A holiday on the water needn’t be a lazy bucket-and-spade package to the beach. Plenty of tour operators offer inventive holidays where you can try your hand at a sport or learn a new skill in between soaking up the sun.
Here, I’ve selected the 10 best water-based activity holidays for 2016. A few tours provide a fresh take on old favourites. For instance, a river canoeing in Yukon tour offers the chance to see black bears and moose roaming the shorelines while a tour to Guatemala and Belize includes a kayaking trip on Lake Atitlan to the indigenous village of San Marcos.
There’s a holiday in Rhodes that caters to children as well as their parents and grandparents – and even includes free stand-up paddle-boarding lessons for the whole family. For the adventurous, there’s a diving tour to Japan, a surfing excursion to Portugal or a kayaking adventure in Croatia.
Sailing is becoming increasingly popular – and affordable. New tours that offer bareboat charters – a yacht without a crew – and trips which can be taken with others are keeping costs down. For instance, there’s a group sailing trip to Sardinia and Corsica which is great value for money. For those who’d like to try something different, there’s a gulet trip to Turkey; a voyage through the Maldives aboard a dhoni, a traditional Maldivian boat; and a flotilla trip through Venice which allows travellers to captain their own cruiser while having the security of a guide.
1. Paddle-boarding in Rhodes
Mark Warner is introducing inclusive stand-up paddle-boarding lessons and races across their holidays for 2016. Based in the company’s five-star resort in Afandou, Rhodes’ longest beach, an eight-day Rhodes holiday includes an introduction to this watersport, which was first practiced by Hawaiians in the 1960s. The basics are straightforward to master and the paddle makes it easy to propel the board forwards and drop down into a wave. Other highlights include sailing and windsurfing lessons as well as free use of a new fleet of boards that enable cruising over longer distances. Outside of the water, there are complimentary mountain bike and road cycling guided tours. The resort also has tennis courts, a watersports centre, a gym and a spa – so there’s plenty to do.
Multiple departures, from £570 half board. Mark Warner (0844 3348 107; markwarner.co.uk).
2. Sea kayaking in Croatia
Activities Abroad is offering a new Adventure in the Croatian Adriatic aimed at families. Based in the three-star Aparthotel Castrum Novum in the small fishing village of Novigrad, this eight-day tour includes sea kayaking in Novigrad Bay, white water rafting in Cetina River and a canoe safari down Zrmanja and Krupa Rivers. In addition to water activities, there is a hiking trip to Paklenica National Park and a cycling excursion to Krka River National Park. Highlights include the city of Zadar, Skradinski Buk waterfall and a Franciscan monastery on Visovac Island. There will be a chance to spot rare flowers, falcons, eagles, deer and foxes along the way and the option to visit the beaches of Omis or Diocletian’s Palace in Split, with a free day to rest and relax.
Departures between May and August, from £798 full-board. Activities Abroad (01670 789 991; activitiesabroad.com).
3. Sailing in Sardinia and Corsica
Sail across Sardinia and Corsica aboard a monohull yacht on Intrepid’s new eight-day Sardinia and Corsica Sailing Adventure. Sail to the glitzy Costa Smeralda before moving on to Isola Caprera, crossing the strait to the ancient port of Bonifacio. The tour also takes in the Maddalena Archipelago, coasting towards the islands of Lavezzi, Spargi and Santo Stefano. Outside of swimming and snorkelling, there’s hiking on Isola Caprera and cycling around La Maddalena. Highlights include the King Aragon Steps; Bonifacio with its sandy beaches and medieval houses perched on limestone cliffs; and Caprera Island which is criss-crossed with walking and cycling trails and is home to royal seagulls, peregrine falcons and wild goats. The itinerary is flexible so there’s time to drop anchor where you wish for a quick wander or swim.
Departures between May and September, from £930 including some meals but excluding flights. Intrepid (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel.com).
4. Surfing in Portugal
Based in Vila Nova de Milfontes in the heart of Vicentine Coast Natural Park, this new eight-day Portugal Family Adventure from Exodus offers a host of activities including introductory surfing and bodyboarding lessons. If your attempts to stand on a board for the first time aren’t a resounding success, there’s plenty of action to be had elsewhere: orienteering by kayak on river Mira, abseiling (extra fee applies) from a bridge at Milfontes or swimming in a lagoon and jumping from a rope swing. There’s time for relaxing by the pool or the beach too; this is a holiday after all! But if you fancy it, there’s a jeep tour to explore off-the-beaten track beaches and woods and a cycle ride along the coastline, starting close to the Sardão Cape lighthouse.
Departures between May and August, from £1,029 including some meals. Exodus (0845 314 2147; exodus.co.uk).
5. River canoeing in the Yukon
Artisan Travel is offering for the first time a River Canoeing in the Yukon tour which starts in Whitehouse, pedalling at a leisurely pace over 320km through the Yukon wilderness. Setting up camp each night on the riverbank, this 10-day tour does not require previous experience - so is suited to travellers of all abilities. Highlights include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police outposts; the small native village of Carmack which has only 500 inhabitants; and abandoned trading stations such as Hootalinqu. There’s a chance to see black bears and moose roaming the shorelines as you travel to the confluences of the Teslin and Big Salmon Rivers. And on your free day in Whitehorse, choose between a trip on a restored 1925 Trolley bus or a float plane sightseeing flight over the Chilkoot Pass and glacial icefields.
