If you've ever yearned to take an Amazon River tour, your riverboat may have just come in. International Expeditions takes $1,000 off the price of a 10-day river expedition in Peru that offers a close-up look at wildlife, the rain forest and village life along the renowned South American river. 

The Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show, the biggest travel show in the West, rolls into the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend, with more than 500 exhibitors and plenty to see and do.

Travelers are being offered many ways to contribute to the earthquake and tsunami relief effort in Japan. Some airline and hotel rewards programs will allow members to exchange their points for charity donations.

At least two major hotels on the western side of Hawaii’s Big Island remained closed this week after being damaged by ocean surges from the tsunami spawned by Japan’s March 11 earthquake. Some others were mopping up.

There's a very tall animal in this photo. Do you see it? Look at the center and you'll spot a giraffe watching Times reader "rdabk96."

• Your Scene: Morocco's tree-climbing goats

• Your Scene: The Monastery at Petra, Jordan

Here’s an alert for motorists headed to the Big Sur area in Central California: California Highway 1 is shut down for about two miles between the historic Bixby Bridge on the south (about 13 miles south of Carmel) and Palo Colorado Road on the north because of a landslide. Detours can take hours.

• Robinson Jeffers' Big Sur

• Highway 1 with kids: 10 fabulous pit stops between Los Angeles and San Francisco

The U.S. government is arranging charter flights to evacuate Americans from Japan, according to a message issued Thursday by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. The action came after the State Department upgraded its advisory on Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis from an alert to a warning that said Americans in Japan "should consider departing."

What is being called France's first major exhibition in nearly 30 years on Impressionist painter Edouard Manet will open April 5 at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Omni Hotels & Resorts is offering a three-tier discount for April stays at its hotels across the country. The deal is good at 40 sites -- from Amelia Island, Fla., to New York City -- but you'll need to act quickly because it expires Sunday.

On March 17, 1861, Italy was unified and declared a kingdom under Victor Emmanuel II. In honor of this 150th anniversary, we've scoured Los Angeles Times travel stories, reader photos and the Web for photos of destinations across the country.

Judging from this photo taken by Los Angeles Times reader "reza_239," this place is a little run down. No wonder, considering that it dates back to ancient times -- though I'd say it's not too shabby. In its day, the Roman Forum was the most important of the city's forums, serving as a place of religious worship, public meetings and government activity. Various caesars treaded on these hallowed grounds.

• Your Scene: Highlights of readers' travel photos

• Travel photos from Times readers

With some of Japan’s nuclear reactors emitting radiation after damage from last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami, travelers may wonder: Will their travel insurance policy cover them if they cancel trips because of radiation contamination in the region?

• Photos: Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis

• Radiation hampers efforts to restore power to nuclear plant in Japan

As people around the world keep an eye on the radiation escaping from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan, two experts offer differing views on the danger posed by the radiation that American fliers are exposed to when they walk through whole-body scanners in U.S. airports.

Whether you long to savor truffles or New Mexico scenery, this deal offers an April getaway to Santa Fe.