There’s absolutely nothing wrong with beach holidays per se. If that’s what you like, you just go right ahead. Except ... they can be a bit dull, can’t they? All that lying around in the sand. You could, perish the thought, get off your beach towel, put down that cocktail and actually do something on your holiday, couldn’t you? Sure, you’ve been working hard all year, and you really do deserve some relaxation. But how relaxing is it, just sitting there wondering, wondering, wondering if you remembered to double-lock the front door? Here are 20 relaxingish things to do on your summer holidays, from horseback gastro-tours and wandering wine walks to river cruising and learning to surf. Just in case you’re ready to ditch the Lilo.

Prices are per person, based on two sharing in summer. Flights, where included, are from London. Contact the operator for regional departure options



1 CYCLING, THE LOIRE

A long, lazy pedal along the Loire, this tour has just enough uphill bits to make you earn your aprãs-cycle Sancerre. Self-guided, using excellent route notes, the trip follows quiet lanes through vineyards and forests, passing a parade of grand chateaux along the way. Averaging only 20 miles per day — with scenic diversions in the notes should you wish to pump those thighs a little harder — it’s a circular route from Azay-le-Rideau, with four days of cycling and one free day when you can visit Saumur, a lovely medieval town overlooking the Loire. Inntravel (01653 617946, www.inntravel.co.uk) has six nights, half-board, from £565, and can arrange Eurostar/TGV travel via Lille for £140 or P&O car crossings between Dover and Calais for £45.

2 RIDING, SPAIN

Straddling the borders of Avila, Caceres and Salamanca, the snowcapped Sierra de Gredos is the kind of mountain range that makes you wonder why anyone bothers with Montana. Rivers run clear, the scent of lavender fills the air, donkeys wander the villages. Equine Adventures (0845 130 6981, www.equineadventures.co.uk) has a magnificent circular ride from Navarredonda de Gredos, riding on cattle tracks and mountain trails from one improbably ancient village to the next, with six-hour days in the saddle, riverside picnics and swims, and nights in traditional inns. The sevennight trip, suitable for intermediate and experienced riders, costs £1,335, including most meals, flights to Madrid and transfers.

3 FJORD-SAILING, NORWAY

Soaring more than 3,000ft above your mast, the vast cliffs of Norway’s southern fjordland are a stupendous sailing backdrop, particularly in summer, when snoozing seals bask on the rocks below and snow-melt waterfalls thunder down the cliffs. This is Viking country, and nowhere is the spirit of Thor more palpable than when flying along these shores aboard a 78-year-old, 80ft teak and mahogany ketch, with more than 2,000 sq ft of wind in your sails. It’s crewed and skippered by experts, and everyone is welcome, from beginners to old hands. Classic Sailing (01872 580022, www.classic-sailing.co.uk) has seven nights, full-board, for £1,500. Fly to Stavanger with SAS (0870 6072 7727, www.flysas.com).

4 TREKKING, CORSICA

With huge views, rugged peaks, bankable sun and thrilling ridges, the GR20, which cuts across the Granite Isle, is simply the best long-distance footpath in Europe. It’s also pretty tough, with good fitness and a head for heights essential, which is why Walks Worldwide (01524 242000, www.walksworldwide.com) offers two treks on the island: one the two-week GR20 itself (£1,375, guided, full-board, staying in tents and gîtes); the other a considerably gentler one-week trundle from the Niolu Valley, following shepherds’ trails west to the coast, along a route chosen as much for its wonderful village inns as the beauty of its pine-studded hills (£1,025, self-guided, including breakfast and some dinners). Both prices include flights to Calvi and transfers.

