A to Z Activity Guide
Round up your crew and prepare to try something new. Imogen Lepere scours the glove to find 26 inspirational activities
A rctic Adventure
Explore the awe-inspiring Svalbard Archipelago, drifting among the icy floes and making unforgettable memories. Hurtigruten cruises thed ramatic landscapes of Norway’s Spitsbergen, taking in the northernmost point of the European mainland and adventuring into the pristine Arctic paradise islands. On the Oslo to Tromsø itinerary, spot polar bears in eastern Svalbard and attempt a refreshing Arctic swim in Magdalenafjorden’s icy waters.
Travel Details
Sailing 16 August, Hurtigruten‘s 14-day Oslo to Tromsø itinerary costs from £7,638pp. hurtigruten.com
B elgium by bike
The Flanders Cycle Route stretches 800km. Ride the Eastern Flanders section, from Astene through Leuven, Hoegaarden and St Truiden, in three days, gliding along car-free cycleways and quiet country lanes. Start with a meal to remember at three-Michelin-starred Hof van Cleve farmhouse, just 30 minutes by bike from Astene.
Travel Details
Bike rental from Het Verzet in Astene costs £32 for three days. Dinner at Hof Van Cleve costs from £175. Chetverzet.be hofvancleve.com
C ook up a storm in the Italian mountains
Perfect your Italian cooking skills at a pop-up class in Alta Badia, in the Dolomite mountains of South Tyrol, famed for its profusion of Michelin-starred restaurants. The chefs at Club Moritzino (9 August) will be revealing the secrets of their seafood pastas, or learn how to make spinach dumplings at I Tablà (23 August). After you’ve gorged on the fruits of your labour, there are countless walking trails to discover, including scaling the Gran Cir peak at sunrise.
Travel Details
Cooking classes can be booked through the Alta Badia Tourist Information Office. altabadia.org
D ive in paradise, Fiji
Adventure beyond the palm-fringed white sands of the Yasawa Islands to free dive with rays. The seascapes around this volcanic archipelago include warm lagoons populated by ponderous sea turtles and iridescent gardens of soft coral and at this time of year visibility is at its best. The idyllic Paradise Cove hotel, accessed only by boat or seaplane, offers a range of PADI courses, whatever your level.
Travel Details
Doubles at Paradise Cove hotel from £180. Individual dives, including equipment, from £140pp. paradisecoveresortfiji.com
E arth's sky explored in Sark
Floating in the channel,
closer to France than England, tiny Sark was declared
the world’s first dark sky island in 2011, and its
observatory was restored and opened to visitors in 2015.
Spot Saturn and marvel at Mars, or simply lie back in the
Clos de Vaul Creux hotel’s gardens and ruminate. Arrive by
horse and cart through streets lined with stone cottages with
gabled roofs, as this charming island is entirely car-free.
Travel Details
£5 donation for a tour and use of telescopes at Sark Observatory. Doubles at Clos de Vaul Creux from £114. sastros.sark.gg closdevaulcreux.co.uk
F east at a food festival
First up is the famous Lobster Festival (31 July – 4 August) in Rockland,
Maine, where you will find an epic lobster cook-off,
music and a sea goddess coronation. On to Germany, and the Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf (23-25 August), Europe’s
largest open-air food event. Scandinavia’s capital of cool puts
a typically stylish spin on the annual Copenhagen Cooking
and Food Festival (23 August – 1 September). Expect panel
talks from top female chefs and fermenting workshops.
Travel Details
Entrance to Maine Lobster Festival, £6.
Entrance to Gourmet Festival Düsseldorf and Copenhagen
Cooking and Food Festival is free. mainelobsterfestival.com
gourmetfestival-duesseldorf.de copenhagencooking.com
G rape escapes in a Camargue vineyard
Walking
and consuming fruit may sound a little worthy for a holiday, but it all falls into place when the setting is the unique vineyards of the Camargue, taking in the
candy-pink flamingoes and wild white horses that call
western Europe’s largest river delta home. Domaine Royal de
Jarras, a winery surrounded by expansive wetlands, opens its
doors to the public Monday to Saturday. Aboard a small
train, visitors tour grenache gris vines growing in the famous
sandy swathes, before returning to la maison for generous
tastings and classic French cuisine. Less than a 10-minute
drive north, the town of Aigues-Mortes makes a good base.
Inside the medieval walls is the newly renovated Hôtel des
Remparts. Allow its stone pool and spa to ease weary bones
before heading to the nearby salt flats, whose luminosity
makes them one of the region’s most photographed spots.
Travel Details
Domaine Royal de Jarras offers free tastings.
