Holidays where you can do things as well as sight-see??

[ouch321]

I had a recent trip to Iceland where I tried snow-mobiling, lava tunneling, and glacier hiking for the first time.

Can anyone recommend holidays that they've been on where there is lots to experience (kind of in terms of activities) that you wouldn't get to do in London, as well as standard going to see the sights?

Thank you

Sweden for husky sledging, snow shoeing, ice fishing etc.

Hawaii (Kauai and the Big Island)
for walking across the crater of live volcanoes, the most amazing star gazing in the world, amazing hiking through all sorts of terrain from rain forest to old lava flow, snorkeling, whale watching, surfing, cycling along the coastal paths, helicopter rides over fresh lava flow, canoeing - pretty much everything.

Costa Rica for surfing, rain forest treking, zip lining through cloud forest, white water rafting and amazing nature.

Canada - Bob sleighing in summer and winter, whale watching, bear watching awesome mountain biking, white water rafting.
Queens town - take your pick of adrenaline activities.
France - so much. We always used to do day in day out type holidays

Lake District - Go ape, mountain biking, husky sledging, Segway so much moor.

Wales - Europe’s longest zip line

So much to do in this country as well.

North Wales has loads of activities in a small area with great eating, scenery etc.
Ski slope, Zip world, slate mines, caving, climbing, surfing, off road driving canoeing, its endless. One place near Llangollen does an outdoorsy type day where the kids cook and build dens.
Thats with out mentioning some of the fantastic walks and beaches

Some good locations here
www.donthibernate.co.uk
This is near Chester so not far from North Wales Look at the video of the kids playing.
www.donthibernate.co.uk/winter-trip-helsby-manley-mere-just-off-the-m56/

This place is the original it was copied off.
www.crockytrail.co.uk

Cuba - under ground rivers for a boat ride. Snorkelling in cenotes, staying in casa particulars. Horse carts into mountain waterfalls, tobacco plantation hiking, caves, mongotes.

Sri Lanka - temples with pilgrims, dangling your feet out of a moving mountain train, tea tasting in a tea field, whale watching, turtle watching.

Skiing!

A few we've been on:

Costa Rica - rainforest, wildlife including sloth, toucan, monkeys, raccoons, gecko, coati etc in wild, active volcanoes, hot springs, very high ziplines.
Finland - seeing brown bears in wild and summer toboggan, reindeer.
Norway - Fjords, polar bears (not done), moose safari
Australia - Scuba and snorkelling in Great Barrier Reef, stayed with lady/former vet that looked after injured tree kangaroos, possums, pademelon, bettong etc - had one of tree kangaroos jump on me and daughter bottlefed the bettong, we could feed pademelon and possum, seeing koalas, whale and dolphin watching from Port Stephens - saw hundreds, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Blue Mountains - wild kangaroos. Rainforest and crocodiles in rivers.
Cape Town - nearby penguins on beach, big 5 safari (not as good as others but no anti-malarials needed), Table Mountain, vineyards
Brazil - Rio - famous beaches, Sugar Loaf Mountain, monkeys, Paraty - old cobbled town with fishermen boats and horse and carriage rides / rainforest
Cuba - different but didn't like that much.
Hintertux - Snow all year round, cable car, ice palace under mountain
This year Borneo - orangutans, sun bear, rainforest, Perhentians, snorkelling, scuba, sharks, turtles, River Kwai - WW2 sites, bamboo rafting and zipline / hot springs etc.

Glad you had a nice time in Iceland, never been but did Lapland in winter and that had husky/reindeer safaris, snowmobiles etc and quite magical.

In UK love the seals in Blakeney.

Costa Rica
Belize
Guatemala
Nicaragua

from most to least expensive. All fabulous scenery and activities. But only Belize and Guatemala have historic sites

Canyoning, white water rafting and hiking in the Pyrenees.

@BlueSkies2020 how safe is Guatemala please?

I think Guatemala is pretty safe except for Guatemala City. You don’t want to be spending any time in the capital anyway because there’s nothing of interest to tourists. Some remote places (eg volcano hikes) can be risky for kidnappings but there is generally no violence in these situations - just threats. They’re motivated by money and there is no terrorist activity. If you do do any of these types of organised activities just use a reputable tour company (they will know risks and employ armed guards if necessary).

Usual precautions apply. Stick to busy areas, take taxis after dark etc. I’ve been 3 times and never experienced any problems because I’ve taken necessary safety precautions. You’re probably more likely to be a victim of RTA than violent crime. So take care when travelling.

Honduras is a different story. There are gangs and violence in urban areas, although tourists are not a target. So you’re unlikely to be a victim. But it still feels a bit sketchy.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Guatemala and they welcome/ need tourists.

Thanks blueskies

@bsc no worries AMA about travels in Central America- have travelled the region a few times

Oman - hiking in the mountains, driving 4 wheel drives through wadi’s, visiting old souks and forts, good snorkelling/diving

Costa Rica - as above!! Lots of adventure activities and abundant wildlife

Mexico - don’t do the AI thing, numerous Mayan ruins in jungles, lots of wildlife and good diving. Mexico City is good from an art & history perspective too

Sri Lanka - wonderful people, great scenery. Climb up Sigiriya & centuries old Buddhist temples. Go on safari to see elephants in the National Parks.

Australia - Queensland, go diving on the barrier reef

U.K. - North Wales as above. Cornwall/Devon for coastal walks, sea swimming etc (but I’m sure you know this already!)

Morocco - Marrakech isn’t a pretty city but has a lot of history and stunning interior architecture and designs. Go hiking in the Atlas Mountains to waterfalls and visit Berber villages & take a trip into the desert. The food is good too!

And with apologies to the PP who suggested Abu Dhabi, unless your idea of a more adventurous holiday is shopping malls, I’d avoid. Al Ain is alright but wouldn’t make a special trip from the U.K. to get there.

You may enjoy Canada - we went in July/early August. We stayed in Vancouver which in itself is very interesting as it’s costal and mountainous.
We went over to Vancouver island for surfing, whale watching, fishing and bear watching. Then to Whistler fur diwn hill biking and nice hotels. Lake Louise is lovely for water stuff too.

Switzerland. Interesting sightseeing and lots of active opportunities. And amazingly beautiful.

Other alpine destinations are good too. Austria, Slovenia, dolomites, etc.

NZ - white water rafting, penguins, whale watching, bungee jumping, skiing, you name it you can do it.