(MONEY Magazine) – If 1997's stock market madness, long hours in the office or your responsibilities at home have left you badly in need of a vacation but too exhausted to plan a creative one, we're going to tell you about six trips for 1998 that could change your life. Says Helen Nodland, an industry consultant: "Today, people are looking at travel as an investment in mind, body and spirit. Baby boomers are more fit at 50 than their parents were, and they are more willing to spend money on a trip that they believe will enhance their lives."

Indeed, after talking to a dozen travel experts, MONEY has discovered that today more and more travelers are planning their vacations around what they want to do rather than where they want to go.

According to Julie Lemish, a travel agent at Rex Travel in Chicago: "People are looking for very specific activities when they travel. Whether it's cooking lessons in France or cruising around the horn of South America from Buenos Aires to Rio, people want more than basic tourist experiences."

Adventure travel is the fastest-growing type of travel, with vacation bookings rising at a rate of 12% to 15% annually. Luxury travel is also becoming more popular. According to a study done last spring by the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand, trips involving first-class travel, upscale accommodations and exotic locales now account for 15% of the travel industry's business, up from a mere 5% two decades ago.

With that in mind, MONEY researched the 1998 vacation market and found six destinations that are guaranteed to introduce you to a new and unforgettable slice of life. If you're not the adventurous type, don't worry; we've included trips designed for those looking for a bit of romance (who isn't?) as well as for intellectually curious folks who would like to combine humanitarian or educational interests with fun. Read on to learn more about six vacations, organized here by type starting with the most popular, that could enrich your spirit in 1998.

EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

While talk of adventure travel usually conjures up images of so-called hard-adventure trips, which include an element of physical risk--such as white-water rafting down the Colorado River or scaling Mount Everest--most folks prefer "soft" adventure, where risk is minimal, according to travel marketing consultant Stanley C. Plog. If you don't feel like ducking avalanches but are eager to burn some calories within the safe confines of a well-organized tour, one of the following two soft-adventure trips could be just your speed.

CYCLING THROUGH VIETNAM: The Canadian high-end tour outfit Butterfield & Robinson (800-678-1147) has been organizing bicycling and walking tours around the world since 1966. In 1998 it is offering, for the first time, four 10-day bike tours of Vietnam. At a cost of $5,750 a person, including meals but not air fare, each trip begins in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and wends its way north on relatively flat roads toward Hanoi. Cyclists will cover 15 to 35 leisurely miles a day as they ride past the emerald-green rice fields and pedal along the shores of the Perfume River to the tombs of the 19th-century Nguyen Dynasty.

As with all Butterfield & Robinson journeys, accommodations will be first-rate, including a stopover at the oceanside Ana Mandara Resort in Nha Thrang, where private villas offer views of spectacular sunrises over the South China Sea. The last three days of the journey are spent in Hanoi. From there, travelers will take a helicopter to Hailong Bay for an excursion on a traditional Vietnamese boat. Says Barbara Metselaar of World Travel Specialists Group: "This exotic journey should have none of the headaches frequently associated with travel in this still emerging tourist destination."

DOGSLEDDING IN ARIZONA If you are looking for action closer to home, consider the Sled Dog Inn in Flagstaff, Ariz. (800-754-0664). Yes, there is snow in the north-central region of the state, where the elevation is 7,000 feet above sea level and the average snowfall is more than 250 inches a year. At the Sled Dog Inn, a rustic bed and breakfast, outdoor activity is the main attraction. During the wintry months (January through April), after a hearty breakfast, guests can learn to mush (sledding jargon for drive) a dogsled behind four Siberian huskies, enjoy cross-country skiing on the inn's forest trails and on the trails of the adjacent Coconino National Forest, or try a combination of both, called ski-joring, which is skiing while being pulled by sled dogs. (Good luck.) Should you tire of winter sports, the Grand Canyon is only 85 miles northwest of Flagstaff. During the warm months, mountain biking, rock climbing and hiking opportunities are plentiful.

Rooms at the Sled Dog Inn are comfortable and reasonably priced, ranging from $106 to $169 a night. While this isn't a luxury resort, after a day's worth of strenuous activity it provides a more than adequate place for you to curl up and sleep like, well, a dog.

CLIMES OF THE HEART

For those whose dream vacation includes elegant candle-lit dinners or simply time to pamper yourself, MONEY has found two resorts that will allow you privacy along with magnificent--and truly unique--surroundings. Warning: They'll cost you, but oh, those champagne bubble baths...

THE POINT (Saranac Lake, N.Y.; 800-255-3530): This 11-room country hideaway in the 6-million-acre Adirondack region of New York State (see the photographs on pages 134 and 135) is a tres elegant place to sneak away for a long weekend and treat yourselves to luxury the way turn-of-the-century industrialists would have. Originally a so-called great camp--old-moneyed aristocrats' version of a rustic, lakeside retreat--built for William A. Rockefeller, this 10-acre site on Upper Saranac Lake is very expensive (rooms start at $850 a night). But once you have prepaid your tab, which includes all of your meals and unlimited use of the recreational facilities, you won't need your wallet for the remainder of your visit.

The rooms are straight from a Ralph Lauren catalogue. All feature king- or queen-size featherbeds, stone fireplaces, wide-plank, pine-paneled walls and breathtaking mountain and lake views. If you would like to luxuriate in a bubble bath in your enormous tub with a bottle of champagne close at hand, just hint about it to the staff. Bubbles and bubbly will appear as if by magic. Meals are served group-style (unless you prefer otherwise) in the main lodge's Great Hall, and the fare is richer than many of the diners. Guests are expected to dress for dinner, and gentlemen are requested to wear black tie for the seven-course dinners on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Call the Point well in advance if possible; some rooms, such as the sumptuous Boathouse room, are booked solid to 2000. And prepare to live, if not like a king or queen, then at least like a Rockefeller.