Departures between May and September, from £1,049 including all meals but excluding flights. Artisan Travel (01670 785085; artisantravel.co.uk).
6. Flotilla holiday through Venice
Le Boat is offering a new eight-day Flotilla Holiday in Italy which offers travellers the chance to captain their own cruiser while having the security of a guide. Guests will travel on their own boat and as part of a group of up to eight cruisers led by a flotilla host. Each flotilla has a skipper to guide boaters through the waterways and help arrange activities. This new tour explores the Venetian waterways, starting in Casale, before visiting the ancient islands of Torcello, Burano, Pellestrina and Sant’Erasmo as well as the coastal towns of Lido di Jesolo, Chioggia, Casier, Treviso and, of course, Venice. Highlights include the Devil’s Bridge, the brightly coloured houses of Burano; Santa Caterina, a gothic church with the oldest bell in the lagoon; and the Rialto market in Venice.
Departures between May and July, from £1,405 including a 2-star Corvette boat sleeping up to four people and most meals but excluding flights. Le Boat (023 9222 2177; leboat.co.uk).
7. Maldives aboard a dhoni
Explore’s new eight-day Maldives cruise offers an alternative vantage point from which to discover the atolls of Maldives: on board a traditional Maldivian dhoni boat. The tour takes in South Male, Felidhoo and Meemu. Highlights include the uninhabited island of Kudiboli; snorkelling in Meemu Atoll, one of the longest stretches of reef in the country; and a visit to small fishing villages in Dhiggaru and Fulidhoo to meet the islands’ inhabitants, with time to stop at houses and mosques. There are performances of Bodu Beru or Big Drum, the traditional folk music of the country; a barbeque banquet prepared by the boat crew on a beach; and a chance to spot manta rays, turtles, clown fish, reefs and all manner of marine life.
Departures between August and December, from £2,178 full board. Explore (01252 883 950; explore.co.uk).
8. Guatemala and Belize
While not exclusively a water-based holiday, a new Treasures of Guatemala and Belize itinerary from KE Adventure includes plenty of kayaking, swimming and snorkelling. This 14-day tour takes in Antigua, Chichicastenagno, Panajachel, Flores, Tikal, San Ignacio and Caye Caulker. Highlights include kayaking on Lake Atitlan to the indigenous village of San Marcos and snorkelling with docile rays, dolphins and nurse sharks – up to 4-6ft long – at Shark Ray Alley, a marine wildlife site. The tour also spends a few days on the island of Caye Caulker which is famous for its white beaches – it’s not unusual to walk around the island barefoot. Other highlights include the Mayan ruins of Tikal, Yaxha and the Cave of the Crystal Maiden, a Mayan sacrificial burial site; Crooke Tree Wildlife Sanctuary; and the active Volcan Pacaya.
Departures between March 2016 and August 2017, from £2,445 including some meals. KE Adventure (017687 73966; keadventure.com).
9. An Aegean Odyssey
Cruising by traditional Turkish gulet from Bodrum to Athens, this 14-day An Aegean Odyssey itinerary by Westminster Classic Tours recalls the wanderings of Odysseus - and takes in the islands of the Dodecanese and the Cyclades. The first port of call on leaving Bodrum is Lakki on Leros and the ancient sites on Samos and Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. The voyage ends fittingly at the temple of Poseidon. In Athens, in addition to the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum, there are some rarer finds, such as the First Cemetery and the Sacred Way to the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. There is plenty of time for a swim in Akri, Pythagoreio and Petalioi Islands, an island complex in the bay of Evia.
May 14 plus private charters in spring and autumn, from £2,900 including all meals but excluding flights. Westminster Classic Tours (020 8785 3191; westminsterclassictours.com).
10. Diving in Japan
Japan might not be best known for diving but it has some world-class offerings, including Yonaguni Island, home to the mysterious Iseki stones, a collection of platforms, steps and corridors of an ancient lost city, discovered in the 1980s and thought to be 10,000 years old. Inside Japan is offering a new 15-day Diving Japan tour which takes in this remote island as well as Ishigaki, which has over 300 types of coral off its shores and Akajima, where there’s a chance to spot migrating Humpback whales, sea turtles and dolphins. Highlights include 21 dives around the Okinawa Islands, a canoe trip through mangroves and a tour of Tokyo. This trip departs in February but if you’d like a later departure date, a self-guided Diving Subtropical Japan tour - based on this itinerary - can be done any time of the year.
February 26, from £3,130 including domestic flights and most meals but excluding international flights. Inside Japan (0117 244 3263; insidejapantours.com).
Tips
- For all water-based activities, participants must be water-confident in a life jacket or buoyancy aid. Children, who must be accompanied by an adult at all times, must also be able to swim 25m unaided.
- Check the itinerary - will it be too hectic for you?
- Check group size - general tours can involve larger groups than more specialised ones, which are normally limited to a maximum of about 24 people.
More of the best escorted tours for 2016
• The 10 best art holidays
• The 10 best music holidays
• The 10 best introductory holidays
• The 10 best food and wine holidays
• The 10 best history holidays
• The 10 best cycling holidays
• The 10 best special interest holidays
• The 10 best walking holidays
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