Travel With Culture Trip: How Fit Do I Have to Be?

Book with us and everything including your accommodation, transport and activities will be arranged for you. If you’re worried about fitness, don’t be. Our trips come with a physical rating, which you’ll find at the top of each itinerary – look for the icon and decide on a journey that’s best suited to you. To help you choose, we’ve listed some of our best-loved experiences below, running from easy-peasy breaks to all-action adventures.

No climbs or hikes, just leisurely walks.

Lake Tahoe, USA

It’s hard to imagine a more tranquil place to spend a long weekend than the shores of Lake Tahoe, which straddles California and Nevada in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This four-day retreat in Lake Tahoe is as easy as it gets, whether you’re enjoying guided meditations, a sunset boat cruise, toasting s’mores around a fire pit, or stargazing from a hot tub. There’s also the option of stretching your legs with leisurely strolls along gentle forest trails.

Hudson Valley, USA

Another terrific option if you want to take it easy is this four-day retreat in the Hudson Valley – just a couple of hours’ drive from New York City. Learning to meditate under the tutelage of a professional instructor is a big part of your stay at this boutique retreat, as are gentle walks to waterfalls in the beautiful High Falls Conservation Area. If you want to get your toes wet, you can float on the slow-flowing Hudson River on a paddleboard.

Some walking and light hiking. Suitable for most fitness levels.

Athens and the Cyclades, Greece

Put your feet up on deck and watch tiny whitewashed chapels, fishing villages and steep caldera cliffs float into view on this island-hopping adventure around the Cyclades. It starts in Athens, before you set sail from the Port of Piraeus, stopping at Milos and Naxos before finishing in Santorini. Even when you’re not cruising the Aegean, the going is easy: land-bound activities include crowd-free visits to ancient ruins, walking tours, a cooking class, and some of the most incredible sunset-watching in the world.

Mexico City, Mexico

On this culture-soaked five-day discovery of Mexico City, you’ll check out city highlights, including Frida Kahlo’s house, the historical landmarks surrounding the Zócalo (main square), and the art and architecture of the trendy Roma and Condesa neighbourhoods. Build up an appetite with city walks and a tour of the Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacán, then reward yourself without a hint of guilt on a guided food market tour – think tacos, tlacoyos, pambazo and quesadillas galore – and digest on a lazy cruise of the millennia-old Xochimilco canals.

Includes physical activities such as hiking, biking and rafting.

Borneo

What could be better than waking up at dawn, hopping aboard your hotel’s boat, and then floating down the Kinabatangan River in the morning mist, spotting orangutans, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and – if you’re very lucky – pygmy elephants. River safaris and guaranteed wildlife sightings (at orangutan and sun-bear sanctuaries) are an integral part of this 10-day Borneo adventure, along with guided jungle walks, a snorkelling trip from Sabah’s capital of Kota Kinabalu, and – now for the ‘moderate’ bit – a hill climb for epic views of the highest mountain in Borneo. Settle down later for a cooking class with the indigenous Dusun, and a tour of an organic tea farm.

Iceland

Welcome to a winter adventure on which you’ll visit giant waterfalls, hike across frozen glaciers and chase the elusive Northern Lights. This five-day Iceland adventure showcases the Land of Fire and Ice at its best. You’ll traverse the pristine countryside by snowmobile, get to grips with crampons on an ice trek, and see the top sights by jeep along the Golden Circle route. Then, toast your trip with traditional Icelandic spirits in thermal hot springs with your group – or rather, your new best friends.

Action-packed with demanding activities like high-altitude hiking.

Scottish Highlands, UK

Even if you think you know the Scottish Highlands, you’ll find more to discover during this challenging, action-packed four-day adventure. Based at the Glencoe Mountain Resort, you’ll spend most of your time exploring the landscape, either snowshoeing through the valleys and across mountains, or whizzing through forests in a cosy dog sled. Ice-climbing is on the menu as well; thaw out afterwards with a whisky by the fire.

Mount Everest Base Camp, Nepal

If you’ve always dreamed of standing at the foot of Mount Everest, this demanding Nepal trek, run by our partner Intrepid, is for you. Beginning at the tiny airstrip in Lukla, you’ll hike through valleys alongside laden yak caravans, cross precipitous bridges, pass through tiny villages, climb up to scenic viewpoints and stay in traditional teahouses. The altitude and the incredible Himalayan mountain vistas will leave you breathless, and nothing compares to the sense of achievement when you’re finally there, watching climbers at Base Camp prepare for their ascent of the highest mountain in the world.