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There was a time when going on safari went hand in hand with roughing it in harsh heat, putting one's life in danger and rationing food and water.

Today, that's no longer the case. Sure, you can still safari like Dr. Livingstone. But with bespoke vacations, it's possible to marvel at African wildlife during the day and enjoy all the comforts of home at night - including your favourite wine served in priceless crystal.

Bespoke is another word for customized travel, and for the privileged set it's quickly becoming the preferred way to see the world. For a minimum of $300 a person a day, or as much as $900,000 over two weeks, you can customize a vacation down to every last detail.

"Bespoke is about 30 per cent of our business and growing with great speed," says Benson Cowan, managing director at Butterfield & Robinson, a Toronto-based luxury travel agency.

Cowan says bespoke is the travel industry's way of keeping up with changing times.

"Car companies allow you to make choices on a website about what your car looks like. Bike companies are great at doing that, too. A lot of businesses have revolutionized the way they interact with customers, and as a result, people expect this kind of customized service," he explains.

In the world of bespoke travel, no expectations are too high, no demands unreasonable. Usually months in advance of the trip itself, a personal vacation planner will sit down with clients and design an itinerary, book accommodations and, of course, deal with any special requests.

Need a private yacht to sail down the Balkan coast? No problem. Want to smoke Cuban cigars on your trek through the Northwest Territories? Bespoke agencies will ensure there's a stocked humidor at the local lodge.

Pamela Lassers, a trip planner with Abercrombie & Kent, a U.S.-based agency, says she has seen all kinds of custom requests. One client, a doctor touring Africa, wanted to see the hospital where the world's first heart transplant took place. Lassers helped arrange a guided visit to Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital, where Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the operation on Dec. 3, 1967.

Abercrombie & Kent is well known for its African trips and safaris, Lassers says. In addition to providing luxury tents complete with lavish Persian rugs and cushy throw pillows, the agency provides an entire support staff. That includes guides, chefs and labourers to set up and take down camp every day.

In one case, a client even arranged for a group of Maasai tribesmen to climb down an escarpment to serve his favourite dessert - flaming baked Alaska.

"The staff will have cold drinks and appetizers waiting for you when you get back to camp and serve an elaborate dinner," Lassers says. "We even provide an in-camp laundry service. The bedding is 100 per cent Egyptian cotton, with a 200 thread count."

Lassers calls the experience "glamping" - shorthand in the bespoke industry for glamorous camping.

Beth Leon, a Butterfield & Robinson client who just returned to Canada from a family trip in Morocco, says that for touring developing countries, bespoke can't be beat.

"We've done travelling on our own, but it's been travelling in Italy and France, places that a lot of people go to, where it's safe and you can get by speaking a bit of the language," she says. "But when we were in Turkey, just my husband and I, we hired a guide for three days and it was great. We wanted to do that on a bigger scale."

Leon says that on her bespoke trip, she was most impressed by the way Butterfield's local guides were able to take the family off the beaten path. "We wouldn't have had a lot of the experiences we had [if we had planned the trip ourselves]," she says. "In some places, we were the only tourists there."

Jen Deacon, a trip planner with Horizon & Co. in Toronto, says bespoke trips to more traditional destinations can also offer unique experiences.

"We know a lot of chefs and winemakers and people like this," she says, explaining that Horizon can arrange meetings and cooking lessons with some of Europe's top culinary minds, many of whom don't usually meet the public.

Deacon says bespoke agencies make finding hidden gems their top priority. "We pride ourselves on having inside knowledge and discovering something first."

To that end, Horizon has six full-time guides that have extensive travel experience, as well as a network of local experts who can help fine-tune an itinerary and provide a feel for local hot pots.

As important as planning is to the bespoke experience, Cowan says that what often impresses travellers most is his staff's ability to improvise when things go wrong.

"In Morocco, we had some well-laid-out plans and everything was going smoothly. Then, suddenly, the king decided to shut down all the highways," he says.

"We ended up at a truck stop, found out about a road that was not on the map and got a great view of some of the untamed parts of the country."

Cowan wouldn't have had it any other way. Even on a trip where every detail is customized and planned, he says, one should find time for the unexpected.

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Bespoke brokers

Butterfield & Robinson This Toronto company specializes in active bespoke trips, which usually involve biking or hiking from place to place. Butterfield has been organizing luxury vacations since the 1980s and bespoke trips for the past five years.

For more information, visit http://www.butterfield.com or call 1-800-678-1147. Horizon & Co. For the bespoke traveller, there's almost nowhere Horizon won't go, from the Yukon to Australia. The company encourages travellers to look to its themed vacation packages, such as its Epicurean Expeditions or Golf Getaways, for inspiration. For more information, visit http://www.horizon-co.com or call 1-800-387-2977. Abercrombie & Kent Based in Illinois, this agency has made special accommodations for fashion designers and a former U.S. president. Abercrombie has more than 50 offices around the world staffed full-time. The agency is currently offering a trip through India via private jet.

For more information, visit

http://www.abercrombiekent.com or call 630-954-2944.

Our Personal Guest This agency specializes in bespoke trips to India and has designed holidays for families, groups and couples. Founder Pallavi Shah is a former director of special marketing for Air India.

For more information, visit http://www.ourpersonalguest.com or call 212-319-1354.

Remote Lands This Manhattan-based agency specializes in private jet journeys to Asia. Five per cent of the company's profits go to charities in developing countries.

For more information, visit

http://www.remotelands.com or call 646-415-8092.