Doubles at Hôtel des Remparts from £151. domaindejarras.com remparts-aiguesmortes.fr
H ike from coast to beautiful coast in Scotland
Stretch your legs in the Highlands’ dramatic scenery
with its significant historical sites. The 117km Great
Glen Way, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Moray Firth, is
suitable for walkers of all levels and runs along the Caledonian
Canal and the shores of lochs Linnhe, Lochy, Oich and Ness.
Arrow-straight, the route can be tackled in either direction,
but a trek from Fort William up towards Inverness puts the
prevailing wind and the sun at your back. Rest your feet at one
of the many B&Bs along the way or, for a treat, book into
The Lovat, on the southern tip of Loch Ness. Juniper-cured
salmon and venison saddle will send you happily on your way.
Travel Details
The Scottish tourist board has details of routes and accommodation. Stay at The Lovat, Fort Augustus. Doubles from £146. visitscotland.com thelovat.com
I reland's crustacea
Pounded by the Irish Sea to the east and the wild Atlantic Ocean to the west, it’s unsurprising that Irish seafood is world famous. Galway oysters (native flats with a shallow shell and wild, gamey flavour) are the jewel in its crown and, come September, they’re back in season. Find them at the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival (27-29 September). Galway was recognised as a European Region of Gastronomy in 2018 and its farms produce an astonishing variety of quality ingredients. Enda McEvoy’s innovative menus at Loam are a love letter to local produce, while Merrow is a top addition to Galway’s casual dining scene.
Travel Details
Festival events from £40. Dinner at Loam from £40. Dinner at Merrow from £28. galwayoysterfestival.com loamgalway.com palas.ie
J apan is where it's at
All eyes are on the Land of the
Rising Sun right now, with rugby types heading there this
summer for the World Cup and Olympians converging on
Tokyo in 2020. But if your idea of activity is hitting the heights,
this is the season to climb to the summit of Fuji, the 3,776m
mountain whose snow-kissed peak can be seen 100 miles away
in the capital. Fit as a fiddle? Leave Tokyo first thing, ascend
and descend the same day. For a more leisurely experience,
sleep in a station cabin, then continue to the top to watch the
sun rise. No need, even, to tackle the entire thing: begin at one
of ten rest stations, where you’ll find hotels, restaurants, onsen
(hot springs) and a chance to acclimatise before going up.
Travel Details
Japanican offers a two-day guided tour with mountain hut stay at the seventh station, including Tokyo transfers and hot spring bathing. From £273pp. japanican.com
K ayak in Canada
From July until September, in a narrow glacier-carved passage between the east
coast of Vancouver Island and the British Columbia
mainland, thousands of salmon on their way home to spawn
instead end up meeting their maker. These hapless fish don’t
take into account the fact that the Johnstone Strait is home to
more than 200 orcas, who gorge themselves silly over the
summer, putting on quite the display for wildlife enthusiasts
while they’re at it. Get off-grid with Sea Kayak Adventures’
three-night camping trip. You’ll explore the epic waterscape
of the strait by day and camp at night on a deserted beach.
Travel Details
Sea Kayak Adventures’ Orca Basecamp Kayak Tour costs £870pp, including camping, all meals, camping and Lkayaking equipment and a guide. seakayakadventures.com
L ake District fun
Every year, hundreds of hopefuls
gather on the shores of Lake Windermere to test their
chances at the All England Open Stone Skimming
Championships. This year’s event makes a splash on 17 August
and absolutely anybody can enter. Just 20 minutes away,
in the sleepy village of Cartmel, Simon Rogan dishes up
top-notch comfort food at Michelin-starred – though relaxed
in ambience – Rogan & Co, with much of the menu sourced
from his own farm. Bed down in one of The Drunken Duck’s
stylish bedrooms: think mid-century furnishings and fabrics
in nostalgic prints, roll-top baths and underfloor heating.
Travel Details
Stone-skimming entry costs £3, with money going towards conservation in the Lakes. Dinner at Rogan & Co from £44. Doubles at The Drunken Duck from £125. nationaltrust.org.uk roganandco.co.uk drunkenduckinn.co.uk
M ongolia on horseback
Follow in the hoofprints of a young Chingghis Khan (that’s Ghengis to you and I) while cantering through the Khan Khentii Wilderness in north-eastern Mongolia. This magnificent 12,000 sq km swathe of mountains and forest was closed to the public during seven decades of Soviet rule because of its links to Mongolia’s great leader, who accomplished some of his most daring feats in the region and is also buried there. While the Russians were only seeking to prevent the area becoming a rallying point for nationalist resistance, they unwittingly created the country’s greatest nature reserve, a land of pristine taiga forest roamed by elk, lynx, bear and wolverine. With Stone Horse you can spend 14 days following ancient trails on horseback, sleeping under canvas beneath magnificent night skies and working with rangers to help preserve the land for future generations. Work varies, but might include placing signs, trail maintenance and campsite cleanup.
