Sep 17, 2024 BY Luke Rees
If you are not into snow sports, then your adventure travel ideas may feel a bit restricted as we head into autumn. So to keep you inspired, we’ve pulled together 11 of the best summer activity holidays for next year.
**This article was originally published in January 2018 and was last updated in September 2024.**
The thought of winter rain, wind and cold getting you down? There is nothing better to alleviate that feeling than arranging your next summer adventure. So start planning, get booked up and you’ll have something to look forward to throughout winter.
Now we appreciate not everyone can take a month off. So the best summer activity holidays below can all be fitted into a one or two week holiday. Now you’ll probably want to stay longer but that is the sign of a good trip!
We’ve also considered the cost as we know most people can’t afford an all-singing, all-dancing adventure travel to the other side of the world. We won’t lie there are some pricey options below, but we’ve also included adventure ideas that are suitable for most budgets.
Looking to top up your tan while doing some activities? Want a full on adrenaline pumped break full of adventure and extreme sport? Fancy some fun adventures at day and partying at night?
Whatever you want, the 11 adventure travel ideas below should get you reaching for a holiday request form!
If you want to brighten up your summer where better to start than Almeria, Spain. With over 320 days of sunshine a year it’s perfect for outdoor holidays. It’s also one of the driest places in Europe and the only major European city with a subtropical climate.
Its arid landscape has lead to many westerns being filmed here. So if you want to follow in the footsteps of The Magnificent Seven and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, then treat yourself to a horse-riding holiday through the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata. Better to leave the gun slinging to the professionals though.
If you want to leave your beach towel at home and tick a few more countries off of your ‘done’ list, a cycle trip and/or cruise down the Danube is one of the best adventure travel ideas. You can start in Germany and finish in Romania, where the Danube reaches the Black Sea in Europe’s second largest delta.
On the way the Danube passes through Ingolstadt (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary) Belgrade (Serbia) and many more destinations. You can also extend the journey by following the tributaries into Serbia and Croatia or Moldova and Ukraine.
If you cycle you can book accommodation along the way. Or you can join biking tours who will organise your baggage, stays and bike rental. So all you have to worry about is saddle-sores!
On a Danube cruise everything is taken care of. You will mostly eat and sleep on the boat with various excursions showing you the best of the places you pass through.
But best of all, there are cycling cruises on the Danube! So you can combine the two.
The Greek Islands – and mainland for that matter – offer so much more than cheap booze filled beach holidays. Most destinations are rammed with activities. Offering everything from sailing to sea kayaking, parascending to paddle boarding, windsurfing to wakeboarding and mountain biking to bungee jumping.
Then you also have the culture, history and archaeology to discover along with incredible food and friendly locals. No wonder Greece is the 4th most popular destination for us Brits. For the best trip for multi sport in Greece, we recommend Vassiliki, Pelion Peninsula or Porto Heli.
To really make the most of the summer sun, why not go to a place where it never sets? From mountain biking and canoeing to bush craft safaris, Finnish Lapland is a great place for adventure travel.
Well inside the Arctic Circle Lapland is steeped in Sami culture. The tranquil beauty and stunning scenery make it the perfect place to enjoy the midnight sun.
The Croatian coast has developed quickly since the splitting up of Yugoslavia, and can sometimes feel a bit tourist heavy. For a less trodden Adriatic adventure, try flying into Dubrovnik or Split and then heading south.
Travel through Montenegro and into Albania. Enjoy the latter’s pristine southern beaches before hopping onto a ferry for the return flight from Corfu. There are companies that offer this trip in as little as three days, but you should probably allow one to two weeks. After all, you don’t want to miss anything.
With an average temperature of 24˚C, Cyprus is a safe bet when it comes to summer sun. This hallowed home of Halloumi cheese is packed with history from the ancient Greeks, the Romans and the Ottomans, right through to its more turbulent recent past.
Cyprus provides some of the best summer activity holidays down to the range of adventures it offers. You can try everything from hiking to biking, windsurfing to wakeboarding, bungee jumping to snorkelling and climbing to kayaking you can even scuba dive in Cyprus. So you won’t be short of adventure travel ideas in Cyprus.
Let’s cross the Strait of Gibraltar now and head down to Africa. Morocco is a very popular destination for adventure travel. Sandwiched between the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic Ocean with the Atlas Mountains in the middle, you can see why.
With great biking, hiking and rafting in the mountains. World Class surf, kiteboarding and windsurfing on the coast and diverse cultural influences it is a great place to visit. Check out our article about the best Morocco adventure activities for more info.
To get a taste of traditional Berber life, try a two or three night desert stay and experience the best of Moroccan hospitality and the majesty of the Sahara. And if all the tranquillity gets a bit much, shatter the silence of the desert with a heart-pumping dune-buggy ride.
If it’s surfing you’re after, you couldn’t get a much better spot than the Brazilian island of Florianopolis. With 42 pristine beaches and waves straight off the Atlantic Ocean this is a true surfer’s paradise. Once you’ve surfed yourself out for the day there are lush rolling hills, lagoons and white sandy beaches to get lost in.
Florianopolis can also compete when it comes to nightlife. With bars and clubs packed with fun-loving Brazilians, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to your evening Après-Surf.
Pretty much everyone who has read Jack Kerouac’s On The Road or seen Thelma and Louise will have fanaticized about their very own American road trip. Creating your own US road-trip is easily one of the best summer activity holidays – that can be done year round.
There is something hopelessly romantic about the idea of driving along dusty roads and through small mid-west towns. And with the cost of a two-week car rental beginning in New York and finishing in San Francisco starting from around £500, this summer could be the perfect time to hit the road.
Havana is often described as one of the most colourful cities in the world. So where better to go to brighten up your summer holidays than this rustic Caribbean island.
The best way to explore the capital is on foot. Take a stroll along the Malecon, the sea wall that runs along the coast. In the evenings this is where the locals go to party. So bring a bottle and join in to experience some traditional Cuban hospitality.
Out of the city exploring on a bike allows you to appreciate the Cuban pace of life. But there is much more to do with everything from horse riding to hiking, scuba diving to surfing and kayaking to kitesurfing. As adventure travel ideas go its easily one of the best summer activity holidays.
For our final summer holiday idea let’s forget the weather and stay in Britain. It may not be as exotic as the Caribbean or even the Costa del Sol, but Swanage in Dorset is a great place for a summer ‘staycation’.
Offering activities from coasteering and climbing to water skiing and windsurfing. Plus a decent line in cream teas, Swanage is every bit the English resort and certainly one of the best summer activity holidays in the UK.
Diving is also popular here, as Swanage Bay is very sheltered making it perfect for novices. There are also several wrecks in the deeper waters nearby for more experienced divers.
So there it is. Whether you want to peddle across Central Europe, canter through Spain or burn rubber in the USA, there should be adventure travel ideas that appeal to you. So get planning and make next summer one to remember, while beating the autumn blues.
We hope you enjoyed our guide to the best summer activity holidays. Be sure to check out our adventure travel holidays as we have more than a thousand to choose from.
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