It’s often the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, that takes centre stage in this pretty pocket of Spain, when in fact there are over 30,000km2 of mountains, coast, nature reserves and traditional towns and villages. There are the Pyrenees and a panoply of parks, from Aigüestortes National Park to Aiguamolls Nature Reserve. The Costa Brava and the Costa Dorada are its two sizzling coastlines, with the former being the greenest and most dramatic for walking in Catalonia. Its name, Costa Brava, translates as wild coast and you definitely find some wild places walking here. Catalonia also has its o ..read more

This blog aims to open a window onto the Karakoram Mountains, introducing you to various adventures into the heart of Pakistan’s pride and joy. Its most famous trek is to K2 Basecamp, the second highest mountain in the world.  However, trekking in Pakistan isn’t just about the king of the Karakorams,  although it is a pretty k-olossal reason to go there. You can also experience peak Pakistan without pushing so hard, in the likes of the Hunza Valley or our Nangma Valley Trek. And the Queen of the Karakorams, Masherbrum, formerly known as K1, is a pretty manageable monarch too. Here ar ..read more

If you happen to have fallen upon a local food festival while on your travels, you know how delicious it can be. Because food festivals are places not only packed with gastro-gorgeousness, but also stories from artisan producers, sustainable farmers and pioneering drinks producers. You can lose a day hearing about how to smoke salmon in The Burren, Ireland. Or the history of cheesemaking in the Picos de Europa mountains, and there’s nothing like the Truffle Festival in Piedmont in Italy. We are strong proponents of protecting cultural heritage as part of our responsible tourism policies, and s ..read more

The only cabin fever that you get on our bike and boat holidays is one of delirium and delight. This might be brought on by watching the stars fill the night sky while sailing through a Croatian archipelago, or disembarking with your bike in Budapest to explore one of many cultural greats along the River Danube. Our top bike and boat holidays cover both seascapes and rivers, cities and islands, and all of them are small boats of between 50 and 150 passengers. The joy of these bike and boat holidays is that you get to moor up and mosey off on your bike regularly, sometimes with guides and other ..read more

It’s amazing how buying locally can have an impact on places we visit. As our walking and cycling holidays take you to some pretty remote places, choosing to support a local shop can have a massive impact on a community. Because when it’s gone, it’s gone. From simple things like not packing your supermarket energy bars and buying fruit and nuts locally on your first day, to buying herbal teas such as Bulgaria’s mountain tea from the corner shop to top up your flask, conscious consumption starts small but can bring big benefits. There are many other ways in which you can shop ethically on your ..read more

Given that Sweden is 1,572m long and that 15% of the northern section crosses over the Arctic Circle, it’s not surprising that there’s a north-south divide when it comes to climate. However, our adventure holidays focus on the southeast and west of the country, and don’t venture near the cold zones so working out the best time to go to Sweden is less complex. Although there is a little bit of an east-west divide weather wise. Here are some of our top tips on when and where to go.   Best time to go to Stockholm’s archipelagos Island life is a big feature of our Sweden tours, with hiki ..read more

Who doesn’t love taking a photo of a waymarker in a beautiful location while walking? While hiking in England, however, you can be bamboozled by logos on signposts, with an array of landowners, charities and national bodies represented on them. This means, however, that the trails are well preserved and much loved, whether you’re walking on a section of the South West Coast Path that’s owned by the National Trust, or Hadrian’s Wall Path which is a National Trail that’s looked after by Natural England, a public body. The symbol for the National Trust is an oak leaf, and Natural England’s is an ..read more

If you look at a topographic map of Poland, it will tell you quickly why hiking is in the country’s DNA. The Carpathian Mountains sweep across the south of the country like a cloud of climbing opportunities, all with silver linings. The Tatras Mountains are the most colossal of Poland’s Carpathians, a limestone landscape of great gorges and great gorgeousness. The Carpathians are also easily accessible from the ancient city of Kraków, which is just one of our ten reasons to make hiking in Poland your next natural adventure.  1. The towering peaks of Tatra National Park Rather incredibly ..read more

Food is high on the list for people visiting Japan and who can blame them? But to totally immerse yourself in Japanese culture, you really want to get on top of the country’s onsen etiquette. Japanese for hot springs, where water is heated to temperatures from between 37-42C by volcanic influences, they are hot. But they are also areas to keep your cool, as these are totally Zen zones, layered in tradition and ritual, and high on the agenda for Japanese people as a way to swap stress for steeping.  There are over 3,000 hot spring or onsen towns across Japan’s islands and, consequently, on ..read more

You can choose to either cycle or hike through Czechian paradise in the aptly named Bohemian Paradise UNESCO Global Geopark, but either way it will feel gloriously unreal. Known locally as Český ráj, these are epic landscapes of naturally eroded sandstone rock towers peeking up over forest canopies, with waterfalls tumbling into vertical cracks in the rock and trails through rock labyrinths or ancient rock ‘cities’ (of which there are twelve). All in all, it feels as if you are stepping into another world. It’s very much the real world, however, as you can see from our photos and guide below ..read more