As I am sitting here looking out of the window I can tell that winter is definitely on its way. Although we have had a fantastic autumn it is time to admit defeat and accept that it is about to get very much colder. What doesn’t help is that the days are getting shorter, further emphasised by the clocks changing. that short term euphoria of having an extra hour in bed pales into comparison when you realise it is just going to get darker earlier for the next 3 months or so.

So what do you do to wile away the hours them and escape from this dark, cold cocoon surrounding us.
Plan your next trip away of course!!

At the moment if you pick up the weekend papers they are all jam packed with interesting things to do. Some are clearly focusing on the winter markets while others are spreading their wings a little further and giving advice for next summer and also interesting places to go this winter that doesn’t involve snow.
so, here are a few interesting options that i have dug up and looked into. There are so many different ideas out there that i am going to try and catagorise them. Obviously its definitely not exhaustive and there are loads of different and alternative options but perhaps these will give you just an idea.

First up is Mountain Biking:

So, close to home you have got Pembrokeshire. obviously the weather i snot ideal at the moment but do you really care if you are biking in the mud?
no i didn’t think so!
Park up at St Govan’s (or use the Coastal Cruiser) and then use the coastal path between Stack Rocks and St Govan’s Head. Admittedly this isn’t high end tip top mountain biking but it is a good weekend away in the wonderful Welsh countryside.
For more info on the area have a look at this link:

www.activitypembrokeshire.com

Next up Turkey.
If you are looking for something between April and October then head out to Cappadocia. There are numerous well marked trails for various different skill levels and fitness levels. Ad you hurtle down the routes be sure to have a glimpse of the local scenery as you are surrounded by rock pillars upto 40m high known as “fairy chimneys”.
If this floats your boat then check out:

http://www.cappadociaturkey.net

If you want somewhere a little bit further a field how about the lush, jungle world of Costa Rica?
It is definitely a country I want to go to as there is so much diversity, such much wildlife and so much to do.
There is an amazing 4 day bike trek, 389km, that crosses from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Oh and I forgot to mention its actually a race…! Ruta De Los Conquistadors.

http://larutadelosconquistadores.com/info

The last one I want to offer you is on the most random place I think.
Anyone I speak says this is the one of the most amazing places they have ever visited.
This trip allows you to go with the family, which obviously makes it a touch more pricey, but why not spend two weeks being active with the family.
Laos is one of the least visited country in East Asia. The only people who ever seem to visit Laos are a load of stoned backpackers who got lost on their way to Thailand or Vietnam.
This trip is fully supported and can be relaxing as there as several rest days to go swimming and even elephant riding.
have a look here:

http://www.grasshopperadventures.com/tours.php?country=Laos

So, fingers crossed this has given you food for thought.
Needless to say if you do any of these trips or one of your own make sure you are covered with the right insurance as it can be a really hard fall if you aren’t.

have a good weekend

Tags: activity holidays, Adventure Travel, Cappadocia, Costa Rica, holidays, Mountain biking holidays, Pembrokeshire

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Adventure Travel, Europe, International, Mountain Biking, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.