25 wild adventures for 2018
From canyoning in Jordan to penguin-spotting in Antarctica, Francesca Syz has adventures galore lined up – however you get your kicks.
Active
1. Food foraging and photography weeks at Alladale, Scotland
Celebrate the glorious landscapes and ingredients of the Highlands during this seven-day, field-to-fork experience at Alladale Wilderness Reserve in northern Scotland. Run by photographer and food writer Chris Caldicott and his wife Carolyn, an author and chef, expect an enticing mix of photography workshops, guided hikes, and the chance to rustle up and then feast on venison Wellington with foraged wild herbs, to fly fish for trout, and to enjoy a midsummer night’s feast under the stars.
The first retreat is 17-23 June. From £2,350pp, based on two sharing (alladale.com)
2. Canyoning in Jordan
Jordan is becoming increasingly well known for the four Cs – caving, cycling, climbing and canyoning – and has 67 year-round sandstone, limestone and basalt canyons and wadis (valleys or ravines) to explore. For a taste of canyoning, join the eight-day ‘Jaw-dropping Jordan’ with Flash Pack, a small group trip for single travellers in their 30s and 40s, during which you will explore hidden gorges, hike through streams and slide down waterfalls. Highlights include canyoning in Wadi Mujib and a night trek through Petra.
Multiple departures from March, from £1,699pp, excluding flights (flashpack.com)
3. Cycling in Karnataka, southern India
An unbeatable introduction to south India, you’ll be based at two remote, community-run guesthouses in Karnataka during this gentle cycling holiday with Village Ways. One is in a rural inland hamlet, the other in a fishing village. Here you can enjoy day-long cycling trips through lush forests and plantations, visit markets and temples, and spend a day learning traditional farming methods. It’s a privately guided trip with no set departures, and the nicest time to be there is between November and April.
From £952pp, based on two sharing, excluding flights (villageways.com)
4. Heli-exploring the Canadian Rockies
Some of the loveliest places are the hardest to reach – unless you’ve got a helicopter handy, which you would have on the seven-night Bugaboos Adventure in the Canadian Rockies. After hanging out at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta’s Banff National Park, hiking, horseback riding and river rafting, you hop into a helicopter and head to a lodge in the remote high country of the Purcell Mountains. Spend the next four days touching down on mountain peaks and in remote alpine valleys for extraordinary guided walks.
There are departures in July and August. From £4,140pp, based on two sharing (tauck.co.uk)
5. Fjord swimming in Montenegro
Dip into turquoise fjords, lakes, rivers and the sea during this fully coached and guided week-long swimming holiday in Montenegro, staying in a restored palace overlooking the Bay of Kotor. Treats include swimming in the famous Plava Spilja (Blue Grotto) and island-hopping on Lake Skadar. With daily distances of about 5km, you should be a confident open-water swimmer. Fit beginners should consider Swimtrek’s Mallorca holiday.
The Montenegro trip costs from £920pp based on two sharing, excluding flights. Multiple departures between June and October (swimtrek.com)
Wildlife
6. Wolf-howling in the wilderness, Sweden
Join one of Sweden’s foremost wolf experts for an overnight in a tented camp, with dinner cooked on an open fire, following wolf tracks and learning to identify their howls. This three-night wilderness break, only a two-hour drive from Stockholm, also includes two nights sleeping in traditional coal-burner huts at Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge, searching for beavers, moose and other wildlife.
The Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge Wildlife Adventure costs from £1,290pp based on two sharing, including flights, with departures between July and September. Not suitable for under 16s (discover-the-world.co.uk)
7. Snorkeling with whale sharks in the pristine waters of St Helena
Until last October, you could only access this tiny tropical South Atlantic island by Royal Mail ship (it’s a British Territory), but a new airport means you can now fly there from Johannesburg. It has an eclectic history (which includes Napoleon living there in exile for the last six years of his life), and Dive Worldwide offers a new trip to explore amazing wrecks, seamounts and caverns and, thrillingly, snorkel with whale sharks between December and March.
The 11-day Untouched St Helena trip costs from £2,795 pp, based on two sharing, including all flights and transfers (diveworldwide.com)
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8. Maldives manta ray catamaran adventure
A fresh way to experience the Maldives is to go by sea. During this new eight-day trip for a maximum of 16 guests, you will cruise by catamaran from Malé to the northern Baa Atoll, a protected biosphere reserve, searching for manta rays, hawksbill and olive ridley turtles, as well as bottlenose and spinner dolphins. Expect daily snorkeling, excursions to local islands, and presentations by biosphere reserve experts.
