Q and A
LEAD:  France
France
Question: Is there an organization that arranges home stays with families in France? - P. B., Amagansett, L.I.
Answer: There are a number of such groups, offering minimum stays of from three nights to a week. Most of the groups, which offer reasonably priced accommodations and an opportunity to share in the life of a French family, are designed to place students. Accueil France Famille, whose founder, Francine L. Biette, has been in the field for 35 years, is one of those tailored for adults.
The organization offers home stays in Paris (with either breakfast or breakfast and dinner) and outside Paris (three meals a day). The registration fee, valid for a year, is $40 and rates range from about $175 a week in Paris to $310 a week outside the capital. Visitors, who must be at least 16 years old, are asked to specify their preferences in location and personal pursuits. If they like to play sports, listen to music or laze on the beach, for instance, Accueil France says it will match them with a family that shares those interests. It will also find a family that speaks English if the visitor is unable to manage in French.
More information: Accueil France Famille, 5 Rue Francois Coppee, F-75015 Paris; telephone 45.54.22.39.
Home stays can also be arranged through the French Experience, 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 (212-986-1115). The rates (all per person with breakfast, two people sharing a room) are $23 a night with a shared bathroom; $34 a night for a private bathroom and $45 a night with a private bathroom in a centrally situated home. Single rates are $32, $47 and $63 a night. There is a three-night minimum.
Another alternative available through the French Experience is provided by gites, government-approved houses in all areas of France. All are self-contained but many are part of a bigger house or farm, or next door to the owner's residence, so that cultural exchanges with the family are possible.
Rates for accommodations only are $250 a week, with a one-week minimum stay, except in July and August, when the rate goes to $400 to $450 a week with a two-week minimum.
For more information, including a listing of the many home stay and language tuition groups that are designed for students, write to the French Government Tourist Office, 610 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. (212-757-1125) and ask for the 'France Packages and Tours' newsletter.  New Orleans
Question: Can you give me any details about next year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival? - A. McC., Leominster, Mass.
Answer: The festival, which will feature about 4,000 musicians playing everything from blues to zydeco, will be held April 27 to May 6. Daytime concerts, a Louisiana food fair and an arts and crafts show will be held each Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Fair Grounds Race Track, five minutes from the French Quarter. Evening concerts will be held every day at a variety of venues.
Next year's admission prices and schedule of artists have not yet been finalized, but a spokeswoman said prices would be comparable to those charged this year. Tickets for this year's Fair Grounds concerts were $7 in advance and $9 at the gate; evening concert prices were $10 to $25.
A brochure listing artists and times of performances will be available soon. Write to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Post Office Box 53407, New Orleans, La. 70153 (504-522-4786).  Bicycling
Question: My son, who will be 15 next summer, wishes to take a bike tour with people around his own age next July or August. Is there a group that sponsors such trips in low-density traffic areas of New England or Canada? - J. A., Maplewood, N.J.
Answer: A variety of tours for youths aged 14 to 18 in the sort of areas you indicate are offered by American Youth Hostels, a nonprofit group founded in 1934. This year's tours, which will be duplicated next year, included a two-week 'Salty Dog' tour of Cape Cod ($550); a three-week 'Bay of Fundy Loop' around Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick ($550) and a 16-day 'On the Border' ride around Lake Ontario and the Adirondack Mountains in New York ($450). 'Finger Lakes Flyer' was a nine-day jaunt in western New York ($265) and 'Salty Dog' included island hopping to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. These were among a total of 16 tours for youths in the United States, Canada and Europe offered by the association.
The tours are graded A to C, with A representing bicycling over rough terrain and C representing a good trip for beginners. Routes are usually over state or country roads, with bike paths chosen wherever possible. Each tour is accompanied by an adult leader who has completed a leadership training course run by A.Y.H. Accommodations are in either hostels, hotels or at campsites.' Next year's prices are expected to be similar to those of this year, according to a spokeswoman.
For membership information ($10 for a youth aged 17 and under) and a free copy of the Trip Catalogue write to American Youth Hostels, Dept. 858, Post Office Box 37613, Washington D.C. 20013-7613 (202-783-6161).  St. Helena
Question: How can I get to the island of St. Helena by Royal Mail ship? - W. B. R., New Paltz, N.Y.
Answer: The R.M.S. St. Helena is the only regularly scheduled ship that calls at St. Helena, a British possession in the South Atlantic Ocean 1,200 miles west of Africa that is best known as the place of Napoleon's exile. It makes the 4,400-mile trip from Avonmouth, near Bristol, England, six times a year, but because of space limitations it has been almost impossible to book passage on the ship for a couple of year. However, a much bigger replacement ship will be launched on Tuesday and will see service by next June or July. At that time it should be somewhat easier to book a cabin for the two-week trip, which costs $788 each way. Write to Carole Kitchen, Passenger Manager, St. Helena Shipping Company, the Shipyard, Porthleven, Helston, Cornwall, England TR13 9JA.