5 SEA KAYAKING, CROATIA

Speckled with uninhabited sandy islands, and lapped by water so warm, it’ll have you reaching for the Radox, Croatia is the promised land of European paddling. The jewels in the country’s kayaking crown are the Elafiti Islands, off the Dalmatian coast, where abandoned inlets and stunning caves are as easy to find as lobster restaurants and beach bars. Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel.co.uk) has a week in Croatia from £860, B&B, including flights, a day in Dubrovnik and six nights on Sipan Island, with three days of guided kayaking and a few mountain-bike spins for good measure.

6 WOLF-TRACKING, ROMANIA

Unashamedly aimed at aspiring Attenboroughs, this is a family group safari through the Carpathian mountains, in search of wolves, bears, lynx, deer and wild boars. Based in the deeply forested Piatra Craiului National Park — home to one of the densest populations of large mammals in Europe — the trip kicks off with a bear-watch in Brasov, then tracks wolves for two days in Zarnesti Gorge and Kingstone Mountain National Park, knocking off Bran Castle — inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula — en route to the airport on day four. Families Worldwide (0845 051 4567, www.familiesworldwide.co.uk) has three nights, full-board, for £899 (under12s £579), including flights to Bucharest and transfers.

7 BARGING, AQUITAINE

Following in the wake of Rick Stein’s 2004 “odyssey” along the Canal du Midi, this is a seven-day circular trip from Moissac, through the vineyards and fortified villages of Aquitaine, looping back along the River Baise, past Henry IV’s castle at Nérac. No experience is required — a dockside tutorial on day one will do you. Just make sure you bring a sun hat and a yen for the local Sauternes. Home for the week is a 40ft steel and wood EuroClassic canal boat: unique to France Afloat (0870 011 0538, www.franceafloat.com), it has a sun deck, ensuite cabins, air conditioning and not a sofa bed in sight. Prices start at £1,595 for a two-berth boat, rising to £2,640 for eight berths. The nearest airport is Toulouse, served by British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Flybe (0871 522 6100, www.flybe.com) and Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com).

8 MOUNTAIN-BIKING, ICELAND

Covering 25-50 miles per day on unsealed roads, this is guided mountain-biking for beginners, with hot-spring soaks along the way. Backed up by a support vehicle throughout, you’ll spend five days in the saddle and one in walking boots, with highlights including the 150ft geothermal gushers at Geysir, the Gullfoss waterfall and Landmannalaugar Highlands — not to mention the mother of all well-earned last nights in Reykjavik. Saddle Skedaddle (0191 265 1110, www.skedaddle.co.uk) has seven nights for £1,595, including most meals; bike hire costs £120; flights to Reykjavik can be arranged.

9 FAMILY OVERLANDING, MOROCCO

Let’s break out of the Continent on this one: Morocco is quicker to get to than Cyprus, and it’s fast becoming Europe’s adventure playground of choice. Medieval but modern, foreign yet familiar, Morocco is also a fantastic place for kids to test their travel wings — it’ll give them a taste of the exotic, with shorter flights and less hassle than Asia. Dragoman (01728 861133, www.dragoman.com) has a 14-night family overlanding expedition (ages 7+) that’ll make them want to fly the nest for ever. Starting with two nights in Marrakesh, the trip takes in High Atlas trekking and a Saharan camel safari before finishing up at the Arab fishing port of Essaouira, the new kid on the kitesurfing block. Prices start at £745 (under16s £633), including flights to Marrakesh, transfers and most meals. 10

10 COASTAL TREKKING, AMALFI

Italy’s most beautiful stretch of seaside gets pretty busy in summer — but not if you walk it, disappearing high into the Lattari mountains on ancient mule tracks that dip and climb between vineyard and sea. Chestnut groves by day, stunning fishing villages by night, cobalt coves for soothing feet along the way — trekking isn’t meant to be this good. ATG Oxford (01865 315678, www.atg-oxford.co.uk) has seven nights, staying in three- and four-star hotels, from £735, including breakfast, two lunches, route notes and baggage transfers for the five-day walk from Ravello to Positano. The nearest airport is Naples, served by BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), BMI (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com) and EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).

