adventures

Sea kayaking in Greece

Several companies offer affordable multi-activity trips for families in Greece, but if you’re looking for something less frenetic, and a bit more challenging for teenagers, how about Greek island-hopping by sea kayak? Running on regular dates through the summer months, Trekking Hellas’s three-day, two‑night odysseys in the Ionian Sea start in Nidri, on Lefkada, and paddle on past Skorpios to Meganisi, camping out at Lakka before continuing the next day to Mikros Gialos for a second night under the stars before turning for home. There are stops for swimming, resting and barbecues along the way, and some thrilling cave detours, but with about six hours of paddling a day, the minimum age is 14.
From €352pp including kayaking and camping equipment, guiding and meals (trekking.gr)

A stylish refuge in France

The world’s most handsome bothy? Cabane de Varlossière in Savoie is a strong contender. This simple, unstaffed mountain refuge sits in a spectacular Alpine valley surrounded by craggy peaks and the echo of goat bells. A stone former shepherd’s hut, it has been renovated recently and would look at home in an interiors magazine. A stream runs beside it, and inside there are bunks for four, plus a wood‑burning stove (you’ll need to bring all your bedding, food and cooking equipment). To make a trip of it, start from pretty Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and hike two hours to Gittamelon, a cosy, staffed refuge in the valley below. Depending on your children’s ages and stamina, you could either stop there just for a drink or stay the night and walk on another hour to Varlossière the following morning. From here, you can either continue on to other refuges along the Grand Tour de Tarentaise hiking trail or retrace your steps to Saint-Martin.
Overnight stays at Cabane de Varlossière are free, but consider booking a guide (from €25 per adult for half a day) or add-on activities such as canyoning through the local guiding association. There is no website for the cabin, which is owned by the local commune

Forest camping in Germany

Until recently, camping out amid the dense trees, towering waterfalls and lofty peaks of the Black Forest was prohibited. In 2017, however, the Trekking Schwarzwald initiative began setting up basic forest camps through the region, where semi-wild camping is allowed. Bookable from May to October, there are now 21 camps. Each has space for three tents, a fire pit and a compost toilet, and strict rules govern their use; bookings are from 5pm to 10am, stays are limited to a single night and all rubbish must be carried away. String a few camps together to make a longer adventure of it with older kids, or choose a less remote camp (Camp Gutellbach is about 2.5 hours’ walk from Baiersbronn) for a 24-hour expedition with younger adventurers.
From €12 a tent (up to three people) (trekking-schwarzwald.de)

Spot the eclipse in Spain

Most accommodation has already been snapped up in dark-sky hotspots along the path of this year’s solar eclipse on 12 August, but there is still some availability among the simple wooden cabins at Cabañas El Llano de los Conejos, near Cuenca. They are set within a forest, and there’s a saltwater pool and children’s play area on site, a river beach nearby and direct access to child-friendly hikes, bike rides and kayaking. Between the Serranía de Cuenca and Alto Tajo natural parks, the surrounding land is spiked with karst formations that look like something sketched by Dr Seuss. The bigger ones also make perfect viewing points for skygazers (though make sure you’re wearing eclipse glasses).
From €1,050 for four people for seven nights over the week of the eclipse (llanodelosconejos.com)

Ride and rest in Slovenia

If your kids are avid cyclists, the Rest and Ride bike-friendly hotel in the far west of Slovenia will give them plenty of opportunities to pedal. Within the Soča valley, surrounded by forests and mountains, its bright, modern bedrooms and add-on breakfasts (€12pp) – big on homemade jam and “coffee strong enough to climb a hill on its own” – make it a homely base for rafting, kayaking, zip lining and hikes to waterfalls. Most guests come to explore on two wheels; mountain bikers, gravel lovers and road cyclists will find secure storage, a repair shop, pre-bookable bike hire for all ages and guiding services.
From €150 a night for an apartment sleeping four (rest-ride.com)

Packrafting in Luxembourg and Germany

‘There! There – I can see it!” The cries of my four-year-old echoed around the ruins of 13th-century Urquhart Castle, causing a group of US tourists to come running over to the corbelled bartizans (overhanging turrets) where we stood. “It’s Nessie, I saw her,” he insisted, pointing at the ripples spinning out from the back of a sightseeing vessel on Loch Ness.

Take the toboggan to the train, Switzerland

Travelling by rail in Europe gives you plenty of opportunity for ad-hoc adventure. We were returning from a ski trip in Italy and took the Bernina Express part of the way. We’d heard that if you disembark at Bergün, leave your luggage at the station and take the train back one stop to Preda village it’s possible to sledge between the two stations. So there we found ourselves renting traditional wooden sledges from Preda and walking the short distance to the start of the tobogganing run. What we thought might be a gentle run into town turned into a fast and fun-filled couple of hours as we hurtled down the tree-lined course. At times it felt like we were in the game Mario Kart and at one point a children’s birthday party overtook us, the birthday girl’s sledge trailing balloons. About 5 miles later we arrived back in Bergün, before continuing our train journey onwards.
Layla Astley

Interrail to Venice

Interrailing as a family of five was full of special moments, but taking the night train from Vienna to Venice was the cherry on the cake. Arriving in Venice Santa Lucia around 8am, you can take the vaporetto (water bus) before the city has fully woken. We wandered quietish streets, lingered on the Rialto Bridge in relative solitude, and took our time crisscrossing canals before the hustle and bustle began. It was truly special, and completely unexpected in mid-August. We nearly skipped it – assuming it would just be too busy – but left with a precious couple of hours we’ll never forget.
Sophie