ARIAU AMAZON TOWERS HOTEL (Manaus, Brazil; 888-462-7428): If playing Tarzan and Jane is closer to your idea of paradise, this resort, which is located deep within Brazil's Amazon rain forest, might be right up your banana tree. Most guests fly into Manaus, 35 miles southeast of the lodge, and then board one of the hotel's motorized launches for the one-hour cruise down the Rio Negro, the Amazon's largest tributary. Upon arriving, guests discover a 210-room hotel that includes tower and tree-house accommodations. (One of the suites most popular with honeymooners is called Tarzan's House.) Note: To get to most rooms, you must climb many flights of stairs. If you have a heart condition or problems breathing, this might not be the best choice for you.

Ariau guests are assigned in groups of four to eight to one of the hotel's guides, who lead excursions--at no extra cost--into the Amazon on motorized canoes to visit nearby native villages, fish for piranha, spot alligators or watch the area's famous pink dolphins frolicking at sunrise in the Rio Negro. (Surprisingly, mosquitoes are not a problem, because the Rio Negro's high acidity makes it an uninviting breeding ground.) Patrick Tierney, an American who has spent the past seven years writing about South America and its natives, says of Ariau: "You can trek for 20 days in the jungle and not see so much wildlife."

Room packages range in style and price from the standard with bedding for two, a small writing desk, screened-in porch and ceiling fan ($400 per three-night package) to the recently completed, luxurious Suite Cosmica, a canopy-top loft with a 360[degree] porch, spacious bedroom, living and dining areas, refrigerator, state-of-the-art stereo equipment and, of course, central air conditioning ($2,000 for the first night; $1,000 for each additional night). All meals, which are included in the package price, are served buffet-style in the hotel restaurant.

If the call of the wild sounds right for you, ring up Ariau's North American representative, Jill Siegel, at the number listed on page 136. Prices remain consistent throughout the year. And think about this: The next time someone at work tells you "It's a jungle out there," you can set them straight.

HELPING AND LEARNING

Do you ever feel that you'd like to give something back to society? Or that you'd like to learn about a new subject you've never studied? If so, you might want to schedule a vacation that combines humanitarian or educational activities with travel to intriguing locations. The two not-for-profit organizations we describe below are particularly good at planning these types of trips.

THE MIRAMED INSTITUTE (800-441-1917): This Seattle-based, nonprofit humanitarian aid organization is devoted to providing education and medical assistance to the world's women and children. Founded in 1991, it sponsors a unique program called "Travel with a Cause." People sign on for a 10- to 12-day cruise along the rivers and waterways of Russia from St. Petersburg to Moscow, making a stop at one or more Miramed-affiliated orphanages along the route. You can choose between two levels of travel--premier ($2,450 to $2,995 a person, not including air fare) and traveler ($1,999). Our recommendation: Go first class.

Unlike the traveler-class journey, which is made on Russian-operated ships with home-style cooking and manned by a crew that speaks some English, the premier trip is made on the Kirov, a Swiss-operated 245-passenger cruise ship that has food and wine imported from western Europe; a bilingual interpreter accompanies the group. Either way, Miramed travelers experience the historic and cultural beauty of Russia in major cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow and also see the true heart of the country while cruising down the Svir, Neva and Volga rivers. Miramed passengers, usually numbering 15 to 20 of the ship's 245 passengers, visit orphanages in towns such as Svirstroi, where they deliver supplies and are entertained by the children. (Each Miramed passenger packs an extra suitcase with goods such as over-the-counter medicines and new clothing and toys, from a list that Miramed distributes before the trip.)

The journey ends in Moscow with a lavish dinner--we're told the champagne and vodka flow freely--at a private Russian apartment for all the Miramed travelers. And you never know whom you might come home with: Two couples are currently trying to adopt Russian children they met on the trip.

EARTHWATCH (800-776-0188): If you are beginning to wonder if there's a world beyond your home or your four office walls, one trip with Earthwatch will shake you out of your rut and spice up your cocktail-party conversation for months to come. The 25-year-old nonprofit organization, based in Watertown, Mass., matches people with scientific and conservation projects around the world. It then takes 82% of the money you pay to partake in a specific Earthwatch project--which ranges from $595 to research the impact of tourism on caves in Oregon to $3,995 to help halt the extinction of cheetahs in Namibia--and gives it to the project in the form of a research grant. Typically, volunteers sign on for a 10- to 14-day stint at the location of their choice, room allowing.

One current project that is especially notable: an archaeological dig at the Hermitage, the former plantation of President Andrew Jackson near Nashville. Volunteers assist Larry McKee, an assistant archaeology professor at Vanderbilt University, in his project examining the lives of Jackson's 130 slaves. Living quarters--in this case, a 1930s farmhouse on the edge of the Hermitage property--are more serviceable than luxurious, and the meals are group camp-cooking affairs.

The Hermitage project runs three two-week sessions in the summer for teams of up to 30 volunteers each. Participants pay $1,245 a person, which covers room and board and is completely tax deductible. Air fare, for which volunteers are responsible, is also tax deductible, according to Earthwatch's marketing communications manager, Sarah Blume, provided you fly directly to and from the project location. While not the most relaxing of vacations, the learning experience can be unforgettable. Maribel Dana, a 46-year-old high school English teacher who went last summer, says: "While you're digging your fingers through the rubble, you're actually sifting the sands of time. It's the kind of thing you can't get when you go to Paris."