Many segments of the travel industry — specialty tour operators, guidebooks and magazines, and the Internet — are geared to fuel and fulfill your desire for the ultimate travel experience. However, once you've done your homework, you'll want to consult with a professional travel agent who can orchestrate your dreams anywhere on earth, and even points beyond.

Some compelling possibilities to ponder:

Horticulture buffs will love programs to the world's most magnificent gardens, public and not, offered by Coopersmith's One-of-a-Kind Garden Tours, (415) 669-1914 or www.cooper smiths.com, and Expo Garden Tours, (800) 448-2685 or www.expogardentours.com. From flower shows to rainforests to fabled private gardens, these operators introduce their clients to the premier blooming sights on the planet.

Sports Traveler, (888) 654-7755 or www.sportstraveler.net, and Roadtrips, (800) 465-1765 or www.roadtrips.com, offer tickets and tour packages to major spectator sporting events around the globe: horse races, rodeo finals, college and pro bowls, car races, golf and tennis tournaments, and more. Sports Fantasy Tours, (800) 379-7767 or www.sportsfantasytours.com, designs dream vacations for armchair jocks, including hobnobbing with celebrity ballplayers and race drivers. Motorsports followers look to Grand Prix Tours, (800) 400-1998 or www.gptours.com, for its special events and itineraries to the world's preeminent car racing events.

Want to be in the live studio audience for taping of a game show, TV sitcom, or talk show on both coasts? Audiences Unlimited, (818) 753-3470 or www.tvtickets.com, has a lock on providing complimentary tickets to more than 60 shows on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in Hollywood and New York, including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Jeopardy" and "The Young and the Restless."

Showtime Tickets, (800) 480-7469 or www.showtimetickets .com, and Ticket Finders, (888) 243-8757 or www.ticket-find ers.com, sell access to all top sporting and performing arts events around the world.

Amateur and wannabe chefs should first pick up ShawGuides' latest edition of "The Guide to Cooking Schools." This 2005 culinary bible provides a comprehensive resource of curriculum and program details for more than 1,200 career and vacation cooking schools worldwide, plus listings of wine courses, apprenticeships and food and wine organizations. Then salivate over the delectable cooking school tour offerings from the International Kitchen, (800) 945-8606 or www.theinternationalkitchen .com, Cuisine International, (214) 373-1161 or www.cuisinein ternational.com, and A Cook's Tour, (800) 726-6388 or www.acookstour.com.

Lovers of opera, ballet and international music festivals will love the top-drawer U.S. and European cultural arts tours produced by venerable Dailey-Thorp Travel, (800) 998-4677 or www.daileythorp.com, and Great Performance Tours, (212) 580-1400 or www.greatperfor mancetours.com.

Wanna get hot, sticky and super excited? Sign up to work on an active excavation site where architectural remnants from ancient civilizations are being unearthed and documented. The best resource for locating potential destinations, compiled by the Archaeological Institute of America at (617) 353-9361 or www.archaeological.org, is "Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin." This comprehensive international guide describes nearly 300 excavations, field schools and special programs that have openings for untrained volunteers and professional staff. AIA's exceptional tours can be booked via the Web site or at (800) 748-6262. If you want to appreciate the great antiquities of the globe without getting dirt under your nails, check out the compelling worldwide itineraries led by noted scholars organized by Archaeological Tours, (866) 740-5130 or www.archaeologi caltrs.com, and the brilliant journeys throughout the Americas offered by Archaeological Conservancy, (505) 266-1540 or www.americanarchaeology .com.

Birders are a dedicated lot who will go to the ends of the earth to spot a rare feathered species. And there are also bird-watching travelers who maintain no lists of sightings but enjoy adventure tours led by ornithologists. Both kinds of birders would be well accommodated by such top operators as Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours, (800) 328-8368 or www.vent bird.com; Wings, (888) 293-6443 or www.wingsbirds.com; and Field Guides, (800) 728-4953 or www.fieldguides.com.

Tours to battlefield re-enactments and monuments are increasingly popular, particularly those of the Civil War and Indian wars in the West. Smoke and Fire News, (800) 766-5334 or www.smoke-fire.com, is a monthly publication that prints a nationwide list of re-enactments in various historical periods up through the mid-19th century. Contact the Living History Association, (802) 464-5569 or www.geocities.com/~living history for a complete schedule of battlefield and other re-creation events. A prominent operator specializing in epic historical events is HistoryAmerica Tours, (800) 628-8542 or www .historyamerica.com. Civil War Tours, (860) 435-3244 or www .civilwartours.org, offers intelligent programs to examine the most significant battlefields of America's savage conflict.

Potpourri: Journeys into American Indian Territory, (800) 458-2632 or indianjour neys.com, specializes in participatory, anthropologist-led tours to immerse in Native American cultures, from Massachusetts to Arizona. War veteran journeys to the great battle sites of Europe and the Pacific are offered by Historic Tours, (877) 992-8687 or www.ww2tours.com. Aficionados of New Age spiritual interests, in which metaphysics, energy vortexes, homeopathy and cultural wisdom prevail, are catered to by such niche operators as Spirit Journeys, (800) 490-3684 or www.spiritjourneys.com, and Body, Mind, Spirit Journeys, (800) 231-9811 or www.body mindspiritjourneys.com. Travelers who have a problem with bottled spirits can sign up with Sober Vacations International, (800) 762-3738 or www.sober vacations.com, for diverting, alcohol-free cruises and land itineraries. Gamblers can bet on the programs of Casino Tours Ltd., (800) 542-0819 or www .casinotours.com. Space Adventures, (888) 857-7223 or www.spaceadventures.com, the only company in the world currently operating commercial orbital spaceflight, plans to launch by 2010 lunar trips for tourists at $100 million per seat.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.