INNOVATIVE travel providers offer many creative programs. Abercrombie & Kent's Highlights of Egypt includes a visit to the Sphinx.

A package vacation used to mean a rigidly regimented, often unimaginative itinerary with little free choice or free time. You signed up, paid your money, and did what everybody else did when and where they did it. No substitutions. Sheep -- that's what people who took package vacations were -- and no independent-minded traveller would be caught dead on one. Better to arrange everything yourself to get maximum flexibility far from the herd.

But a funny thing happened on the way to 2004.

Harried individuals pressed for time to take, let alone plan, a vacation, have come to realize there's an up side to letting someone else work out the details -- as long as we have a say over the what, where, when and how much.

Innovative travel providers, from tour operators to resorts, online booking agencies and even cruise lines, are finding ways to customize trips so clients feel they're getting valuable assistance at a good price, but don't feel they're signing on for a cookie-cutter experience.

Love to take a guided tour to Europe with the kids but hate all that hotel hopping? On Butterfield & Robinson's new Homebase family trips to Provence, Tuscany or Switzerland (designed to accommodate even babies), you'll unpack just once, with optional day trips from your hotel.

The company provides everything from nannies to car seats and cribs -- so you won't have to schlep all the accouterments of infancy -- and downtime is yours for the asking.

Hungering to nurture your inner Julia Child, but travelling with the anti-Cook? Wave your magic whisk on an Epiculinary Journey, and learn to perfect magrets de canard grilled over grapevines in Bordeaux, hand-tossed pizza on Italy's Amalfi Coast, Spanish tapas in Barcelona, chili rellenos in New Mexico, California cuisine paired with vintage wines in Sonoma or Jambalaya in Louisiana Cajun Country.

While you're cooking up a storm, non-chefs in your party will be set up with golf games, city walks or other activities -- then everyone feasts together on the fruits of your labours.

It's no coincidence that travel providers are coming up with seductive vacation packages for families and those who want to immerse themselves in a special interest.

New Mexico -- AP file photo

The latest studies of leisure travellers have found soaring interest in family trips and vacations where individuals can learn a new skill or pursue a passion.

"People are yearning to go and be -- not just go and see," said Judy Randall, president of Randall Travel Marketing, a tourism research firm in Mooresville, N.C.

TOGETHERING

Comprehensive surveys by American Express, the Travel Industry Association of America, and YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners, a research and marketing company, indicate that the number one intended vacation activity is spending quality time with family and friends -- often in multi-household gatherings, a phenomenon YPB&R calls "togethering."

Orlando's Walt Disney World, always on the cutting edge of profitable family trends, recently introduced the Magical Gatherings program, which provides personal planners and a Web site to help groups build consensus on dates, lodgings, dining and other activities for a Disney resort vacation.

Epiculinary Journeys offers sightseeing for non-cooking companions in places like Barcelona, Spain.

The planners can mix and match activities to suit different ages and tastes in the group, perhaps arranging a private safari around Animal Kingdom amid real giraffes and other wildlife, with dinner and entertainment afterward; a nature outing for the junior set; or a family golf tournament followed by spa treatments -- even for the kids.

Those with special needs needn't feel left out of the package loop. On Wilderness Inquiry's 100-plus guided worldwide adventures, age, physical or mental challenges pose no barrier to friends or family exploring the great outdoors together.

The non-profit Minneapolis-based outfitter provides support staff -- such as sign language interpreters or personal care attendants -- at no extra cost, to ensure everyone is on equal footing on all trips, including upcoming canoe trips in Florida's Everglades and a hiking journey through Hawaii.

Gays and lesbians can rejoice at the first ever cruise for alternative lifestyle families, setting sail from New York, July 11, under the auspices of R Family Vacations, which was founded by talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell and her partner Kelli O'Donnell.

During the one-week cruise to Port Canaveral, Key West and Nassau, passengers aboard the chartered 1,120-cabin Norwegian Dawn will participate in workshops, which include insights into dealing with teachers and adoption issues confronting prospective parents.

Lucerne -- AP file photo

Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell and their four children will be aboard -- as parents, not performers.

"This is a great opportunity for meeting other gay and lesbian families while having a fun cruise and getting valuable information for thriving as a family," said Gregg Kaminsky, program director for the cruise and a cofounder with the O'Donnell's of R Family Vacations.

"For kids who aren't from New York or L.A., this may be the first time they've been around other kids with two moms or two dads."

Kaminsky said the cruise is not just for gay families, but also gay and lesbian individuals or couples who want to vacation with their parents or friends in a supportive environment. The company plans future gay and lesbian family packages to a dude ranch and ski resort.

Well-healed procrastinators can find a snazzy dream trip with Abercrombie & Kent, often with less than a month's notice. Just log onto www.abercrombieandkent.com, click on Tour & Cruise Search, click on a destination that sets your heart aflutter, then click on availability for a chosen trip date.

MANY FAMILIES are using vacation time for "togethering" in familiar destinations like the Outer Banks of North Carolina. -- Photo courtesy North Carolina Tourism

A recent search for trips three weeks ahead produced a red flag (wait list) for a nine-day Highlights of Egypt journey, a yellow flag (limited availability) for a 12-day excursion amid the architectural gems of Spain, and a green flag (go for it) for an 11-day Galapagos Islands nature adventure with seven days aboard a yacht.

PURSUING A PASSION

Those who believe that nothing learned means nothing gained from a vacation can find a package for any interest. Among some intriguing offerings:

- Semana en Espanol's 10-17-day Spanish-language programs in Oaxaca, Mexico, with trips to Oaxaca's famous craft villages, artisans' homes and archeological sites, all conducted in Spanish.

Equestrian journeys in places like Arizona give riders a feel for the old west. Many start in Tucson.

- Hidden Trails' multi-day horseback riding adventures, including jaunts through Southern Arizona that start in Tucson or Phoenix.

- Art Adventures' watercolour workshops in New Orleans, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Venice, Italy; or the Canadian Rockies, with on-location work, studio classes and critiques.

- In Oahu, Hawaii, Turtle Bay Resort's learn-to-surf packages, taking on the legendary breaks of the North Shore.

- Zara Arts International's tours to U.S. culture capitals -- New York, San Francisco and Santa Fe -- for opera, theatre, orchestra performances and museum hopping.

- There's even a package built around the Atkins Diet. Auberge Mendocino, a French country-style B&B on the Mendocino, Calif., coast, offers five- and seven-night Atkins Diet Retreat "Get-a-weighs," with lectures, hikes and low-carb foods (think protein), at the inn and nearby restaurants.

BOTTOM LINE

- Abercrombie & Kent, 1-800-554-7016, www.abercrombieandkent.com.

- Art Adventures, 503-283-6089, www.art-adventures.com.

- Auberge Mendocino, 1-800-347-9252, www.aubergemendocino.com.

- Butterfield & Robinson, 1-800-678-1147, www.butterfield.com.

- Epiculinary Distinctive Cooking Journeys, 1-888-380-9010, www.epiculinary.com.

- Hidden Trails, 1-888-987-2457, www.equestriantours.com.

- R Family Vacations, 866-732-6822, www.rfamilyvacations.com.

- Semana en espanol, 415-923-0754, www.weekendenespanol.com.

- Turtle Bay Resort, 1-800-203-3650, www.turtlebayresort.com.

- Walt Disney World Magical Gatherings, 407-934-7639, www.disney world.com/magicalgatherings.

- Wilderness Inquiry, 1-800-728-0719, www.wildernessinquiry.org.

- Zara Arts International, 505-955-0990, e-mail zaraarts@aol.com.