Programs for Adventurous Seniors : Survey indicates that those 50 and older want active trips, and many prefer to travel with younger age groups.

Most surveys that examine and define mature travelers today show two outstanding trends.

Seniors apparently want more active trips and soft adventure tours, and many also prefer to travel with other age groups, not just their own.

A 1991 survey of travelers age 50 and over, conducted by the Lexington, Ky.-based National Tour Assn., found that two-thirds of those polled see themselves as “young and adventurous in spirit”; 71% “like to do anything that’s a challenge,” and 60% like “meeting new people or socializing with people of different generations.”

“It was only a matter of time before it occurred to forward-thinking travel planners that with only a few minor adjustments, it (adventure travel) could be made available to the senior market,” wrote Dr. Ken Dychtwald in his 1989 book, “Age Wave,” which explores in detail the aging of America.

Major tour companies catering to the mature market, such as AARP’s Travel Experience, Grand Circle and Saga Holidays, along with many local tour operators, have greatly increased the number of soft adventure tours offered in the last four or five years.

In addition, the more established and well-known adventure travel companies, such as Mountain Travel/Sobek and Society Expeditions, now offer excursions tailored to seniors.

Other adventure-oriented tour operators offering hiking, cycling, scuba diving, white-water rafting and other outdoor pursuits have noted an increasing number of seniors--from those in their 50s to their 70s..

Latest to join the ranks of senior seekers is Club Med, somewhat shedding its sybaritic image as befits a travel purveyor in its 25th year, many of whose early members--now considered seniors--still take Club Med vacations each year.

For 1993, the French-founded and now-worldwide organization, with more than 100 “vacation villages” around the globe, offers a program called Forever Young at six of its villages. The program provides guests 60 and over with a per-person savings of $150 a week, and there are more activities catering to seniors at the six destinations.

The following listing of Club Med villages offering Forever Young vacations includes dates offered and basic weekly rates. (All rates are per person, double occupancy, and include round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, except for the Sandpiper, Fla., package.):

Caravelle, Guadeloupe: May 1-Dec. 11, from $1,150. Paradise Island, Bahamas: May 1-Dec. 11, from $1,390. Ixtapa, Mexico: May 1-Dec. 11, $1,290. Eleuthera, Bahamas: May 1-June 12, $1,490. Cancun, Mexico, June 5-26 and Sept. 4-25, $1,390. Sandpiper, Fla., Sept. 4-Oct. 24, $950.

Rates at Paradise Island are $100 more, July 3-Aug. 28. Some villages have ocean views or superior rooms available at slightly higher rates. Single rates are 20% higher on a space-available basis.

All accommodations, meals and evening entertainment, along with any of the Club Med village’s extensive free sports and social activity programs, are included in the price. The villages either have swimming pools or beaches; most have both, along with a variety of water sports.

For more information, pick up the Club Med brochure from your travel agent. Or call (800) CLUB MED, weekdays 6 a.m.-6 p.m., weekends 6 a.m.-1 p.m.