11 CANOEING AND CLIMBING, THE ARDECHE

Hugely popular with French families, the Ardãche gorge looms increasingly large in the brochure pages of UK family adventure operators, and with good reason. Cutting a twisting swathe through nearly 20 miles of arid limestone just west of Provence, the gorge rises sheer out of the sandy riverbed, at places more than 1,000ft above the valley floor, making it a spectacular spot for canoeing and climbing. With Activities Abroad (01670 789991, www.activitiesabroad.com), seven nights, half-board, in Vallon Pont d’Arc starts at £560 (under16s £520; minimum age 8), including daily canoeing, canyoning and climbing, as well as two dinners. Flights to Nîmes can be arranged.

12 CYCLING, VENETO

Pootling around the lagoons and riverbanks of the Veneto, this six-day ride is graded 1-2, which translates as slightly more work than if you toured the region with your feet up in a vaporetto — but only just. Averaging 30 miles per day, on terrain that makes East Anglia look like the Alps, this is cycling for softies, with bags of time for long, languid cappuccino breaks in a chain of Veneto treasures that includes Vicenza, Padova and Venice. Hooked on Cycling (01501 744727, www.hookedoncycling.co.uk) has seven nights, B&B, for £351, riding independently with route notes; the same tour, guided, costs £624, half-board. Both prices include luggage transfers; bike hire is £35. Fly to Venice or Treviso with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), BMI (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com) or Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com).

13 SAILS AND SNORKELS, TURKEY

Based in Kas, a sleepy fishing village turned bustling watersports resort where the Aegean meets the Med, this is a week of beach, all right, but fold away that deckchair now. Aimed at families with active teenagers (ages 12 and up), it includes three days in Kas — where you can mountain-bike, windsurf, dive, even kayak over the sunken Byzantine ruins of Kekova — before the pace slows with a three-day cruise along the Lycian coast in a traditional wooden gulet, swimming and snorkelling in secluded, outrageously turquoise bays. The Adventure Company (0845 450 5316, www.adventurecompany.co.uk) has seven nights, B&B, from £599, including all meals on the cruise, transfers and flights to Dalaman.

14 WALKING, THE ALPUJARRAS

Think of a classic Andalusian whitewashed village. Got it? Chances are that you’re picturing the Alpujarras — the last bastion of the Moors, with terraces straight out of the High Atlas handbook. The villages here, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, form a photogenic series of targets for gentle day walks. Andalucian Adventures (01453 834137, www.andalucian-adventures.co.uk) will guide you on some of the best (from £859) or give you route notes to do it yourself (from £366, including car hire). Both prices are for a week, B&B, including transfers to your hotel, the Albergue de Mecina, a Moorish posada with a pool. The nearest airport is Malaga, which is served by several airlines, including EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com) and Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com).

15 GOURMET RIDING, LOIRE VALLEY

There’s no rush on this languid guided riding tour along the Loire, with a daily maximum of three hours in the saddle, horses tacked and fed for you, and board and lodging in a string of luxurious medieval chateaux: you’ll be earning your gourmet dinners, but only just. Passing through Saumur, you can even fit in a lesson from a director of the famous Cadre Noir, the Red Arrows of equestrianism. Equitour (0800 043 7942, www.equitour.co.uk) has six nights from £1,350, half-board, including four days’ riding, as well as the odd gourmet lunch and foie gras picnic. International Rail (0870 084 1410, www.internationalrail.com) has Eurostar/TGV returns from London Waterloo to St-Pierre-des-Corps from £89. Rein in Spain: saddle up to see the spectacular landscapes and untouched villages of the Sierra de Gredos (2)

16 BARGING, HOLLAND

With waterways passing right through the heart of towns and villages, Holland is canal boating’s spiritual home: if there’s a better way to see Amsterdam than from the helm of your own barge, then it’s only over a cold Amstel after you’ve moored up for the evening below the bar. The best one-week trip is a 100-mile, windmill-studded loop from Loosdrecht via Amsterdam, Uithoorn, Woerden, Gouda, Oudewater and Utrecht. Boating Holidays (0845 226 2465, www.boatingholidays.com) has a wonderful fleet of characterful, spacious pénichette barges, with a week in a two-berth Classic starting at £725, rising to £2,320 for the latest 12-berth Flying Bridge class. Instruction is given on arrival. The nearest airport is Amsterdam, served by BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and KLM (0870 507 4074, www.klm.com).