Travel Details
Stone Horse Expeditions and Travel’s Mongolia Wilderness Conservation Adventure costs £3,350pp, including tented accommodation, all meals, use of a horse and Western saddle. stonehorsemongolia.com
N aturism (no clothes necessary) in France
Let it all hang out at Cap d’Agde Naturist Village, the world's largest clothing-optional resort, an hour's drive from Montpellier. In high season up to 40,000 guests air their bits on its 1.6km-long beach and sip Languedoc wine outside Bizoux bar. Re-robe to visit Montpellier’s Musée Fabre, which boasts one of the best collections of art in France, then dine at La Coquille bistro. Natureva Spa hotel is our pick in the naturist village. Book a top-floor room for the superb views.
Travel Details
Studios at Natureva Spa cost from £75.
Entrance to Musée Fabre costs from £6. Dinner at
La Coquille costs from £33. natureva-spa.com
museefabre-en.montpellier3m.fr restaurantlacoquille.fr
O ff-piste in the Andes
Head for the mountains of South
America, where pristine powder and crowd-free slopes
meet blue skies and sunshine. Resorts in the Andes are
blessed during our summer months with some of the best
off-piste skiing on the planet, including Las Leñas in Argentina.
For intermediate skiers, the Tres Valles of Valle Nevado, El
Colorado and La Parva in Chile have a more Alpine vibe.
Travel Details
Go off-piste with PowderQuest, which runs a guided backcountry tour visiting both Chile and Argentia. Twelve days from £5.505pp, excluding flights. powderquest.com
P aint on a European art retreat
Capture the peaks of the French Pyrenees, before returning to Ancienne Poste Avajan lodge for a home-cooked meal. Be inspired by Carravaggio’s chiaroscuro in Florence, Italy, then return to a rambling villa in the Tuscan hills for tuition. In Cyprus’s beautiful Lefkara village, it’s local artists who provide expertise.
Q uito, Ecuador – the middle of the Earth
Straddle both hemisphers at the official Middle of the World Monument, before exploring the Unesco-listed city's leafy plazas. Stay in La Casona de la Ronda, and feast on ceviche at locals' spot El Gato Portovejense.
Travel Details
Entrance to the Middle of the Earth Monument costs £3. Doubles at La Casona de la Ronda from £170. Dinner at El Gato Portovejense costs from £5. mitaddelmundo.com lacasonadelaronda.com facebook.com/elgatoportovejense
R iding safari in Kenya
It’s hard to beat the thrill of
experiencing the African wilderness from the saddle of a horse. It’s a chance to get even closer to the wildlife,
cantering alongside wild animals as they teem across the
rolling grassy plains of the Maasai Mara, or slowing down to appreciate the beauty of the bush, without the sound of a vehicle for miles around. Go with Aardvark Safaris and
expect to see zebra, giraffe, elephant and buffalo, and ford the Mara River at one of the famous wildebeest crossings.
Travel Details
Aardvark Safaris offers a seven-night Mara ride, on 10 August or 14 September, with light aircraft transfer from Nairobi to the reserve, luxury camping and expert guides included. From £5,740pp. aardvarksafaris.co.uk
S weden's lakes and spas
Come summer, Sweden’s city dwellers decamp to its 100,000 crystalline lakes. Lake Mälaren is scattered with thousands of islands, many with wooden cabins amid dense forest, while the shores of Lake Vänern are a peaceful place to fish for brown trout, best cooked over a fire and served with a salted cucumber salad. At Lake Sävelången, a 25-minute drive from Gothenburg, Naas Fabriker is the perfect place to combine a calming lake stay with lashings of Scandi luxury. This boutique hotel in a 19th-century cotton mill has a lakeside sauna and several hot tubs, as well as a jetty with stairs leading straight into the water.
Travel Details
Doubles at Lake Sävelången’s Naas Fabriker boutique hotel from £96. naasfabrikerhotell.se
T rek through Madeira
This is a place where the smell of lily of the valley wafts through fishing villages and volcanic spires are robed in vivid shades of green. It may be a region of Portugal but Madeira is far closer to north-west Africa than Europe and it has the climate and landscapes to prove it. A week spent exploring its jungle on foot is perfect for those looking for utter immersion in nature within a four-hour flight of London. Exodus Travels’ itinerary includes the ancient forests of the Queimadas Natural Park, the hills between Pico do Jorge and Encumeada, which are fragrant with wild thyme, and Funchal, once famous for exporting sugar and wine to the New World. The five days spent walking include trails ranging from medium to challenging, so you’ll need to be reasonably fit.
