Q and A
Scuba Diving in Belize
Q.
I am interested in obtaining information about Belize, with special emphasis on scuba diving. -- Nina Garfinkel, New York, N.Y.
A. To some extent, your choice of a way to scuba dive in Belize depends on your own enthusiasm and how much discomfort you are willing to tolerate, or how many amenities you desire. In Belize, an independent Commonwealth nation once known as British Honduras, both packages that offer live-aboard-a-ship arrangements and others based at resorts are offered. One source for either kind of package is See and Sea Travel Service, 50 Francisco Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94133; (415) 434-3400 or (800) 348-9778. For those who wish to stay aboard a ship, the 110-foot Belize Aggressor, which holds 18 people, departs from Belize City every Saturday, and returns the following Saturday. The price, not including air fare, is $1,395 a person. If you prefer to stay at a scuba resort, See and Sea represents three, from 20 to 60 miles offshore, at rates from $1,950 to $1,999 a person. These rates also apply from Saturday to Saturday and do not include air fare. Similar packages are offered by Tropical Adventures, 111 Second North, Seattle, Wash. 98109; telephone (206) 441-3483 or (800) 247-3483.
Another source of information and reservations, but only for single travelers from 25 to 55, is Gallivanting, the Club for Adventure, at 515 East 79th Street, Suite 20F, New York, N.Y. 10021; telephone (212) 988-0617 or (800) 933-9699. Representatives of the Belize Aggressor may also be contacted directly at Post Office Box 9182, Treasure Island, Fla. 33740; telephone (800) 654-3483 or (813) 367-1952. More information, and the names of additional operators, is available from the Belize Tourist Board, 415 Seventh Avenue, 18th floor, New York, N.Y. 10001; telephone (212) 268-8798 or (800) 624-0686. Indians and Amish
Q.
Are there any areas of New York State where Native American and Quaker or Amish working communities (not just museums) can be visited? -- Elizabeth Cuesta, Marlboro, N.Y.
A.  A spokeswoman for the Division of Tourism of the New York State Department of Economic Development had no information on working Indian communities that could be visited, but did point out that Salamanca, N.Y., in the western part of the state about 10 miles northwest of Olean, was partly inhabited by Senecas. The town rests on Indian land, the 22,000-acre Allegany Indian Reservation, and is leased from tribe.
A little-known community of about 5,000 Amish is also in western New York State, around Cherry Creek, about an hour and a half's drive south from Buffalo and only 18 miles from Lake Erie. A map for self-guided tours is available at a local restaurant, the Grainery, and either motorcoach tours with a guide or tours with a guide in your own car can be arranged. The three-hour tour with the guide in your car is $45, and lunch or dinner must be taken in the Grainery, which is in a 100-year-old barn. Bus tour rates, for groups, are set by the individual companies; information and reservations from the restaurant: (716) 287-3500.
The Amish in the area are mostly farmers, but there are also shops selling such items as leather belts, wallets, wooden toys and other handmade craft objects. Quilts, pillows and similar household goods are generally sold directly from individual homes. Seeing Flowers in 1992
Q.
Where and when will the next International Flower Expo take place? -- Janice Kelly, Westport, Conn.
A.  Two International Horticultural Expositions, as they are formally known, have been sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions for next year, according to Michael Italiaander of Expo Garden Tours of New York. One, Floriade, will be held in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, from April 10 to Oct. 11. The other, Ameriflora, the first such international exposition to be held in the United States, is scheduled for April 20 to Oct. 12 in Columbus, Ohio. At both, numerous countries mount flower exhibits reflecting their native and cultural heritages.
In the Ohio city that bears his name, Columbus will be honored in an exposition with 88 acres of gardens, exhibits, restaurants and performance spaces. Organizers say they are spending $93 million to remake Franklin Park, two miles east of downtown Columbus, for the event.  Formal gardens will be created to equal those on several royal European estates. A 3,500-seat amphitheater will be used for jazz, country music and symphonic performances.
More information on the Zoetermeer exposition is available from the Netherlands Tourist Board, 355 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017; telephone (212) 370-7360. For information on the Columbus event, contact the Greater Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, 10 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, or telephone (800) 282-5393. Expo Garden Tours, 145 Fourth Avenue, Suite 4A, New York, N.Y. 10003, (212) 677-6704, offers travel packages to both expositions. The 14-day one to the Netherlands is $2,650 a person, including hotels, most meals and entrance fees, but not air fare. The similar, seven-day, package for the Columbus exposition is $1,495. Renting a House in Brittany
Q.
We are planning a family trip to France for June and July and would like to rent a house in St.-Servan or St.-Malo on Brittany's northern seacoast. How can we find rental information for this area? -- Ellen J. Kennedy, Edina, Minn.
A.  There are several sources for house rentals in Brittany, as well as elsewhere in France, according to the French Government Tourist Office. Among them, RAVE (Rent a Vacation Everywhere) offers rentals in Brittany from about $650 a week to $2,195, depending on the size of the house and the season. (The $2,195 house sleeps 12.) For more information, contact RAVE, 328 Main Street East, Suite 526, Rochester, N.Y. 14604; telephone (716) 454-6440. On the West Coast, Chez Vous has rural cottages as low as $420 a week. Chez Vous is at 220 Redwood Highway, Suite 129, Mill Valley, Calif. 94941; telephone (415) 331-2535. July and August are high season, so the rates then are at the more expensive end of the scale. But since this part of the coast is at the end of the Gulf Stream, the area is relatively mild and green year round. And Mont St.-Michel, the medieval fortress and religious shrine, is only about 20 miles away. The agencies mentioned, and others, also rent houses, from modest cottage to great chateaus, throughout France, as well as apartments in Paris and bed-and-breakfast accommodations in private houses around the country. Information is also available from the French Government Tourist Office, 610 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10020; (212) 757-1125.