by Laureen Crowley Algier

What is your idea of the vacation of a lifetime? Pampered relaxation…nothing to do but show up for your spa appointments on time? Maybe you’re more of a “get up and go” tourist, seeing all the sights, partaking of the destination restaurants, waking the next day and doing it all over again. Or maybe you’re thinking, “Vacation? Who has the time?”

Whatever your past vacation experiences have been, how about a vacation that actually changes your life? If that sounds like too much to hope for, consider this: Nearly 20 million Americans a year take adventure trips and another 10 million annually take trips that focus on education and enrichment. In addition, 20 percent of all travel by Americans is faith-based or spiritually motivated, according to travel industry statistics.

Women who have embarked on some of these trips contend they can lead to transformations of the mind, body or spirit—or most likely, some combination of the three.

In fact, a shift in mind and spirit naturally follow when you bring about a physical change, says Colleen Cannon, 43, former professional triathlete and founder of Women’s Quest (womensquest.com), which offers hiking, cycling, skiing and other adventures celebrating the power of play in scenic destinations. “You get someone out in nature and talking about what they want in life, and it’s a spiritual thing,” she says. Women’s Quest combines physical activity with yoga, meditation and more, to tap into women’s energy and vitality.

Adventure trips such as those offered by Women’s Quest and other travel companies cover a wide range of sports and other active pursuits—often outdoors—in exotic locales, as well as closer to home. Travelers can choose from hiking in Peru, kayaking in Greece or mountain biking in Colorado.

Gutsy Women Travel (gutsywomentravel.com) offers women-only tours ranging from adventure to culture to gourmet dining. Co-owner April Merenda, 54, says traveling with a group of women often leads to developing life-long friendships and new travel buddies, as well as a greater understanding of the world. Several women who returned from a recent trip to Peru said it was spiritually transforming—giving them the opportunity to see life differently—and it also inspired them to get in better shape.

“I came home and changed my diet and joined a health club,” says Carol McKeone, who spent two days climbing to Machu Picchu with Gutsy Women, in spite of having had two knee replacement surgeries a couple of years earlier. The trip was so rewarding that she took another journey, to Morocco, where intimate conversations with Muslim women helped her understand that “women all over the world think alike.”

Women who want to learn or sharpen their outdoor skills before embarking on an adventure can check out Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) workshops (uwsp.edu/cnr/bow/sched08.htm), which are offered by local wildlife agencies or universities in 42 states, five Canadian provinces and New Zealand. The workshops teach outdoor skills such as camping, backpacking, cooking outdoors, survival, map and compass reading, hunting and fishing.

“While these programs are not marketed as vacations, I think many women do consider their BOW weekends to be their own time away and a treat for themselves,” says Peggy Farrell, director of BOW programs in Wisconsin and internationally. Participants—most of whom are in the 40 to 60 age range—often include “women in transition,” she added, such as breast cancer survivors, recent widows, empty nesters, “even women who wake up one day and think, ‘There is more out there, and I’m going to go find it.’”

Outdoorsy active pursuits aren’t the only type of transformative vacations. Sights and Soul Travels (sightsandsoul.com) offers tours of European countries to small groups of women. A woman who lives in the United States, but was born in the destination country, escorts each tour. This gives it a unique perspective.

“The escort can connect the two cultures,” says Sights and Soul co-owner Yolanta Barnes. “It’s like traveling with a local or visiting a friend in Croatia who’s showing you around.” In addition to Croatia, Sights and Soul Travels offers trips to Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and other countries.

Tours include opportunities to visit with local women—perhaps watching as they weave silk, or sharing cake and wine. In addition, local tour guides add an informational component that complements the color provided by the native-born escort.

Another travel company that uses local guides is Classical Pursuits (classicalpursuits.com), which offers a literary journey of sorts. About 12 people at a time read a book by a particular author, then travel to the setting of the book or to the author’s native land and participate in group discussions about the book, as well as philosophy and life, in general. For example, after reading “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco, Classical Pursuits travelers visited Italy and learned about life during medieval times. The trips awaken curiosity that often gets lost in day-to-day life, says founder and president Ann Kirkland.

“When we are small children, we are full of big questions, and as we get older we tend to set those questions aside,” Kirkland says. “If we’re lucky, as we get into adulthood, we can return to those questions.” Classical Pursuits travelers are about two-thirds women, usually between the ages of 40 and 70, and about evenly divided between actively working adults and retirees.

Whatever piques your curiosity or interest, chances are there is a vacation tailor-made for you. Maura McDermott of New Jersey was burned out on cooking after 12 years working as a caterer to supplement her salary as a high school math teacher. Rather than give up on her passion altogether, McDermott took a French cooking vacation through Cook in France, a British company (cookinfrance.com).

“I fell out of love with cooking,” McDermott says. Since her cooking vacation in Dordogne, France, however, she has been experimenting with new dishes on family and friends and is considering teaching a night-school cooking class.

Other educational vacations include golf and tennis schools, photography, film and glass-making schools, writing and poetry workshops, or studying a language abroad—often combined with another skill, such as surfing in Costa Rica or flamenco dancing in Spain.

Travelers who are looking for a more spiritual focus may want to consider yoga vacations, volunteer vacations or faith-based vacations.

Jackie Coronado, 45, has been on several outdoor trips including rafting near her Colorado home. “Just being in nature is transforming,” she says, but a trip to visit Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Portugal and Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in France, offered her something more.

“It was very moving, especially seeing the children and sick people at Lourdes. We took a bath at Lourdes, and the water was very cold, but when I got out, I was tingling,” she says. Traveling with people of a like mind was rewarding for her as well; she continues to stay in touch with many of her traveling companions.

Coronado has a few words of advice for anyone considering a transformative vacation: ”If you can find a way to travel like this, do it. It will be an opportunity you’ll never forget.”