Adventurers: Something different with a bit of a challenge and the mystery of the unknown is a must for adventurers. These families thrive on trying experiences new to them. For both parents and kids, mastering outdoor skills in a safe environment boosts their condidence levels and helps them bond as family. As a result, guided soft adventure vacations fit these families well since a good outfitter takes the risk out, but leaves the thrills in. Even if Adventurers rated last year's dude ranch week in AZ as a 10-plus, trip, these families wouldn't be likely to go back before sampling rafting in CA, mountain biking in Maine or other adventure.

Llama Trekking: Hiking with a llama feels a bit like walking in the woods with Big Bird. It's lots of fun to be with these gentle creatures who also lighten your load by carrying your gear. And even a shy 5-year-old can easily learn to lead a llama, a great confidence building experience. The Telemark Inn, Bethel, Maine, offers 1-day outings or 3-4 day treks through the White Mountain National Forest and Maine's woodlands. Telemark Inn, 207-836-2703. www.telemarkinn.com

Pedal, Paddle and Hike: On a Backroads multi-sport San Juan Islands, WA, family trip, parents and kids pedal past scenic coasts, hike through forests and kayak in calm bays. Tots as young as three can be pulled along in a 3-wheeled carts while older kids can ride as a "third wheel" attached to a parents' bike or on their own. The guides lead scavenger hunts and other special kid activities as well as do all the cooking on camping trips.Trips with inn accommodations are also available. 800-GO-ACTIVE. www.backroads.com

Wagon Train Trips: Follow in the footsteps of the pioneers by taking a wagon train trip that heads west from Bayard, Nebraska, over the Oregon Trail. Some of the time you walk, ride a horse or pony, or sit in the rumbling wagon. The time travel highlights for young history buffs enamored of cowboy legends include delivery of mail by Pony Express and campfire stories told by soldiers who patrolled the territories. 24-hour or 4-day trips available.
Oregon Trail Wagon Train Treks, 308-586-1850

Great Family Vacations for Unplugged Vacationers:

Unplugged Vacationers: For these families, the sweetest part of any sojourn is simply having time together away from the busyness of housework, homework, and job deadlines. To be happy, these travelers don't need and probably wouldn't follow a resort schedule of "yoga at 10:00am" and "watercoloring at 1:oom pm." Unplugged vacationers make their own fun from actitivies as simple as impromptu Frisbee golf games, sandcastle building, and family jigsaw puzzle sessions.

Because these parents and kids like predictability, they enjoy looking forward to a rerun of last year's trip. Typically, they book the same lake cabin or beach house each summer or they book similar lodgings in a similar locale.

Cabin in the Woods: Devil's Thumb Ranch, Tabernash, CO, a cross-country ski center in winter, speads out on 3700-acres near Winter Park, CO. Families rent simple 1-4 bedroom cabins with kitchenettes and can hike or horseback ride through pine woods and wildflower dotted meadows, fly fish for trout in the pond and admire the stars popping in the velvet Rocky Mountain sky. 970-726-5632.www.devilsthumbranch.com

Lake Vacation: Door County, Wisconsin, possesses all the ingredients for an old-fashioned, family lake vacation: great beaches at Whitefish Dunes and Nicolet Bay; hands-on milking of gentle goats at the Farm; ferry rides to nearby islands; and even drive-in movies at the Skyway Drive-In. Rental cabins, resorts as well as motel-style accommodations are available. Contact the Door County Chamber of Commerce, 800-52-RELAX. www.doorcounty.com

Beach Week: Hilton Head, SC, despite its heavy development, still boasts 12-miles of wide, dune bordered white sand beaches. Go on boat outings in search of dolphins, try a kayak trip or a turtle walk to learn about the loggerheads that nest here. On summer nights families gather under the huge Liberty oak in Harbour Town for free sing-alongs. Resort, condo and hotel rentals available. 843-785-3673. www.hiltonheadisland.org

Great Family Vacations for Culture Vultures:

Culture Vultures: These families make urban centers their playground, packing in museums,shows and visits to city icons. Culture Vultures want to see the Statue of Liberty and learn about immigration at New York's Ellis Island. They look forward to the tram ride to the top of St. Louis' Gateway Arch followed by peering at the pioneer stagecoach and reading buffalo stew recipes at the Museum of Westward Expansion.

