffs of Moher on the Atlantic Coast and a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle in Shannon.

Cost: $1,558 per person, double occupancy, including a professional cycling tour guide, rental of new touring bikes, luggage transportation and backup vehicle, hotels, some meals, tips and taxes.

Contact: Brendan Tours, 15137 Califa St., Van Nuys, CA 91411; telephone (800) 421-8446.

Furnished South

Charleston, S.C., is the destination of a historic furnishings tour April 4 to 10. The tour will be led by interior design professors Karlene Morris and Jackie Butler. The itinerary includes visits to homes and gardens that have been opened for the Charleston Garden Club’s House and Garden Showcase; evening candlelight tour of 18th century homes; an oyster roast at Drayton Hall; lunch at Middleton Place among the azaleas; and antique shopping.

Cost: $1,450 per person, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations and sightseeing, breakfast daily and some meals.

Contact: Marilyn Litvak, Travel Arrangers of Pasadena, 1194 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91106; tel. (626) 793-1466.

Hill and Dale

Visit merry olde England on a walking and touring excursion that will take participants through national parks, country villages and ancient seaports from April 6 to 18. The tour includes castles, Roman fortresses, steam railways, ancient abbeys and Viking settlements. Guests also visit York, Whitby and Windermere in the Lake District.

Cost: $2,195 per person, double occupancy, including ground transportation, 12 nights’ lodging at manor houses and village inns, daily breakfast and lunch, two dinners, admissions and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Jim Gurnham; tel. (800) 475-0004.

Artistry of Paris

“Paris Arts Backstage With Barbara Isenberg” leaves Los Angeles for France on May 18. The nine-day itinerary offers tours of Paris by foot, boat and coach. Included are museum visits, evening performances and backstage visits with French artists. Special excursions include a backstage tour of the Opera Bastille, plus a day trip to Normandy to Monet’s house at Giverny, listening to Gregorian chants at a 13th century Benedictine abbey and lunch in the countryside. A guided walk through the Marais district includes the Ho^tel Sale, home of the Musee Picasso.

Planned are visits to the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, a Max Ernst exhibition at the Pompidou Centre and a Delacroix exhibition at the Grand Palais.

Cost: $4,397 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, a room at the Ho^tel Napoleon, full breakfast daily, five performances, two dinners, one lunch, all excursions and group transfers.

Contact: Susan Holden, Gilner International Travels, 437 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211; tel. (310) 273-6161.

Taste of Vienna

A cooking and wine-tasting tour to Vienna is being offered by Herzerl Tours April 18 to 25. Three half-day cooking classes will be held at the cooking school Am Judenplatz and will be led by chef Franz Zodl. The wine-tasting excursions take guests to the wine cellars of Mayer Weingut, and Schlumberger and to the oldest Viennese beer brewery in Schwechat. Participants also visit the Schonbrunn Palace, the Imperial Table Setting Museum and a concert featuring the music of Vienna’s favorite musical sons, Mozart, Haydn and Schubert.

Cost: $2,375 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, hotel, some meals and sightseeing.

Contact: Herzerl Tours, 355 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017; tel. (212) 867-4830.

Holy Land Digs

Crow Canyon Archeological Center in Cortez, Colo., will offer an archeological tour, “A Visit to the Holy Land: Israel and Jordan,” April 10 to 25. Archeologists working in the region will guide participants on an exploration of the ancient societies that lived in the copper-rich Holy Land.

On Easter Sunday, April 12, the group will tour the Old City with a local archeologist, including a visit to the Western Wall, the sacred Dome of the Rock on Mt. Moriah and the Herodian Mansions, a completely excavated residential quarter that is 2,000 years old. In Jerusalem, the group will visit the Israeli National Museum, the Shrine of the Book (containing the Dead Sea Scrolls) and Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust.

Participants will visit excavation sites at Caesarea, Megiddo and Tel Dan. In Jordan, stops will be made at Jerash, Madeba, Amman and Petra. At Timna, participants can visit the Egyptian Biblical copper mines or wade in the mineral-rich Dead Sea. A visit to Masada and Jaffa precedes arrival in Tel Aviv, where the trip concludes.

Cost: $4,995 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals, ground transportation and sightseeing. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Crow Canyon Archeological Center, 23390 Road K, Cortez, CO 81321; tel. (800) 422-8975.

Southern Spain

A photography trip to the region of Andalucia, which lies in the southern half of Spain close to northern Africa, runs April 26 to May 4. Guests will visit the mountain ranges that make up Almijara National Reserve. In spring, these mountains are covered in wildflowers and guests can photograph the hilltop villages. Also visited are the intricate palace of the Alhambra in Granada and coastal fishing villages. Participants will attend a flamenco dance performance. Accommodations are in a restored riverside mill in the mountains. A darkroom is available and film will be processed nightly.

Cost: $1,550 per person, double occupancy, includes accommodations, all meals, wine, ground transport and photography classes. Tour does not include air fare.

Contact: France Photogenique, 3920 W. 231st Place, Torrance, CA 90505; tel. (310) 378-2821.

Colonial Mexico

Explore Mexico with a focus on its colonial past on a tour April 17 to 25. Participants will visit San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro, Morelia and Patzcuaro. Each of these towns is filled with Spanish-Moorish architecture as reflected in cathedrals, plazas and palaces. Each night the group will dine in a different colonial courtyard restaurant.

Cost: $1,395 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, airport transfers, eight nights’ hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner, and entrance fees.

Contact: Frank Tysen Private Adventures, 15012 Del Gado Drive, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403; tel. (818) 501-4100.

Tribute to Diana

A trip to England is being offered by Historic Tours from Aug. 20 to Sept. 1, coinciding with the first anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Guests will attend a Hyde Park concert in her honor. Elton John, the Rolling Stones and Sting are scheduled to perform.

Lodging in London will be at Park Court Hotel, set in terraced gardens overlooking Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

Guests will go to the nearby Cotswolds region.

Guided tours include Hidcote Manor Garden, Sudeley Castle and Garden, Althorp, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Spencer House and a River Thames dinner cruise.

Cost: $3,306 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from LAX, hotel accommodations, full breakfasts, two dinners, motor coach, all entrance fees, taxes and porterage.

Contact: Don Eslinger, Historic Tours, 16142 Woodstock Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; tel. (714) 846-9595.

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