Senior Highlights....

EDUCATIONAL TRIPS & TOURS:

LEARNING ON THE ROAD

For many smart seniors, a trip isn't as much about where they're going as it is about what they'll learn. Rather than a tropical drink on a beach, educational travel is more like a cocktail for the mind.

Typical vacations involve rest and relaxation. Vacationers often return with nice pictures and tans. Educated travelers come home with bigger brains.

Educated vacationers get much more bang for their buck than traditional travelers. They come back with a sense of accomplishment and experience that just sitting on a beach can never provide. They also may return with a nice tax deduction, if their trip involves justified and documented volunteer work.

While a weekend at the beach may not be tax-deductible, a week-long turtle-tagging mission and study on the beaches of Costa Rica can be great for turtles and tax returns. Many volunteer vacations offer tax deductions, but it's best to consult a tax advisor for an opinion before any trip or deduction.

From the boardroom to the back office, the greed of the 80s is being replaced with the niceness of the 90s. Many people are applying this niceness to their vacations by exploring educational and volunteer possibilities.

"There is an educational vacation available for anyone with a desire to travel and learn," says Ann H. Waigand, publisher of The Educated Traveler (800/648-5168), a popular newsletter for people who want more than good tans out of their trips. Each issue is packed with articles, lists, and other information about trips for learning, study, and much more. They also sponsor and participate in many specific trips. It's well worth the subscription price.

One great general guide is Travel and Learn (800/800-8147), now in its third edition. This award-winning Travel Resource Guide features more than 2,000 learning vacation programs with universities, museums, colleges, and groups covering archaeology, arts, languages, music, nature, ecology, adventure, and more. Author Evelyn Kaye says, "You meet people with shared interests and enthusiasm. They really want to find wildflowers, paint landscapes, or try kayaking." Similarly, ShawGuides publishes The Guide to Academic Travel (800/247-6553), with extensive listings of educational trips and tours.

IF SPACE IS NEEDED...I SUGGEST DELETING NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS

Another educational travel bible, if you can find it, is called Learning Vacations. Written by Gerson Eisenberg and last updated in 1986, the book still provides a wealth of information about tours, companies, and learning vacations in general. Now out of print after its fifth edition, look for it in used bookstores or call Peterson's Guides (800/225-0261) for further information.

Everlasting study topics covered in this classic include seminars and workshops on and off campus; journeys far and near; archaeology, science, and history; the great outdoors; arts, crafts, and photography; music, dance, and drama; music, dance, and drama; museums and historical society exhibits and trips; writers' conferences; the world of gastronomy; and senior citizens' programs. As you can see, the world of educational travel is a big one.

Of course, the grandfather (and mother) of educational travel for seniors is Elderhostel (617/426-8056). Founded in 1975, Elderhostel is a non-profit organization that provides learning opportunities for people who are age 55 and older. Elderhostel combines the best traditions of education and hosteling (informal, inexpensive lodgings) in a program exclusively for older adults. Inspired by the youth hostels and folk schools of Europe and guided by the needs of seniors seeking new experiences and personal enrichment, Elderhostel is based on the belief that retirement does not mean withdrawal from meaningful activity and that later years should be viewed as an opportunity to enjoy new challenges.

Elderhostel consists of a network of more than 2,000 educational and cultural institutions. Hosts include colleges and universities, conference centers, state and national parks, museums, theaters, environmental/outdoor education centers, and many others. Their are programs year-round throughout the U.S. and Canada and in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Most programs in the U.S. and Canada last a week, while overseas programs are one to four weeks in duration. Domestic programs focus on a wide ranges of liberal arts and sciences subjects, often drawing on unique local and regional resources and features. Overseas programs have a strong cultural element, offering studies on the host country's history, literature, arts, culture, language, and natural environment. All programs also feature a variety of extracurricular activities, field trips, and cultural events.

More than 300,000 older learners will participate in an Elderhostel program in 1996. That's lots of seniors with bigger brains and more like-minded friends.

If you're looking for more mixed age brackets and a bit more upscale accommodations, you should definitely consider the relatively new Disney Institute (800/496-6337) at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. As with everything else, Disney does educational travel right. Guests can customize their learning vacation from a list of more than 80 programs in cooking, design, entertainment, animation, gardening, lifestyles, interior design, storytelling, performing arts, sport and fitness, and many other special programs (including guest stars and experts).

