Three of us from California went on a “Discover New Zealand” trip with Explore, March 2-30, 2008. We booked through Adventure Center in June ’07 based on the published brochure and website price.

In October ’07 we were advised that the cost would be an additional $750, a 15% increase. We already had secured our airfare and paid our deposit as well as bought insurance and felt we had no choice but to pay it.

Our guide was the owner of the local tour company, Antipodean Explorer...

Here are 10 highlights from a 3-week excursion through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the Kalahari Desert and Victoria Falls, Zambia, with Great Adventure People (225 Franklin St., 26th Fl., Boston, MA 02110; 800/676-4941, www.gapadventures.com). The land price for our Jan. 30-Feb. 19, 2007, tour was $1,695 plus $400 local payment.

1. South Africa’s fascinating Cederberg Mountains, near the Namibian border, with their unique sandstone formations.

2. The Namib Desert of...

Spanish Heritage Tours, now part of Club ABC Tours (Bloomfield, NJ; 800/456-5050, www.clubabc.com), offers an 8-day trip to Spain’s Canary Islands which I took March 30-April 7, 2008.

At $1,800 single occupancy from New York ($1,679 double occupancy), the package offered a choice of hotels.

I stayed at the Iberostar Las Dalias in Tenerife Sur, and I cannot praise the service or staff enough. The reception desk was very helpful, booking tours for me to the islands of La Gomera...