Ideas to satisfy your sense of adventure

IT’S the start of a new year and time to turn our attention to holidays.

And if chilling on the beach with a good book isn’t for you, why not consider an activity break?

From snowshoeing and cycling to watersports, we round up the best new adventures for 2017...

ON YOUR BIKE IN DENMARK

One of the most exciting ways to experience this wonderful Scandinavian country is with Wheel2Wheel Holidays’ self-guided tour of Copenhagen and Zealand.

Over seven days you ride across flat, silent landscapes, along cycle paths and quiet side roads, staying in lovely hotels. You don’t have to worry about your luggage as it’s transferred daily to the next stop on the route.

Copenhagen is one of Europe’s coolest cities and there is plenty of time to explore its great culture, history, architecture and nightlife before heading off to Zealand.

There, you’ll find medieval market towns, fabulous white sandy beaches and a fjord which you can row or sail across in a replica Viking boat. The cost is £779 per person for seven nights. Visit Wheel2WheelHolidays.com or call 0800 731 1631.

SNOW OTHER EXPERIENCE LIKE IT

There’s no better way to beat the winter blues than a post-Christmas holiday. Walk2Walk holidays is offering a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the ‘taiga’ forests of eastern Finland where their snowshoeing tour runs weekly from January 23 until the end of February. This is a truly back-to-nature experience in a tranquil and incredibly beautiful area. The route meanders through a magical landscape of snow-white forests, along ridges and over frozen lakes. Guests stay in cosy wilderness cabins. The cost is £749 per person for six nights. Visit walk2walkholidays.com or call 0800 731 1631.

A SUPER SPORTING MECCA

Club La Santa, based on the northeast coast of Lanzarote, is one of the world’s most popular sport and active leisure resorts.

On offer are 40 activities including cycling, tennis, golf, Pilates and Zumba as well as watersports including windsurfing and kayaking in the nearby lagoon.

You soon see why so many guests return year after year, as this is a mecca for fitness enthusiasts, with fantastic facilities.

With a weekly programme of activities, you can choose to do as little or as much as you want.

Try a new sport while rubbing shoulders with elite athletes, or just sit on a sunlounger and take a dip in one of the three swimming pools.

For anyone wanting to explore further afield, excursions are available and the village of La Santa, with its bars and restaurants, is a short drive away.

Visit clublasanta.co.uk to check for seasonal offers or call 0161 790 9890.

Prices start from £889 for a ‘Comfort’ one-bedroom apartment for up to three adults and one under-14 on a self-catering basis.

IT’S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE...

Perfect for a family summer break, Freewheel Holidays offers two tailored, self-guided cycling tours that take you into the Austrian mountains without any uphill peddling.

Cleverly designed so the cycle routes are on the flat or downhill, you can enjoy the

spectacular views without getting out of puff.

This tour is a great way to introduce children to this breathtaking country, which boasts stunning mountain and lakeside scenery with elegant spa towns and UNESCO world heritage sites reached via traffic-free cycling paths and little-used roads.

Bike hire, route notes and maps are included, while your luggage is transported to the next hotel so you only have to worry about getting yourself there.

You can decide whether you want your Austrian excursion to last seven or nine nights.

Prices for the tour start from £769 per person.

For more information, visit freewheelholidays.co.uk or call 0161 703 5823.