Washington, DC-based Academic Travel Abroad (202/333-3355), an international group tour operator, is another good resource for trips and information. They serve educational and volunteer organizations like World Wildlife Fund, the California Academy of Sciences, the English-Speaking Union, and many others.

Similarly and more locally, Santa Barbara-based Trans-Pacific Special Interest Tours (805/682-6191) provides a huge list for you to discover domestic and foreign study trips. You can then call for information about specific tours.

If you literally want to take a voyage of discovery, Semester at Sea (800/854-0195) provides a great opportunity for adventurous seniors. Jointly sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh and the Institute for Shipboard Education, the 100-day round-the-world trips allow seniors to take part and add to the educational environment and to develop close relationships with the students and faculty. Once designed for 'traditional' students, the acquisition of a new vessel enabled Semester at Sea to accommodate the great demand from adults. Approximately 60 varied courses are offered on each voyage.

Other excellent organizations include: the American Museum of Natural History in New York; Earthwatch; National Geographic; The Nature Conservancy; the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Oceanic Society Expedtions; the Sierra Club; the Smithsonian; and the World Wildlife Fund. Start with the newsletter and one of the books mentioned above or below, contact several organizations, and then book your educational trip or tour. The world is your classroom.

RESOURCES

PUBLICATIONS

--The Educated Traveler, P.O. Box 220822, Chantilly, VA 22022, 703/471-1063 or 800/648-5168. $48 per year for six    information-packed issues, including their exclusive "Directory of Museum-Sponsored Tours." In January, they're                publishing "The Educated Traveler's Directory of Special Interest Travel."

--Environmental Vacations, Stephanie Ocko, John Muir Publications, P.O. Box 613, Santa Fe, NM 87504,                          505/982-4078 or 800/888-7504.

--The Guide to Academic Travel, ShawGuides, Box 1295, New York, NY 10023, 212/799-6464 or 800/247-6553.

--Learning Vacations (out of print), Gerson G. Eisenberg, Peterson's Guides, 166 Bunn Drive, P.O. Box 2123, Princeton,      NJ 08543-2123, 609/924-5338 or 800/225-0261.

--Travel and Learn, Evelyn Kaye, Blue Penguin Publications, 3031 Fifth St., Boulder, CO 80304, 303/449-8474 or               800/800-8147.

--Volunteer Vacations, Bill McMillon, Chicago Review Press, Independent Publishers Group, 814 N. Franklin St.,                Chicago, IL 60610, 800/888-4741.

ORGANIZATIONS

--Academic Travel Abroad, 1000 16th St. NW, Ste. 350, Washington, DC 20036, 202/785-9000 or 800/556-7896.

--American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024, 212/769-5700 or                800/462-8687.

--Caribbean Conservation Corporation, P.O. Box 2866, Gainesville, FL 32602, 904/373-6441.

--Cousteau Society, 930 West 21st St., Norfolk, VA 23517, 804/523-9335.

--Disney Institute, P.O. Box 10095, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0095, 800/496-6337.

--Earthwatch, 680 Mount Auburn St., P.O. Box 403, Watertown, MA 02272-9104, 617/926-8200.

--Elderhostel, P.O. Box 1959, Wakefield, MA 01880-5959, 617/426-8056.

--Foundation for Field Research, P.O. Box 2010, Alpine, CA 91903, 619/445-9264.

--Friendship Force, Ste. 575, South Tower, One CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303, 404/522-9490 or 800/688-6777.

--Global Volunteers, 375 E. Little Canada Rd., St. Paul, MN 55117, 612/482-1074 or 800/487-1074.

--International Oceanographic Foundation, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne, FL 33149, 305/361-4888.

--Semester at Sea, University of Pittsburgh, 811 William Pitt Union, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, 412/648-7490 or                        800/854-0195.

--Sierra Club Service Outings, 730 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109, 415/776-2211.

--Smithsonian, 490 L'Enfant Plaza, Ste. 4210, Washington, DC 20560, 202/287-3210.

--Trans-Pacific Special Interest Tours, Box 30626, Santa Barbara, CA 93130, 805/682-6191

--University Research Expeditions, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, 415/642-6586.

--Volunteer-The National Center, 1111 N. 19th St., Ste. 500, Arlington, VA 22209, 703/276-0542.

--World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 20037, 202/778-9683.