A Swiss Alps adventure with the kids

Exploring the Lauterbrunnen valley, Switzerland, in summer with our young children was full of surprises. Superb trains on long-distance services to Interlaken include playground family carriages. Epic alpine playgrounds, such as Allmendhubel Alpen Playground, are reached by cable cars (some gondolas have karaoke machines). At Wengen, we enjoyed playing with the marble runs and hiring a “fondue backpack” to accompany our walks. Many of the shorter walks have family-friendly activities en route, such as blowing the alpine horn or milking a model cow. There are many waymarked routes for all abilities – and all without the crowds of a coastal resort.
Lucy

Teenage boys let loose in Norway

Last summer, as a family we explored Norway, starting in Oslo with saunas and fjord jumps, then visiting the Olympic Park in Lillehammer. We spent a week hiking in Jotunheimen national park, climbed Norway’s highest mountain, Galdhøpiggen (2,469m), explored a glacier, and went white-water rafting. The combination of dramatic scenery, outdoor activities and adventure made it a perfect summer holiday, especially for our teenage boys who love the outdoors.
Lucy Bissell

Dutch road trip joy

We decided to change things up from an all-inclusive summer break and went on a road trip through the Netherlands for two weeks with our two kids. After enjoying Amsterdam, we picked up a rental car and headed towards Duinrell Eurocamp, which was perfectly pitched for our kids aged nine and 12. We stayed in a cabin for four days, then drove to our next destination, Efteling theme park. I can’t tell you how much my kids enjoyed this park: mythical, magical, thrilling! Our final destination was Texel, an island just off the northern coast of the Netherlands. The kids loved the ferry. Again we stayed in a hut, which came with bikes. Lots of cycle paths, sandy beaches – a slower, more relaxing end to the holiday.
Noreen

Winning tip: a waterfall walk in the Pyrenees

Our young family travelled to the Hautes-Pyrénées in France and, ignoring the offer of a donkey ride, walked for nearly 6 miles from the village of Gavarnie up to the Grande Cascade (a waterfall of 420 metres) in the Cirque du Gavarnie. It made for an easy day out in summer and was great for our five-year-old and seven-year-old, who enjoyed seeing whistling marmots, circling lammergeiers (also called bearded vultures) with their 2.5-metre wingspans, and snow bridges over streams. Spray from the waterfall provided us with a free shower at the walk’s end.
Chris Henshall

Feb. 28 (UPI) — BERUIT — Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday that he rejects any attempt to drag his country into “adventures” that threaten its security and unity, indirectly calling on Iran-backed Hezbollah to refrain from involving Lebanon in the ongoing U.S.-led war on Iran.

Salam’s warning coincided with a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon urging U.S. citizens still in the country to leave “now, while commercial options remain available.”

In a post on X, the prime minister appealed to all Lebanese “to act with wisdom and patriotism” in light of the “dangerous developments in the region,” urging them to place Lebanon’s interests “above any other consideration.”

“I reiterate that we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity,” he said, referring to Hezbollah, which previously announced that it would not remain neutral if Iran were attacked and its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were targeted.

Salam, who also held a meeting with several ministers and relief officials, urged sparing the country the “repercussions” of the war on Iran, which broke out Saturday morning with joint U.S.-Israel attacks and prompted Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and U.S. targets across the Gulf Arab states.

When asked whether Hezbollah had reassured the Lebanese state that it would not participate in the war, he reiterated his call to spare Lebanon another war that “would bring even more suffering upon the Lebanese people.”

He was referring to the war with Israel that broke out on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah opened a front in support of Gaza, during which top Hezbollah leaders, military commanders, and Lebanese civilians were killed, and substantial damage was inflicted, with border villages in southern Lebanon completely destroyed.

Despite a cease-fire agreement reached on Nov. 27, 2024, Israel continued to operate with near-total freedom, striking suspected Hezbollah operatives and positions almost daily, causing further destruction and casualties, including among civilians.

Salam and President Joseph Aoun also conducted diplomatic contacts in an effort to keep Lebanon “neutral and spare it from the repercussions” of the ongoing war in the region.

Aoun, for his part, affirmed that sparing Lebanon from “the disasters and horrors of external conflicts” and preserving its sovereignty, security, and stability are “absolute priorities.” Later, he was informed by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa that Israel has “no intention of escalating” against Lebanon, as long as there are no hostile actions from the Lebanese side, according to a presidential statement.

Hezbollah, for its part, announced the postponement of a Saturday event during which its Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, was scheduled to speak. Instead, it released a statement condemning “the treacherous U.S.-Israeli aggression” that targeted Iran after months of threats aimed at forcing it to “surrender.”

Hezbollah also expressed “full solidarity” with Tehran and urged the countries of the region to “stand against this aggressive scheme and recognize its dangers,” warning that “its dire consequences will affect everyone without exception if left unchallenged.”

It refrained from hinting to the possibility of supporting Iran militarily.

The Prime Minister condemned Iran’s strikes targeting Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, during calls with their top officials to reaffirm Lebanon’s solidarity against such “aggressions.”

Asked whether the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and the Hamat military base, which hosts U.S. training teams, might be targeted by Iran, Salam said he could not rule it out but noted that all necessary security measures had been taken to prevent such attacks.

He also confirmed that his government was prepared for “any emergency,” having adopted “proactive measures” in anticipation of war, and assured that food, medicine, and fuel were available in quantities sufficient to meet citizens’ needs for at least two months.

He noted that Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport remains open, with the country’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, operating as usual — except for countries in the region that have closed their airspace. He added that some airlines have canceled their flights to Lebanon.

His comments came at a time U.S. citizens were urged by the U.S. State department not to travel to Lebanon and those who are already in the country to leave “now while commercial options remain available.”