set your heart racing - caminoways.com · 1/15/2017 · breaks. the bundoran surf company offers a...

Date 15 January 2017

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ACTIVESET YOUR HEART RACING

53SERIOUS CYCLING, MALLORCA€€

Guido Eickelbeck was in the GermanOlympic cycling team before heturned pro in 1989, spending fouryears pumping the pedals in TeamTelekom. These days he lives inMallorca, where the heart-bustingclimbs and terrifying descents of theSerra de Tramuntana have becomethe training ground of choice forcyclists, from ambitious Mamils toSir Bradley Wiggins, who has a housedown the road. Guido’s four-dayCycle Mallorca package is based atthe Castell Son Claret, in Calvia, a

15th-century castle turned 38-roomboutique hotel: the town is known as“the seven wonders of the roads”because of its varied routes, rangingfrom the painful to the satanic. Thetwo half-days guided by Guido, onstate-of-the-art BMC Granfondobikes, are complemented by twopost-ride massages in the spa. Howyou spend the rest of your time is upto you; some will lie by the pool, butif you’re properly hardcore, you’ll beright back in the saddle. The CycleMallorca package starts at €480, B&B(castellsonclaret.com). Fly Dublin toPalma with Aer Lingus.


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54FAMILY ACTION IN THEARDECHE

€€The Ardèche river is Europe’s premiernatural water park, and PGL offers asuperb-value family activity holidayhere, based around a 32-kilometredescent in Canadian canoes. Aimed atkids aged 7 and up, the journey startswith an easy 5k. Then there’s a day ofmountain-biking and ropework,followed by a full day of kayaking. Youget day five off — go and see thethree-tiered Roman Pont du Gard orcycle to the Friday food market inBarjac. Then comes D-Day: thedescent of the Ardèche, continuingthe following day through the rapidsto Sauze. There are departures onAugust 7 and 14; prices start at €670for adults and €555 for kids, with onechild staying free (code JAN47;pgl.co.uk). Flights are extra: head toAvignon, Montpellier or Nîmes withAer Lingus or Ryanair.

55HIGH-ALTITUDE HIKING, BALKANS€€€

One of the toughest postings in theAlbanian army used to be patrolling thenorthern border with Yugoslavia, wheresquaddies followed centuries-old goattracks across high-altitude terrain. It’sunforgiving, yes — but also deserted andoutstandingly beautiful. This spectacularwilderness can be yours for eight daysas you follow in the footsteps of thoseconscripts, driving north from Tirana toclimb the 2,750m Mount Korab on daytwo, the 2,655m Mount Gjeravica, inKosovo, on day three, and the 2,533mZla Kolata, bang on the border betweenAlbania and Montenegro, on day five.It’s hard going, through an undevelopedlandscape only recently opened totrekkers, and lodgings are basic even byAlbanian standards. Adventurers don’tseem to care: it’s selling fast. Thereare departures between July andSeptember, and prices start at €1,670(keadventure.com).


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56WILD ATLANTICCOASTEERING

€€If you’re going to sayyou’ve coasteeredanywhere, our ownWild Atlantic Way isas good a place as any,and challengingenough to go on anyintrepid adventurer’sCV. Coasteering — acombination ofadventure swimmingand rock climbingalong the base of seacliffs — is adrenalinepumping stuff,exploring rockformations, stoppingto experience the riseand fall of the oceanswell, and scramblingup sea cliffs only tojump off them again.The Delphi resort inCo Mayo organisescoasteering days out,with safety equipmentprovided andsupervised byqualified instructors,with the promise offour-star hotelaccommodation andvery good grub at theend of each day. Thetwo-night DelphiExperience costsfrom €297ppsincluding two eveningmeals, a half dayadventuring, a spatreatment and aseaweed bath(delphiresort.com).


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57LESSON-FREE SAILING IN THE IONIAN€€€

When Barrie Neilson set up Sailing Holidaysin 1987, he had 11 yachts. Three decadeslater, he runs a fleet of 178 — to put it inperspective, that’s 101 more ships than theBritish Royal Navy. His success is down tokeeping it simple. You turn up, join yourflotilla, then head off, following a lead boatcrewed by people who know what they’redoing. You will, too, after a few hours: thelead boat crew will give you a briefing onhow to go, turn and stop, and will keep adiscreet eye on you throughout the week(though if that makes you nervous, you canpay for “an extra pair of hands” to comeaboard). By the time you’ve spent the firstday pootling along, stopping for a lazylunch and the odd swim before putting in tosome gorgeous harbour for dinner, you’ll beon the crest of a wave. A summer-holidayweek exploring Greece’s Ionian Islandsstarts at €1,195, based on four sharing(sailingholidays.com).

YEE-HA!, ARIZONA

There’s a posse of ranch holidays out there,but this one has real cowboy credentials. It’s setin the heart of the Old West — the place wherethe Apache chief Cochise fought the US army atthe Battle of Apache Pass, where Geronimo

endered after his murderous 10-yearrampage and where the High Five Gang took oneriff Bob Leatherwood’s men in one of the

Wild West’s greatest ever shootouts. You can visitese locations and more on a series of desert and

canyon rides from the Hideout Ranch, threehours east of Tucson. This atmospheric bunch ofshacks and corrals is one of the last bastions ofcowboy culture in America: a place wherestrength, stillness, independence and resilienceare cultivated. It sells itself as a hard ride into theromanticised past, but it has comfortable roomsand a bar called the Red Dog Saloon. A weekstarts at €2,075, including all meals, but notflights (ranchrider.com). Fly from Dublin toTucson with BA or Virgin Atlantic from London.


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59SURF DUDES OF DONEGAL€

Donegal wasn’t voted one of theworld’s coolest holiday spots lastyear for its homespun tweed andDaniel O’Donnell records: it has aburgeoning surf culture and someof the best breaks in Europe.Bundoran is surf central: its reefbreak, the Peak, regularly appearsin lists of the world’s great waves,but the resort isn’t only for pros.Just over the headland is TullanStrand, a natural academy withconsistent and easy-to-ride beachbreaks. The Bundoran SurfCompany offers a great-valueseven-night package for novices,including accommodation andseven intense three-hour lessons.If you’re really talented, you couldbe paddling out to the Peak by theend of the week. Prices start at€400pp, B&B, including use of asurfboard, a wetsuit and lessons(bundoransurfco.com).


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61THE CAMINO EXPERIENCE, VIA FRANCE€€€€

If you’d rather experience your solo walkingepiphany in a French accent, Camino Ways,the Irish walking/cycling specialist, has anideal itinerary for first-time pilgrims, takingin the last section of the French Way. Onthis six-night trip, you’ll walk all 112kilometres from Sarria to Santiago (youmust walk at least 100 kilometres of theCamino to get your “pilgrim certificate”)but the gorgeous Galician countryside you’llpass through makes it all worth it. The costis €560 per person, half-board based ontwo sharing, but several optional upgradesare available. Flights are extra; fly toSantiago with Aer Lingus and take the busto Sarria (caminoways.com).

60GOLF AROUND THE CAPE,SOUTH AFRICA

€€€€With at least a dozen world-class coursesand all those excellent wines, South Africa isa smart choice for a golfing road trip. Thefirst four nights of this tee tour are spent atthe Commodore, on the V&Awaterfront,perfectly positioned for a game at theClovelly Country Club. Compare andcontrast with a round at Pearl Valley, in thewinelands of Drakenstein, before moving tothe Arabella Hotel & Spa, near Hermanus,for three nights and two rounds on theshores of the Bot River lagoon. You mighteven find time for a game drive atBotlierskop Game Reserve (€30pp;botlierskop.co.za). Priced from €1,895,B&B, including car hire (yourgolftravel.com).

62EASY WALKING, PORTUGAL€€

There’s an equation with walkingholidays: you put the foot-sloggingeffort in, you get the scenic rewardsout. On that basis, the Rota Vicentinaoffers the best deal around. It’srelatively benign — any weekendwalker can handle it — butoutstandingly beautiful, combiningsun-dappled forest, sparkling rivers,ancient villages, fabulous birdlife andspectacular beaches. The 400-kilometre route through the Alentejoisn’t a single trail, but a typicallyPortuguese confection of convergingpaths and wonderful little circular

diversions. See it for yourself onCeltic Trails’ new hike fromAlmograve to Sagres, an eight-dayholiday best taken in early summer orearly autumn, and covering amaximum of 21 kilometres a day.Staying at hotels en route for twonights at a time, you’ll have theopportunity each day not only tostand and stare, but to have a decentlunch in a wayside pousada and endthe day loafing on the beach or by thepool. It’s cheap, too: prices start at€695pp, B&B, including threedinners and luggage transfers,but not including flights(celtictrailswalkingholidays.co.uk).Fly Dublin to Faro with Ryanair.


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63RUN WITH THE LIONS INTANZANIA

€€€€€The presence of elephants (topspeed 40kph), lions (80kph) andbuffalo (56kph) may help youimprove your personal best over the21 kilometres of the Serengeti half-marathon this autumn, especiallysince you’ll be trying to keep upwith fleet-footed Masai runningmates. New from G Adventures, thiseight-day experience in theSerengeti National Park mixesendurance and safari. Arriving inArusha, you’ll head west to Mto waMbu village for a Masai lunch beforejoining locals on a five-kilometretraining run. It’s a long drive thenext day through the Ngorongoro tothe Serengeti, with a couple ofgame drives scheduled for day four.Day five is run day. Good luck —but at least there’ll be dancing atthe end. You can fit in a couplemore morning game drivesafterwards, before returning toArusha and flying home. You sleepin tents, so you’ll need a sleepingbag. The trip departs on November21 and costs from €2,660, full-board, excluding flights(gadventures.com). Fly to Arushawith Kenya Airways via London.


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64EASY CYCLING, TUSCANY€€€€

What we like most about Cyclingfor Softies is that its itinerariesare merely gentle pootles aroundpretty parts of Europe to fill thetime between gourmet lunchesand boozy dinners. It evensupplies electric bikes, so youdon’t have to sweat the hills.That’s particularly handy in therolling landscape of Tuscany, andnew for 2017 is a seven-nightself-guided tour that startsin the hill town of Cortona andwobbles down into Chianti. Therides last for about three hoursa day and lead you through a

painter’s paradise of cypressgroves, vineyards and exquisitevillages such as Castelnuovodell’Abate and medieval Asciano,where you could easily stay putfor ever. Don’t miss the chance tosoak your not-very-sore musclesin the hot springs at Bagno

65BURN OFF ENERGY IN CORNWALL€€

Opening in August, but taking bookings now, the 40-room Another Placeisn’t somewhere for reading the Sunday papers in front of a roaring fire.Instead, guests are expected to be outdoors all day, only returning to thiscosy base in the evening to refuel for the next day’s activities with a damngood feed. Activities include sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding on thelake, as well as gentle walking on the fells. Stiffer hikes lie further west,while sore muscles will be dealt with at the Swim Club, which is what theowner, Will Ashworth, is calling the spa. A week in a family cottagesleeping four starts at €3,195, half-board (another.place).

Vignoni. Accommodation is insome rather lovely inns, designerproperties and working farms,and prices start at €1,700pp,B&B, including bikes and luggagetransfers, but not flights (cycling-for-softies.co.uk). Fly to Perugiawith Ryanair, via London.

set your heart racing - caminoways.com · 1/15/2017 · breaks. the bundoran surf company offers a...

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