THE OPULENT express. . .top of the line tours

This is our dreamer’s column.

There are few of us who wouldn’t enjoy the life style of the rich and famous (or even the ordinary rich).

So even if the bank account is low, we can pretend, can’t we?

An ultra-luxurious vacation on the lush Caribbean island of St. Thomas is designed especially for loving couples. They’ll waste not a moment fretting at the price tag of $10,326 per couple for seven nights of blissful comfort and seven days of pure pleasure.

The sense of being completely taken care of begins when they step off the plane. They’ll be picked up at the airport by helicopter and whisked away to the Stouffer Grand Beach Resort, where they’ll be ensconced in a two-bedroom town house complete with Jacuzzi and fully stocked bar (including Dom Perignon champagne, of course).

Their private helicopter will also take them one day to a secluded island for a private gourmet lunch. Another romantic interlude will be a gourmet dinner served in their suite by a tuxedoed waiter. And their private helicopter will stand by again to take them to Puerto Rico for dining and gaming.

While some couples may choose to sleep until noon, bask on the beach or take long strolls, others may decide to learn scuba diving in private lessons and then go for an escorted dive, or take a ride by private motorboat to the Baths of Virgin Gorda. A chauffeured limo stands ready to take them on sightseeing tours of the island and shopping expeditions. On another day, they may go for a sail on a private skippered yacht.

And if they can’t tear themselves away after a week of pleasure and fun, extra nights are available to them at $340 (per person) a night for as long as they wish to linger. High season is through mid-April. After that the price drops to $9,500 per couple. Air fare is extra.

Meanwhile, 90 people will sign on for “world cruises by private jet,” the 11th year of the popular excursion offered by Hemphill Harris Travel Corp.

For the flights, an American Trans Air L-1011, which normally seats 344 passengers, is refitted with 90 first-class seats, spacious lounges and a stand-up bar. Guests are accompanied by the same cabin crew throughout their journey and are served fine cuisine, champagnes and vintage wines.

Golfers are catered to on the September excursion, a 28-day itinerary featuring exclusive and celebrated clubs in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bali, Bangkok, Delhi, Nairobi, Rabat and Edinburgh. Golf courses include Gleneagles, St. Andrews, Royal Hong Kong, Royal Nairobi and Delhi Golf Club. Tournaments and lessons are conducted by pros who will accompany the tour. Non-golfers will have plenty of shopping, sightseeing and other activities. The price, per person, is $28,000.

At the same price is the original 35-day itinerary, in October, to Fort Lauderdale, Rio de Janeiro, Easter Island, New Zealand, Bali, Beijing and Xian in China, Hong Kong, Delhi, Tanzania and Monaco, and including a weeklong cruise in French Polynesia aboard the beautiful Wind Song.

Hemphill Harris promises passengers the finest luxury accommodations available at each destination, unrestricted a la carte dining in the passenger’s choice of restaurants, all excursions, admittance fees, tips and other extras.

Speaking of large, impressive planes, an Air France Concorde flight between New York and Paris is featured on a “Supersonic Special to the French Open” offered by Jet Vacations June 1-6. The French Open Tennis Championships will find the Concorde travelers seated at center court for both the women’s and men’s semifinals and finals. For $3,750 a person they’ll also get accommodations at the four-star Inter-Continental Hotel, daily continental breakfast and a designer scarf. Voila!

Also for the tennis set, the great tradition of Wimbledon continues to attract the world’s top tennis players, this year June 20 to July 3. Pat Cash and Martina Navratilova will defend their titles. The “Traditional Wimbledon” program provides VIP hospitality with fine catering, wines and champagnes, along with the best seats.

A reserved table for luncheon, refreshments during the afternoon, traditional tea and other privileges are included in the rate, depending, of course, on whether you pay the minimum, $950 a day, or the maximum, $2,200 a day. Arrangements are by TravelTix International, a division of Humbert Travel. This doesn’t include hotel accommodations, but the firm will help you with those arrangements as well.

“Brideshead and Beyond” is a tour designed in the grand manner inspired by Evelyn Waugh’s novel, “Brideshead Revisited.” Travelers will spend a day in the Royal Enclosure at the Ascot Races, with gentlemen in morning dress and ladies in picture hats and gloves.