17 WINE WALKING, BURGUNDY

If the GR20, on Corsica, is the hairy-toed James Cracknell of European walking, then this walk — from vineyard to vineyard in Burgundy, with two wine tastings per day and gourmet lunches in wineries and domaines — is a slightly sozzled Oz Clarke chuntering absently about “terroirs”. Assiduously avoiding the mad-dog midsummer heat, the walks run in May, June and early September, with little more than eight miles attempted per day. Arblaster & Clarke (01730 263111, www.winetours.co.uk) has six nights from £1,299, including most meals, a guide, luggage transfers and tastings. Rail Europe (0870 530 0003, www.raileurope.co.uk) has Eurostar/TGV returns from Waterloo to Dijon, via Paris, from £79.

18 LEARNING TO SURF, LANZAROTE

Sandy of bottom, consistent of wave and warm enough that even in winter the water never dips below 20C, the four-mile Famara beach, in northern Lanzarote has some of the best waves this side of Maui. Famara Surf (00 34 928 528676, www.famarasurf.com) has daily tuition (4½ hours; ages 9+) for £23 per day, including equipment, and can arrange accommodation in studios, apartments and bungalows in Famara village; from £27.50 per night per unit. Lanzarote airport is served by BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) and Monarch Airlines (0870 040 5040, www.flymonarch.com).

19 WHALE-WATCHING, AZORES

Rising from the sea bed like vast volcanic redwoods, the Azores provide an all-you-can-eat plankton buffet that brings in whales and dolphins in riotous numbers. The big — and I mean big — draw is the sperm whale, but going out in Zodiacs, you may also see pilot whales, killer whales and several types of dolphin including large bottlenose dolphins and the rare Risso’s dolphin. Wildlife Worldwide (0845 130 6982, www.wildlifeworldwide.com) has seven nights in four-star accommodation on San Miguel island for £1,345, half-board, including two whale-watching trips, three superb caldera excursions, all transfers and flights (via Lisbon).

20 A BIT OF EVERYTHING, SLOVENIA

Rafting, riding, cycling, hiking, caving, kayaking ... the choice of adventure activities on offer in the Julian Alps is almost ludicrous. Base yourself in Bovec, Slovenia’s highest ski resort, and the list of tempting half-day and full-day treats (£22-£60) will also include canyoning, riding, paragliding and even “hydro-boarding” — that’s bombing downriver on a boogie board to you and me. Exodus (0870 950 0039, www.exodus.co.uk) has seven nights from £504, B&B, including flights to Ljubljana and transfers.

Want to ditch the plane?

FLYING might be quick, but there’s a reason they didn’t set Brief Encounter on Ryanair: modern air travel has all the romance of a boiled egg. So, if you fancy kicking off your active summer adventure in style, we say take the train — the planet will love you, and so might your wallet, as Prems fares from Paris make European rail travel much cheaper than you’d think. Paris to Venice by sleeper for £26? Think about it the next time you’re stuck at Stansted.

Where to start? At www.seat61.com. Run as a hobby for the sheer love of rail by Mark Smith, a Department for Transport manager, the site is a fantastic guide to rail travel, listing prices, times and booking information with almost terrifying attention to detail. It has links to operators such as Rail Europe (0870 530 0003, www.raileurope.co.uk) and International Rail (0870 084 1410, www.internationalrail.com), which will handle all bookings for a small fee.

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