For these parents, planning ahead is essential. It's how they maximize their city moments, making sure they have show tickets and don't miss the aquarium's special kids-feed-the-stingrays activity.

Washington, DC: A visit to the nation's capital makes you feel proud. Stroll by the Washington Monument, pedal a boat around the Jefferson Memorial's Tidal Basin and be inspired by Lincoln's legacy and the sweeping Mall view from his memorial. Watch tribal dancing at the new National Museum of the American Indian, see moon rocks and spacecraft at the National Air and Space Museum and be sure to feed the tarantula at the National Museum of Natural History's insect zoo. Washington, D.C., Convention & Visitors Bureau, 202-789-7000. www.washington.org. Smithsonian Institution, www.si.edu.

San Francisco, CA: Even getting around San Francisco is fun. You can hang on to a cable car for a classic city experience, take the ferry to Alcatraz for a prison tour, or don jackets and helmets to go clanging across the Golden Gate Bridge in a restored 1955 fire engine, a ride offered by San Francisco Fire Engine Tours and Adventures. At the Exploratorium, filled with 700 hands-on exhibits, "freeze" your shadow, blow three-foot wide bubbles and crawl through a pitch dark tactile dome that forces you to touch your way out. San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau 415-391-2000 www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.

Great Family Vacations for All-Options Families:

All-Options: The All-Options family combines elements of each category to craft their " best of all worlds" vacation. Instead of being locked into a country cabin where every day's highlight is boating on the lake, or tied down to a busy schedule of city must-dos, these families seek balance.

You can find them splashing at the pool resort one day, then driving from the property the next day to dig for fossils at the nearby natural history museum, hike to a scenic overlook or ride the town’s carousel.

Along with plenty of family togetherness, these parents appreciate some time alone and their children like playtime with other kids.

Carnival Cruise Lines: Cruises offer easy-to-plan, something-for-everyone vacations. Depending on the itinerary, when in port you and your kids can snorkel colorful reefs, hike rainforest trails, explore historic forts and shop for island treasures. Then, back onboard, spread out. While your kids happily morph into pirates or make pinatas at complimentary children's programs, you rejuvenate with a massage at the spa, read a novel in a deck chair, or try your luck at the casino.

Carnival, the Pied Piper of the cruise industry, expects to host more than 500,000 kids in 2005. Their creative Camp Carnival features supervised activities for ages 2-5, 6-8, 9-12 and 13-15. Family friendly itineraries include 4 and 7-day Caribbean voyages. 800-CARNIVAL. www.carnival.com

Wintergreen Resort: Wintergreen, VA. At this resort sprawled on nearly 11,000-acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, families can golf, go horseback riding and hiking through the woods, climb a rock wall, as well as bounce on a trampoline and skateboard. The nature-oriented Kids In Action program for ages 2 1/2 and older has children building birdhouses, going on butterfly walks and crafting leaf collages. Families can rent fully-equipped condos or houses. 800-266-4444. www.wintergreenresort.com

Great Smoky Mountains, TN: With their craggy peaks and soft ridges that roll endlessly in a blue mist, the Great Smoky Mountains are a gift to the eye. Enough short trails of 1/4 to 1/2-miles at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, make it easy for even families with young children to walk to waterfalls and experience the cool and feathery forest. Base yourself near Pigeon Forge, 5 miles north of the Gatlinburg entrance, and add Dollywood, a theme park that mixes music, mountain crafts and thrills. Rock along at speeds up to 55-mph on Thunderhead, a top-rated wooden roller coast or go under the sea with SpongeBob, whose simulator ride stars at this summer's KidsFest. Camp in the park or book nearby hotels. www.nps.gov. 800-Dollywood. www.dollywood.com