TRAVEL TIPS

Summer adventure in winter. White-water rafters take note: Sobek Expeditions, which runs Chile's Bio-Bio River each winter, offers a 14-day travel package including transportation to the river trip's put-in, all meals on the river, group camping equipment and river gear, and eight full days on one of the world's most scenic and adventurous rivers. Expeditions depart from Santiago, Chile, on Jan. 10, Jan. 27, Feb. 8, and Feb. 22. For information, including easy alternatives and extensions to the Bio-Bio trip, contact Sobek, PO Box 333, Angels Camp, CA 95222. tel: (209) 736-4524. Family vacations abroad. Busy families who like to travel together may want to look into the overseas trips offered by the American Institute for Foreign Study. The two-week escorted tours head for England/Scotland, Switzerland/Austria, Kenya, China, and Australia/New Zealand. The programs are planned with the family in mind and include activities children enjoy, such as climbing castle battlements, tasting fresh chocolate, visiting salt mines and dungeons, peering into royal doll houses, and riding boats, trains, and cable cars. Parents can visit museums or attend concerts while children participate in their own activities. Tennis and swimming, as well as pickup frisbee and soccer games for the children, are among the recreational opportunities. For information, write to American Institute for Foreign Study, Dept. P-2, 102 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 or tel: (203) 869-9090.

World's richest road race. Top male and female runners from around the world are expected to gather on the Indonesian island of Bali on Feb. 8 to compete in the ``Bob Hasan Bali 10K'' road race. A total of $130,000 in prize money, the largest amount ever offered for a 10-kilometer event, will be split among the top three men and three women who finish the 6.2-mile course. Before the world-class runners begin, any registered recreational runner will be able to compete for a special award. Garuda-Indonesian Airways will be offering runner/vacationers a tour package. For more race information, contact Rudy Chapa, 1 Erieview Plaza, Suite 1300, Cleveland, OH 44104. For travel information, contact Dan Gleason, Agency South, PO Box 723313, Atlanta, GA 30339, tel: (404) 433-3293.

Florida State Fair. If you're looking for economical family entertainment under a warm sun, Florida has the answer. ``These Are the Good Old Days'' is the theme for its state fair this year, Feb. 4-15. The entertainment lineup includes a circus, ice show, lumberjack show, pig race, big band bonanza, polo match, and country singers, as well as competitions for the `best' of everything from cakes and preserves to fine arts and championship livestock. Advance tickets to the fair will be $2 for adults, $1 for children 5 to 12. Special tour packages are available with Busch Gardens. For more information, call 800-345-FAIR.

Free reservation service. Travelers to Orlando, Fla., and its popular ``worlds'' can call Orlando Central Reservations for detailed assistance from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, at no charge. This service is in touch with over 40 hotels, motels, and condominiums in the area and can usually find space, even when callers to the more popular resorts or hotels have been told there are no vacancies. The toll-free number is 800-322-2220. In Florida call (305) 291-4767.

Island rendezvous. Want to get away to a winter paradise of sapphire waters and pink sand? Until March 31, Bermuda is offering ``Rendezvous Select'' four-day vacation packages originating in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore. Prices range from $269 to $499 for hotel, airfare, and transportation to and from your hotel. Choose from 36 places to stay: hotels, cottage colonies, guest houses, housekeeping apartments - many of these offering complimentary amenities such as special meal plans, advantageous golf arrangements, and even extra nights at the basic package price. See your travel agent for details.

Art auction tour to England. For the art connoisseur, there's a unique tour to Great Britain sponsored by Sotheby's, the prestigious auction house. Highlights of the tour include special visits, lectures, receptions, behind-the-scenes tours of auction houses, and, of course, auctions at Sotheby's. The program, set for May 2-17, features deluxe accommodations for 10 nights at the Park Lane Hotel in London and two-night stays each at the 18th-century mansion of the Viscount and Viscountess of Brentford and the 12,000-acre estate of the Earl of March. A lavish dinner at Maxim's de Paris Restaurant in London and other banquets are planned. For further information, contact InterContinental Travel Systems, 4133 Taylor St., San Deigo, CA 92110; call 800-428-7462 or 800-457-9515 (in California).

Stay-put touring in Europe. Two new 1987 tours may be just the ticket for people who like to sleep in the same bed each night. Each includes a one-week stay in a luxury hotel, either in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or the Tyrol region of Austria. Day trips on the Luxembourg stay include scenic train rides to West Germany's Mosel Valley, Brussels, and Strasbourg, and a drive through the picturesque dutchy itself. Day excursions from Buchen in the Tyrol explore Merano in the Italian Alps and the village of Oberammergau, along with scenic trains rides to Salzburg and Vaduz, in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein. Six departures to each location are planned between May and September ($1,498 for Luxembourg; $1,398 for the Tyrol). For more information, contact Maupintour, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Lawrence, KS 66046, or tel: (913) 843-1211 or 800-255-4266.

Searching for King Arthur - on foot. Tracking the legendary Arthur is part of the fun of a new walking tour in England's West Country. Did he exist? How does the legend fit in with the evidence? The quest takes the hikers along the Cornish Coastal Path to Tintagel in search of Arthur's castle, over Bodmin Moor to Dozemary Pool looking for the Excalibur, and across the Somerset levels to Glastonbury hunting for Avalon. At the end of each day's trek is a comfortable hotel with dinner waiting. All the walks are fully guided and limited to 18 persons per group. Contact the English Wanderer, 13 Wellington Court, Spencers Wood, Reading RG7 1BN, England; tel: (44) 0734-882515.