Travel Details
Exodus Travels’ eight-day Walking in Madeira
trip costs from £849pp, including accommodation and breakfast, a guide and transport. exodustravels.com
U nesco villages in Transylvania
This mystical region in central Romania remains satisfyingly obscure, despite boasting seven Unesco-listed churches. It’s a dream-like land where horses and carts park up at roadside stalls, their owners pulling on homemade pálinca, a fiery brandy made from plums. A visit to Bran Castle, thought to be Bram Stoker’s inspiration for Dracula, is a must, but simply walking around villages such as Viscri and Biertan is an experience in itself. Via Transylvania Tours has an 11-day self-drive itinerary, or base yourself at Copsamare and put together your own plan. This collection of Saxon buildings 2km from Biertan has been transformed into stylish guesthouses.
Travel Details
Via Transylvania’s 11-day self-drive holiday in Romania costs from £780pp, including 11 days’ car hire, accommodation and a guided tour. Doubles at Copsamare from £95. viatransylvania.com copsamare.ro
V espa tours in Rome
Nothing could be more Roman
than zipping past baroque fountains and palazzos a few kmph past the speed limit (Italians perceive such
things as suggestions rather than rules), before pulling in at a pasticceria bar for strong espresso and maritozzo con la
panna (a cream-filled pastry). Scooterama offers Vespa tours
led by local guides. The foodie tour generally includes
a visit to Testaccio’s market and Panella, one of the oldest
bakeries in Rome. Continue the food focus with a stay at The H’All Roma, a 14-suite haven owned by chefs Riccardo
Di Giacinto and Ramona Anello. Try their reduction of
carbonara served in an eggshell at on-site Ristorante All’Oro.
Travel Details
Scooterama’s foodie Vespa tour costs £180. Doubles at The H’all Roma from £216. Dinner at Ristorante All’Oro costs £100. scooteroma.com thehallroma.com
W hale watching in hermanus, South Africa
This cosmopolitan town in South Africa’s Western Cape Province is one of the best whale-watching spots in the world and September is peak season. Between the 27th and 29th, the Hermanus Whale Festival brings live music and food trucks to town. You can get even closer to these magnificent mammals on a boat trip. Book in advance through the likes of Whale Hermanus – as limited numbers of vessels are licensed to be in the water at any given time. If your enjoyment of nature is heightened by luxury, check into The Marine, whose seaview rooms boast views over the bay.
Travel Details
Entrance to Hermanus Whale Festival is free. Whale-watching boat trips from £50pp for 2.5 hours. Doubles at The Marine from £170. hermanuswhalefestival.co.za whalehermanus.com themarinehotel.co.za
X marks the spot in the USA
Inspired by stories he
read as a boy, eccentric art dealer Forrest Fenn has
reputedly hidden a chest with a treasure said to be
worth £4m somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of New
Mexico’s Santa Fe, with nothing but a cryptic poem as a clue.
Hire a car in Santa Fe and take the High Road to Taos, a
285km loop through the Southern Rocky Mountains, taking
in pueblo villages and the Carson National Forest, home to
elk and bears. Back in town, check into The Inn of the Five
Graces, a tumble of apparently humble dwellings that conceal
lush fabrics and antiques plundered from the Silk Road.
Travel Details
Car hire costs from £35 per day. Doubles at the Five Graces from £313. avis.com fivegraces.com
Y achting in Turkey
Be master of your own destiny (with a little help from a skipper) with a one-week flotilla holiday through the Gulf of Fethiye. This sapphire swathe of the Mediterranean is scattered with islands cloaked in dense pine forests that occasionally open
up to reveal Lycian tombs and other ruins. Moor up at Cold Water Bay, where you can feast on fresh fish at the tiny restaurant halfway up the cliff, or Wall Bay, a horseshoe of clear water offering top snorkelling. The area is sheltered with north-westerly winds that typically remain around force 2-3, meaning you don’t need to be a champion sailor to enjoy it. Nautilus Yachting offers regular departures throughout August and September, with an experienced team on the lead yacht on hand to provide support should you need it.
Travel Details
Nautilus Yachting's seven-day Fethiye Gulf itinerary costs from £1,165 for a 10m yacht with two double cabins. nautilustachting.com
Z ambezu rafting
A day’s white-water rafting on the
Zambezi River is an adrenaline-inducing experience,
particularly between August and December, when the
water is low and more of the bedrock is exposed, creating
crashing rapids. If all that sounds a little too adventurous, you
can always swoop over the falls in a helicopter, to spot wildlife
roaming the plains of the Zambezi National Park. A 15-minute
drive away, The Stanley & Livingstone hotel has 16 suites,
each set in its own garden. Rooms combine colonial-era
antiques with African art and an airy, modern colour palette.
Wake up in a canopied bed and enjoy an excellent breakfast
on Restaurant 1872’s terrace, which floats above the trees.
Travel Details
Doubles at Stanley and Livingstone from £610. A full day’s white-water rafting costs £150pp. The helicopter tour costs £185pp. stanleyandlivingstone.co.zw
Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe