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Activities & Adventure Holiday Ideas
Looking for Adventure Holiday Ideas?
Adventure / Activity holidays are becoming much more popular as people are looking to go beyond the traditional beach and sangria holiday for either themselves or their children or both! Having a range of activities is a great way to keep everyone satisfied, and with more interest in healthy life styles any activity is a great way to see the local area, view stunning scenery and get/stay fit. Other holiday ideas.
Adventure ideas are essentially complimentary with mountain and lake holidays as they utilise many of the features of the terrain, like rivers, lakes and cliffs. Most of the activities would be best suited to Summer, but some are just as good or better in the slightly cooler months either side of the height of Summer. Most of the activities don’t run during the Winter when skiing and snowboarding take the predominant place.
There are three ways of going about this:
- Book with an operator who specialises in adventure holidays, with one or more activities who has plenty of great ideas for everyone. This way you know what you are going to get, and how much it will cost. You are probably more guaranteed of the quality of the activities and you have some comeback if everything is not up to scratch
- Either book a DIY holiday (separate accommodation and flights) or through a conventional operator, and then use a specialist activity company like Isango to provide additional activity ideas. This is a bit like choosing from a la carte menu.
- Wait till you get to the resort and see what local companies offer. This means choosing your resort carefully to make sure the activities you might want are offered. Not a problem if you are prepared to take pot luck. This is a gamblers strategy to some extent as the range / quality and cost are unknown. You could get on to a winner or back a loser.
Not sure what type of activity holidays would suit you or your family take the free profile and get a tailored list of ideas to suit your requirements and preferences.
Adventure Activity Ideas
Tennis
Summer Glacier skiing
Parachuting
Ballooning
Bungee jumping
Glossary of Adventure Activities
Climbing up a waterfall, dressed in a wet suit, using ropes and pittons. Regarded as both strenuous, requiring strength and agility, and relatively hazardous. Quite high on the adrenalin rating
Rafting comes at many different levels of intensity and depends mostly on the nature of the river being negotiated. Most companies that provide rafting tours or excursion will rate them. Rafts vary in size from 4 people up to 20, and can be used to tackle all but the most extreme descents. Whitewater rafting can be a dangerous sport, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, legislated safety measures may exist for rafting operators. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.
Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed. A classic example would be the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon or Jalcomulco River in Mexico, which has swallowed whole expeditions in the past, leaving only fragments of boats but is now run safely by commercial outfitters hundreds of times each year, with relatively untrained passengers.
Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. (Skill Level: None)
Class
2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic
Paddling Skill)
Class 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable
danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Class
4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers
may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Class 5: Whitewater, large waves,
possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise
maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Class 6: Class 6 rapids
are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably
safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge
rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond
the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing
a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury
or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class
6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great
luck or extreme skill)
This can encompass sedate one or two person paddling on a lake or on the sea to tackling extreme rapids. These are quite different experiences. A quiet paddle along a lake or sedate river like the Lot or Dordogne past great scenery is relaxing thing indeed, but also quite satisfying. You only need modest levels of fitness and endurance and its suitable for almost all ages. At the other extreme it requires considerable skill and daring. Kayaks are classified by their intended use. There are six primary classifications: polo, slalom, whitewater, surf, touring/expedition, light touring/day tripping and general recreation.
For organised trip / activitiies a soft inflatable plastic kayak is usually supplied which will not shatter against rocks and will to some extent protect the occupant from extreme buffeting. See the above classification of River difficulty.
The opposite of canyoning in a way. Get a padded wet suit and a body board and head down the nearest set of rapids. I don’t think I need to add anything to this, you need to be of a certain mentality to contemplate this. I bet you have a grin as big as your bruises though when you get to the bottom.
SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving is swimming underwater, or taking part in another activity, while using a scuba set.[1] By carrying a source of breathing gas (usually compressed air), the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breath-holding techniques used in snorkeling and free-diving, and is not hindered by air lines to a remote air source. The scuba diver typically swims underwater by using fins attached to the feet. However, some divers also move around with the assistance of a DPV (diver propulsion vehicle), commonly called a "scooter", or by using surface-tethered devices called sleds pulled by a boat.
There are many companies offering courses combined with holidays that will teach you to sail if you have no prior experience. Obviously sailing on the open sea / ocean requires a greater degree of skill or experience and companies should expect to see evidence of the relevant qualifications. It is possible to hire botas with skippers or entire crews.
The challenges of the sport depend on the cave being visited, but often include the negotiation of pitches, squeezes, and water (though actual cave diving is a separate sub-specialty undertaken only by very few cavers). Climbing or Crawling is often necessary, and ropes are used extensively for safety of the negotiation of particularly steep or slippery passages. Can be exceptionally dangerous if not properly prepared and equipped with someone who knows the cave system. Always undertake with proper guidance and in a controlled group.
Fly fishing, rod-and-reel fishing, natural bait fishing, the choice of technique is yours. In France fishing permit (carte de pêche) available from newsagents and in tourist offices. For those without fishing permits a day fishing permit: 11€ , 15 consecutive days of fishing: 36€. If you already have a fishing permit from another French department a 7-day fishing permit: 22€
See our Golf holiday pages
Monte Viso, Rochebrune, Bric Bouchet and Font Sancte are some of the classic ascents on offer in the Queyras Park. For rock climbers, there are several naturals sites with climbs for all abilities. Crags in Ristolas, Arvieux, Ceillac, Molines, St-Véran. Examples of prices with a guide. Rock climbing at a crag: from 35€, equipment provided (harness, helmet), climb a peak via a rock route: from 80€ per day per person.
The great thing about hiking is that almost anyone of any age or fitness can do it with minimal preparation, See our mountain page for a suggested list of necessary equipment.
Increasingly popular as a recreational past time, people are turning to more extreme versions of sport involving course and descents, often rather like a mounted for of orienteering with less empahasis on the navigation. However it can be something for all the family (from the age of about 8 upwards). If you are not sure of levels of fitness choose easy routes of about 6 miles to start. Many mountain resorts are ideal and you can use the lift system to get plenty of height so its downhill most of the way, with a ready made excellent selection of trails and descents through the pine woods.
If the idea of running off the top of a mountain appeals to you, then you might want to have a go at paragliding (parapente). You can arrange a variety of sessions from tandem jumps or one-day tasters through to a full course leading to you gaining your pilot's license.
Specialist Activity Companies
There are a whole range of specialist activity companies, that fit in the first category above, that are relatively easy to find on the internet. Isango is a company that falls into the second category, that specialises in all different type of holiday activity ideas, from deep sea fishing to parachuting. Some of the advantages of using Isango to book extra holiday activities. The list of activities exceeds the above mentioned list as it includes things like swimming with sea lions and dolphin and other extraordinary and special activities.
- Free-up holiday time Make informed decisions
- Secure cheaper-than-destination prices
- Reliable hand-picked operators
- Book in the language you understand
- Beat the queues
- Save hassle
- Avoid disappointment
- Tours sell out
- Pay by credit card and get protection against failure of the supplier if its over £100.
