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GET SMART: LEARNING VACATIONS
1. Let's Get Cookin'
Caribbean Culinary Tours are perfect for travelers who want to learn the art of local flavors while enjoying a fun-in-the-sun vacation. Dominican chef Freda Gore leads groups of up to 10 participants in classes on Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and St. Lucia, where students stay - and cook - in large villas. Budding Barefoot Contessas will learn to "cook authentic Caribbean foods the way Caribbean people cook," with morning classes, market visits and demos by island chefs. Afternoons are the stuff of catamaran sails and beach picnics. Six- and seven-day packages include accommodations, outings and all meals. 
Barbados Culinary Tour, December 4 through 10, is $3,999 per person, double occupancy; $1,299 per person, double occupancy, for December 3 to 6. 931-334-1731; caribbeanculinarytours.com
2. Focused on Haiti
Haiti's spectacular scenery and rich cultural heritage get obscured by its economic and political conditions, but photographer Carole Devillers has a different perspective. On her Adventure Photo Expeditions, she offers shutterbugs of all levels the opportunity to safely see and enjoy the country. The former photo correspondent for Reuters in Haiti guides groups of no more than six on a nine-day journey beginning in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and continuing to the waterfalls of Saut d'Eau, site of a voodoo pilgrimage that attracts thousands of Haitians every year. Then participants fly to the beach resort of Cormier and Cap Haitien, where they'll turn their lenses to the stunning fort La Citadelle Laferrière. "Haiti is a like a rough diamond that needs to be chiseled to reveal its beautiful substance," says Devillers. "It's not your typical tourist destination, and therein lies its uniqueness."
The 2010 tour is $2,850 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, transportation and meals; dates to be confirmed. 505-232-2231; adventurephotoexpeditions.com
3. Buen Provecho!
We've been salivating over the curriculum at Los Dos cooking school in Mérida, capital of the state of Yucatán. What better way to complement a vacation at a Cancún or Riviera Maya resort (four hours' drive away) than by learning how to whip up a few Yucatecan specialties for yourself? Students at chef David Sterling's school will learn the basics of the region's characteristic fiery, smoky cuisine in classes that range from a one-day Taste of Yucatán to three- or seven-day workshops, which include excursions into the countryside. Classes are small, with an average of six students, and are held in the chef's private home, a restored Victorian mansion in central Mérida.
Prices range from $100 per person for one-day classes to $2,745 per person, all-inclusive, for seven-day workshops. 212-400-1642; los-dos.com
4. Deep Eco-tourism
If you're looking to dig a little deeper on your next Caribbean trip, try one of Global Exchange's "reality tours," offering educational and enriching experiences that are fun too. Groups of between five and 10 participants join the Eco-tourism and Sustainability on the Caribbean Coast tour to Costa Rica, the perennial "it girl" of eco-tourism. A bilingual university professor guides participants through a variety of experiences, from field seminars on sustainability and development to canopy tours in the Braulio Carrillo Nation
al Park; tours are also timed to coincide with the hatching of the green turtles in Tortuguero National Park.
The 2010 tour runs from July 21 to 30 and is $1,575 per person. 800-497-1994; globalexchange.org
5. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
Wouldn't you feel like a rock star if you told your friends you just got home from cutting some tracks in Jamaica? Live the dream at Port Antonio, Jamaica's Geejam, where the stylish resort boasts not only seven sleek suites and villas but also a professional studio where No Doubt and India.Arie have recorded. Start with a creative meeting with the resort's recording team and go from there; you can play your own instruments, hire musicians or sing to a prerecorded background. Groupies and hangers-on are strictly BYO.
Nightly room rates plus day rate for the studio rental from $1,895. 876-993-7000; islandoutpost.com/geejam
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