Adventure Vacations

White-water rafting, horseback riding, rock-climbing: The eight-day "With the Kids" trip, with its luxury accommodations in private rainforest bungalows, would make both Indiana Jones and Ivana Trump happy. Guides also teach surfing, zip-lining, and rappelling; kids can make like howler monkeys and climb giant fig trees. For ages 8 and up. Held year-round; $6,995 per person; price includes seven nights' accommodations, meals and wine, tours, and local transportation; (800) 678-1147.

Editor's Note: Butterfield & Robinson now only offers the Osa Peninsula trip as a bespoke trip, but offers adventurous trips in Vietnam. For ages 12 and up. Held one week in late December; price per person from $6,195 including all accommodations and meals.

Near the snowcapped mountains of Strathcona Provincial Park, course participants spend a week climbing rock bluffs, rappelling, zip-lining, and learning various wilderness-survival and navigation techniques. Families stay in the lodge or in a private cottage, but can also opt to do one overnight tent campout with the group, complete with ghost stories and marshmallow roasts. For ages 6 and up. Held in July and August; $1,870 per adult, $909 per child (private cottage extra); price includes six nights' accommodations and meals; (250) 286-3122.

Sailing Vacations

Tack into the Atlantic aboard a 30-foot sailboat. But don't worry about who'll secure the boom—the vacation includes a trained captain, who will provide two days' onboard instruction and lead sightseeing tours. For ages 5 and up. Held June through September; $3,810 to $4,480 (depending on children's ages) for a family of four; price includes three nights' hotel accommodations and four nights on the boat; (800) 638-9192.

Snorkeling and Scuba-Diving Vacations

Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jacques' son) and his team teach five days of snorkeling and kayaking—with marine-ecology lessons built in—on a secluded swath of Catalina Island. Group activities, like campfire dinners and a talent show (as well as the bunk beds in the cabins), make it feel like sleepaway camp. For all ages. Held during one week in August (dates vary); from $500 per person (if you stay in your own boat) to $3,500 for up to six people in a beachfront cabin; price includes meals; (800) 696-2267.

Serious divers and beginners alike go here for daily scuba instruction in the impossibly clear Caribbean. Parents spend five days diving on two-tank boat trips (one day is devoted to seeing stingrays); children take daily one-hour boat dives. A golf course and a sea-turtle farm are nearby. For ages 4 and up. Held during one week in July (dates vary) and in other locations, including Fiji and Honduras, year-round; from $1,870 to $2,753 per adult (depending on hotel suite), from $799 to $999 per child (depending on age); price includes seven nights' accommodations at a diving resort and meals; (800) 934-3483.