From £3,699pp, based on two sharing; departures from 21 July (exodus.co.uk)
9. Madagascar wildlife extravaganza
See Madagascar’s rarest and most endangered wildlife on this one-off, 18-day small group trip in September with Rainbow Tours. Led by Hilary Bradt and Daniel Austin, Madagascar experts and co-authors of the Bradt Guide to Madagascar, you will experience the island in all its diversity – from its protected rainforests to its hunter-gatherer Mikea people – and get to see multiple types of rare sifaka lemurs.
From £7,950pp, based on two sharing, including all flights and transfers (rainbowtours.co.uk)
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10. Wild dogs in Zimbabwe
The BBC has just spent 300 days filming Wild Dog, a documentary airing this autumn. To coincide with it, Wildlife Worldwide is launching a new trip in November to Mana Pools in Zimbabwe to get up close and photograph wild dogs on the banks of the Zambezi river. The tour is led by award-winning wildlife photographer Bret Charman and Nick Murray, the founder of Vundu Camp, where you’ll be based – the man who was responsible for guiding the BBC film crew for the documentary.
From £7,945 pp, based on two sharing, including all flights (wildlifeworldwide.com)
Expeditions
11. Russian adventure – in the footsteps of the reindeer herders at ‘the end of the world’
Join the Nenets – a tribe of nomadic reindeer herdsmen – as they go about their daily lives, far above the Arctic Circle on the isolated Yamal Peninsula, on this 15-day Siberian expedition. Heading off from St Petersburg, you will travel by Trans-Polar Railway, bus and Trekol (a six-wheeled, amphibious all-terrain vehicle) to live in the frozen tundra for a few days before two nights in Moscow.
There are departures in July and in August. From £2,350, based on two sharing, excluding international flights (intrepidtravel.com)
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12. Legendary motorcycle adventures, Corsica and Sardinia
If you’re in serious need of a mental and physical reboot, why not join a small-group road trip on vintage Royal Enfields with Legendary Motorcycle Adventures. The company, which launched last year, is introducing a six-day Corsica to Sardinia ride in October, with a one-hour ferry hop between them. These trips are all about hitting the road in beautiful places, getting off the beaten track, connecting with locals and reconnecting with yourself. Accommodation combines rustic hotels and camping under the stars.
Departing 10 October. From £2,275pp, excluding flights (lma.life)
13. The Selinda adventure trail, Botswana
Spend a serene five days canoeing along a 45km stretch of the Selinda Spillway, which connects the Okavango Delta and the Kwando/Linyanti rivers in northern Botswana. Stop off to explore the grass plains and woodlands running alongside, and spend each night at simple fly-camps. There is every possibility you’ll see elephants, hippos, buffalo and lions, plus fish eagles, kingfishers and bee-eaters.
From £2,744pp, based on two sharing. Minimum two guests, maximum eight (aardvarksafaris.co.uk)
14. Scottish challenge
Igo Adventures offers outdoor physical challenge expeditions, with various combinations of swimming, rowing, running, skiing and kayaking, in places such as Norway, Montana and Morocco. Until now, expeditions have been a week long, but this year they launch two-night weekend hike-run-canoe challenges through the Trossachs National Park in Scotland, sleeping in bell tents and learning wilderness skills. You can choose to compete in teams of four, set personal goals or complete the course at your own pace.
18-20 May. From £545pp (igoadventures.com)
15. Ice-breaker expedition to see emperor penguins in Antarctica
On this extravagant 14-day voyage to Antarctica aboard the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, you’re on a mission to see emperor penguins and their chicks out on the ice (as well as whales, dolphins and seals). Usually based in the Arctic, it’s a rare opportunity to find this legendary ship in this setting. Once in the vicinity, you will be taken by helicopter to within a mile of the rookery and then walk the rest of the way in.
Departing 6 October. From £15,596pp, based on three sharing a triple cabin, including everything except international flights (wildfoottravel.com)
Hideaways
16. Château du Bastit, Dordogne, France
The fairytale 15th-century Château du Bastit sleeps 10 in four pretty bedrooms and one self-contained apartment. With multiple terraces (including one in a turret) and a path through the garden leading up to a heated outdoor pool, it’s the perfect place to escape to with your favourite friends. The owner’s hotel, Château de la Treyne, which has a Michelin-starred restaurant, is a 10-minute drive away.
