Pack the Paella Pan and Savor the Coast of Spain

The cuisines of coastal regions of Spain will be explored on an 11-day trip that will visit Barcelona, the Basque region and Galicia. The group will learn to cook paella and other seafood dishes, survey the appetizer-size delicacies known as tapas and visit one of San Sebastian’s private cooking clubs.

The tour, operated by International Dining Adventures of Seattle, will take place from Sept. 5 to 15. Ernesto Pino, who studied cooking at the Instituto Culinario de Granada, will be the guide. In Galicia, members will explore the northwestern region of Spain. There will be time for shopping, museums and visiting historic sites.

Cost: $2,990 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations in four-star hotels based on double occupancy, air fare within Spain and most meals and activities. A shorter version of the trip, visiting just Barcelona and the Basque region, runs from Sept. 5 to 12 for $2,490 per person. Contact: International Dining Adventures; telephone (800) 447-6O8O or (206) 281-8880.

Four-Wheeled Route

Rev up your four-wheel drive on a 250-mile guided tour of the 1849 wagon route used by thousands of Gold Rush pioneers. The route goes from Imlay, Nev. (an old mining town), to Alturas, Calif. The three-day tour leaves July 19. Led by experienced guides, participants will see desert and mountain scenery and make stops at historical spots where pioneer names are carved on rocks and wheel tracks from covered wagons can be seen. Members will camp two nights on the site of an historic fort and hot springs. The tour is insured and operated under a Bureau of Land Management recreational permit. It is limited to 25 vehicles.

Cost: $250 per person, including all meals. Participants need to bring a tent and sleeping bag. Contact: Ed Dunkley, 9401 Golden Drive, Orangevale, CA 95662; tel. (916) 988-4690; or Warner Anderson, 3750 Otto Way, Auburn, CA 95602; tel. (916) 878-8833.

Amish Country

The Amish Traditions Tour in Lancaster County, Penn., runs spring through fall. The six-day excursion includes a visit to an Amish home, where the group is invited to have a meal and select from a variety of quilts and crafts for purchase.

The tour also visits the Ephrata Cloister, the 18th century religious society best known for its original art and music. Additional attractions include visits to the Chester County Historical Museum and the Historic Rock Ford, nearby Valley Forge National Historic Park, Brandywine Valley, Independence National Historic Park and the Longwood Gardens.

The group’s size is limited to 20. The tour begins and ends in Philadelphia.

Cost: $745 per person, double occupancy, including most meals, accommodations and ground transportation. Air fare to Pennsylvania is additional. Contact: Lang’s Great Escapes, 2344 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061; tel. (415) 369-1798.

French Antiques

Antique Expeditions in Provence is offering six- and 11-day trips on several dates this month through October, with a limit of eight adults per tour.

The area in and around Vaucluse, at the foot of the Luberon Mountains, is where the tour is concentrated, traveling as far north as Orange and south to the Mediterranean. Guests will go antique hunting in the hamlet of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgues. They will also visit Arles to see its Roman ruins and its weekly market. Antiquing tours include excursions to regional flea markets and antique shops, while mixing in the local sights of Marseilles, Cassis and the Camargue along the coast, and Aix-en-Provence, Les Baux de Provence, Forqualquier, Aubagne, Aigues-Mortes and Moustiers-Ste.-Marie. Shipping and customs can be arranged for any purchases made.

Cost: $2,695 for the six-day trip and $3,595 for the 11-day trip, per person, double occupancy, including air fare from LAX to Marseilles via Paris, B&B; lodging, transportation and most meals and wine. Contact: Aladdin Travel; tel. (818) 843-8411.

Maritime Provinces

Corliss Tours of Monrovia is offering its Canadian Maritime Provinces Tour, with visits to the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. This 13-day escorted tour begins and ends in Maine and departs on Aug. 10.

After arriving in Bangor, Maine, the tour goes by motor coach to Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick. One of the attractions visited here is Kings Landing Historical Settlement, a pre-1870 village. The Northumberland Strait is crossed over on the new nine-mile bridge to Prince Edward Island, the second Maritime province. Guests visit the Anne of Green Gables Home, from the popular book by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and can get tickets to the “Anne of Green Gables” play at the Confederation Center of the Arts in Charlottetown, the provincial capital.

Cape Breton Island is reached by ferry boat across the Canso Causeway. In Nova Scotia, the third Maritime province, highlights include the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, the rugged Cabot Trail, a drive through Truro to see high ocean tides, Halifax sightseeing, the much-photographed Peggy’s Cove and the shipbuilding town of Lunenburg. Guests return to Portland, Maine, via the Scotia Prince, an 11-hour voyage across the Atlantic.

Cost: $1,559 per person, double occupancy, including first-class hotel accommodations, private chartered motor coach, 17 meals, admissions, baggage handling and the services of a full-time director. Contact: Corliss Tours, 436 W. Foothill Blvd., Monrovia, CA 91016; tel. (800) 456-5717.

Sea Ranch Building

Architects Mario Violich and Mark Billy will lead a summer travel and study tour of Sea Ranch, Calif., north of San Francisco, sponsored by UCLA Extension’s Landscape Architecture Program. This master-planned community, which integrates residential dwellings in a natural and open space, is a good opportunity for artists and naturalists to sketch the scenery. The theme of the three-night tour is “Freehand Analysis Sketching at Sea Ranch.”

Participants will spend three days in the condominium of the architect of Sea Ranch. During the stay, participants can analyze the layout, make sketches and interview the residents.

Cost: $440 per person. Kitchen facilities are available to prepare your own meals. Participants will need to make their own travel arrangements. Sea Ranch is approximately 10 hours away by car from Los Angeles. Contact: Landscape Architecture Program, UCLA Extension, 10995 Le Conte Ave., Room 414, Los Angeles, CA 90024; tel. (310) 825-9414.

Southern Morocco

The Tribal Markets of Southern Morocco, Oct. 18 to 30, is geared for travelers who like hunting for treasures while mingling with local people. Participants explore the ancient bazaars of Tiznit, Zagora, Fez, Rabat and Marrakech. Berber beads, silver and copper ware are found here, and snake charmers and jugglers entertain in the markets.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, deluxe hotels for 11 nights, most meals, guides, entrance fees and ground transportation. Call Diana Altman, Fresh Pond Travel Special Interest Tours; tel. (800) 645-0001 or (617) 476-1142.

Irish Matchmaking

An eight-day trip for singles to the Irish Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland, departs New York Sept. 25 and returns Oct. 2. The festival has been a custom in Lisdoonvarna for generations. There have been many successful matches, and a lot of good old Irish fun--lively days and hectic nights of dining and dancing until the wee hours. The Irish Matchmaking Festival is now one of the biggest singles event of its kind in Europe.

After spending Friday and Saturday in Lisdoonvarna, guests will travel to other scenic areas such as the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Killarney, the Dingle Peninsula, Blarney and Dublin.

Cost: $1,795 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, six nights’ lodging, full Irish breakfast daily, four dinners, professional tour guide, service charges and taxes. Contact: Frances Reps, Presidential Worldwide Travel, 2411 Ridge Route Drive, Suite 130, Laguna Hills, CA 92653; tel. (800) 350-8151.

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