WORLD-WISE.

YOSEMITE IN WINTER: Now that the summer crowds are gone, Yosemite affords visitors some breathing room - and Tenaya Lodge, just two miles from the south entrance to the park on Highway 41, offers low winter rates. From Nov. 2 through April 4, two-night midweek packages cost $69, with rates starting at $99 on weekends. Guests can enjoy cross-country and downhill skiing, ice skating and snowshoeing plus sightseeing. Camp Tenaya, for kids 5 to 12 years old, offers supervised activities that include nature hikes, arts and crafts, and pizza parties. Information: [phone].

SHOPPING, SHOPPING: London's five-star Royal Garden Hotel, overlooking Hyde Park, is luring Christmas - and after-Christmas - shoppers with special room rates, available from Dec. 16 through Jan. 16. A three-night shopper's package costs $880 and includes accommodations for two, breakfast, chauffeured car, service charges and taxes; a five-night package costs $1,300. Information: [phone].

YEAR-ROUND RUSSIA: Norvista's ``Russian Price Break,'' an eight-day package that includes sightseeing in Moscow and St. Petersburg, is offered this winter and next spring. Rates vary with departure date and category of hotel selected, but costs start at $899 per person, double occupancy. Included are round-trip air fare from New York, some meals, sightseeing tours, a circus or folkloric performance in each city, overnight rail between the two cities and service charges. Tours leave Mondays year-round. Information: [phone].

VISIT SANTA: A visit from Santa Claus and his reindeer on Christmas Eve, rides in sleighs and a snowy safari with Siberian huskies are featured in the Christmas package in Finnish Lapland offered by Norvista. The six-day package (Dec. 22-27) is based in Rovaniemi, capital of Lapland, where tradition says Santa begins his annual round-the-world trip on Christmas Eve. The Christmas package costs $1,899 per person, double occupancy, with lower rates for children; included are round-trip Finnair flights from New York, hotels and transfers, most meals and saunas. Information: [phone].

CHRISTMAS CRUISE: A traditional Norwegian Christmas, complete with songs around the Christmas tree and a Scandinavian feast, highlights a 10-day Bergen Line package (Dec. 20-29) that includes a six-night voyage on the Nordkapp from Bergen to Kirkenes, above the Arctic Circle. Double-occupancy costs range from $2,038 to $2,328 per person; included are round-trip air fare from New York, most meals, and hotels and shipboard accommodations. Information: [phone].

SET TO TRAVEL: Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels will conduct a special ``Traveling Around the World'' workshop at 11 a.m. Nov. 2 at the Hostelling International Travel Centre, 1434 Second St., Santa Monica. Topics covered will be health precautions, necessary documents, arranging for money and mail, and working along the way on a trip around the world. Admission is $20. Information: [phone].

HEAD TO VEGAS: The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip offers a bed-and-breakfast package Sunday through Thursday through Dec. 24, subject to availability. It includes a deluxe room and breakfast for two from $29 a night. Information: [phone].

RIVER TRIP: See Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas from a unique perspective on a Black Canyon River Raft tour, which floats passengers along a 12-mile stretch of the Colorado River on 40-passenger, pontoon-style boats. The daylong trip, which includes lunch, leaves daily from Boulder City from Feb. 1 through Nov. 30. Trips end at Willow Beach Marina, and passengers return by bus to their departure point. Cost is $74.95 for adults and $35 for children age 5-12; children 4 and younger ride free. Information: [phone].

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