From €4,000 per week (chateaudubastit.com)
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17. Vega Island, Norway
Off Grid Hideaways holiday-rental company specialises in stylish properties in secluded spots: Vega Island is a three-bedroom eco-retreat in the style of a weather-beaten fisherman’s cottage, on an island of the same name, a 40-minute ferry ride from the mainland. You can hike, fish, kayak and snorkel, and if you’re lucky, in winter, catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. You can also visit the area’s famous eider duck-keepers. Closed in July.
From €550 per night, with a five-night minimum stay (offgridhideaways.com)
18. Ocean House floating eco-lodge, British Columbia
There’s an ‘edge of the world’ feel about Ocean House, a new 12-room fly-in floating eco-lodge anchored off the rugged, spectacular west coast of Haida Gwaii. Opening in time for the summer season, you can settle in and soak up the tranquillity, explore the surrounding ancient forests, visit ruined villages and try stand-up paddle boarding.
Open from 30 May to 2 September 2018. From £3,415pp for four nights, excluding international flights (westernoriental.com)
19. The Datai, Langkawi
Set within an ancient rainforest, The Datai, on the north-western tip of Langkawi, Malaysia, offers an immersive experience like no other. The first luxury resort in Langkawi when it opened 23 years ago, it re-opens this summer after a refurbishment. You’ll encounter 300 different species of butterfly and 236 species of birds. The hotel encourages guests to get out and explore, with offerings such as dawn rainforest walks, jungle trekking, mangrove cruising and plankton safaris.
Doubles from £349 (thedatai.com)
20. Venice island retreat, Italy
Who knew you could get away from it all in touristy Venice? Tucked away in a corner of the lagoon a half-hour boat ride from St Mark’s Square, peacocks roam happily on Isola Santa Cristina, a private island with a grand villa that sleeps 16, but if you’re feeling flash, it would be fun for just two. Add excursions such as a day spent birdwatching in the marshes in a vintage flat-bottomed fishing boat, with onboard meals rustled up by the locally legendary captain-chef.
From £3,500pp a week, based on two sharing, including excursions (bellinitravel.com)
Families
21. Paddling and pirates along the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland
This privately guided six-night trip begins in the coastal town of Greenway in County Mayo. After cycling along The Great Western Greenway (Ireland’s longest off-road cycling trail), climbing Croagh Mountain or horseback riding along St Patrick’s Way, you’ll paddle over to Clare Island, once home to the pirate queen Grace O’Malley, to search for buried treasure. Then it’s on to Connemara for zip-wiring, bushcraft and seaweed foraging.
From €1,850 per adult, €1,520 per child, excluding flights (wildernessireland.com)
22. Finnish summer family adventure
After seven months of ice and snow, the arrival of spring and summer in Finland’s Arctic tundra is a pretty big deal. This trip, which celebrates the fact, is based in Oulanka and includes wilderness training and brown bear watching in the Oulanka National Park, canoeing on Lake Juuma and rafting to the Russian border on River Oulanka. Oh, and daily saunas.
There are five summer departures, the first over May half term. From £1,299pp, minimum age eight (exodus.co.uk)
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23. Rainforests and reefs in Belize
This seven-night trip offers enough excitement to keep the whole brood happy. You’ll explore ancient Mayan ruins and caves in the hills around San Ignacio, before heading to the coast. You’ll then transfer by speedboat to a remote camp on a coral atoll for kayaking, snorkeling and paddle boarding, or just scampering on the beach.
First departure is 19 February, the last is 31 December. From £2,739 per adult, £2,259 per child sharing (familiesworldwide.co.uk)
24. Off-the-beaten-track safari, Malawi
The Liwonde National Park in Malawi is an excellent place to see elephants, monkeys and crocodiles. It also provides the perfect setting in which to educate children on environmental issues. This nine-day tour includes three days on safari, mountain hikes, community visits and days on the beach at Lake Malawi and Mumbo Island.
From £2,480pp, based on two sharing, excluding international flights (travellocal.com)
25. Twin-centre Gozo and Sicily
Activities Abroad has just launched a twin-centre break in Gozo and Sicily (it is, after all, just a 50-minute flight between the two). Highlights in Sicily include trekking up volcanic Mount Etna, cycling and snorkeling, while in Gozo, you can learn to scuba dive, sea kayak and join a climbing class.
From £2,045 per adult, £1,525 per child (activitiesabroad.com)