They’ll stay at the Hyde Park Hotel in London’s West End, visit Castle Howard (where “Brideshead” was filmed) and Oxford University, spend a night at Whately Hall in Banbury and two nights at Middlethorpe Hall in York, attend the theater in London, brunch at Cafe Royal, dine at Parliament, tour Broadlands and go for a day’s ride on the Venice Simplon Orient-Express. The tour, June 10-19, costs $3,645, plus air fare, and is limited to 22 participants. Arrangements are by William D. Buckman’s Travel Time.

Travelers who wish to explore more faraway places can sign on for a 34-day trip departing May 1 for “the exotic and forbidden lands of Indonesia” being organized by Zenith Travel International at a cost of $5,740 a person, plus air fare. The group will travel in Borneo, Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea), Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Bali.

They’ll visit remote villages, ancient temples, archeological sites, handicraft villages, wildlife reserves and floating markets. They’ll take expeditions up the Mahakam River into the Dayak tribal area, to Toraja Land to view Lemo-cliff tombs, visit Komodo Island and the rain forests and tribes of Irian Jaya.

Adventurers patient enough to wait for February, 1989, and eager enough to sign up well in advance can get in on a peak experience called the “Aconcagua Ascent.” Although the Nevado Aconcagua in western Argentina is the highest peak, at 22,850 feet, in the Western Hemisphere, organizers say that the climb will require no technical knowledge, passing over a trail of broken rock and scree right to the summit. Caution: The difficulty comes in the altitude and possible adverse weather. Climbers will carry an average load of 30 to 35 pounds.

For this test of strength and endurance, participants will pay $7,720 including air fare. Following the climb, they’ll stay in the finest hotel in Mendoza, near the mountain. Arrangements are by Blyth & Company. Guiding the Aconcagua ascent will be Laurie Skreslet, the first Canadian to have reached the top of Mt. Everest.

“Patience and determination are more important for this climb than technical ability,” Skreslet said. “Of all trips, this is the hardest and the most satisfying one that most people will ever take.” He said his entire group last year, including two women, made it to the top.

Those who would rather be pampered than tested may prefer a cruise on a luxury barge in France. Although the Fleur de Lys, at 129 feet, is the size of a large hotel barge, it was built two years ago to carry only four to seven passengers. Two couples may charter the barge for a 10-night cruise. They pay $7,765 a person. They cruise on the Loire River and canals through the Loire Valley with its chateaux and fine wines, and into La Puisaye, between the Loire and the Seine.

Excursions include castle tours and trips to villages. Balloon and helicopter rides can be booked as well. Aboard are an attentive crew, fine cuisine and wines, saloon and library, heated swimming pool, sun decks, and comfortable staterooms, each with four-poster bed, dressing room and private bath. Arrangements are by Abercrombie & Kent.

No wish list of luxury excursions would be complete without a mention of the next world cruise aboard Cunard Line’s Sagafjord. Leaving Florida Jan. 6, 1989, the Sagafjord sails eastward to explore the west and east coasts of Africa, then on to India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan, returning to the United States via Hawaii, stopping in Los Angeles (where passengers may disembark) and then going through the Panama Canal, returning to Florida 102 days later. Prices haven’t been announced yet, but this year’s cruise cost from $24,880 to $58,060.

The top of the world is the destination of Salen Lindblad Cruising, the outfit that took travelers to the South Pole in January. April 17-29, the plan is for a matching expedition to the North Pole. Travelers, limited to 14, will meet in Edmonton, Canada, and from there go to Resolute Bay to fly to the North Pole over Ellesmere Island, making their way in stages to the Pole while enjoying the scenery and wildlife of the Arctic tundra, meeting Inuits, hiking and fishing. The price is $7,995 plus air fare.

For more information:

Stouffer Hotels & Resorts, (216) 248-3600.

Hemphill Harris, (800) 252-2103.

Jet Vacations, (800) 538-1999.

TravelTix International, division of Humbert Travel, (212) 688-3700.

William D. Buckman’s Travel Time, (800) 621-4725.

Zenith Travel International, (213) 935-2920.

Blyth & Company, (800) 228-7712.

Abercrombie & Kent, (800) 323-7308.

Cunard Line, (800) 221-4770.

Salen Lindblad Cruising, (800) 223-5688.