If you’re the sort that realizes with dread that your wife has signed you up for another death-defying holiday adventure—like a cliff-hugging, crevice-leaping Via Ferrata, swimming with colossal whale sharks or ice climbing to the top of a steep mountain in boots with knife-like spikes, you may admit that sometimes you’d prefer escapades of the less extreme variety. Perhaps all you really want to do is relax during your vacation? It’s not that you don’t like a challenge or that you abhor the outdoors. You just prefer lighter capers, a less rigorous path to earn your repose. Likewise, she’d blanche at the thought of sitting around a pool for hours with a fat book or taking a meditative slow walk through a forest before a nap. Whether traveling with friends or families, compromise is key. Why not book a getaway that finds that sweet spot likely to please all travelers? From soul satisfying sensible decompression to full on adrenaline rushes, these summer holiday breaks do the trick to please every type of adventure junkie. Choose between safaris in Africa, hikes along Spain’s Santiago de Compostela trail, quietude in high altitude Bhutan, falconry in Scotland and hot air ballooning over the Sonoran Desert in Arizona —among other memorable lighter adventure jaunts around the world.
The Boulders Resort & Spa, Carefree Arizona
It’s significant that this sprawling, nature immersed five-star enclave in the heart of the Sonoran Desert claims its address as “Carefree.” It’s as if the moment you pass through its gates you’ll begin to switch gears. Dotted with magnificent Saguaros, built to fuse with the landscape’s otherworldly, ancient rocks, The Boulders reigns as one of the world’s most admired golf, adventure and wellness luxury compounds. Amid the dramatic terrain, scale a 12-million-year-old boulder pile, bump through a rugged off-road Hummer tour or cruise the desert by golf cart. Rock climb, wear night equipment for midnight bike tours beneath the stars, or float over the sand before breakfast in a hot air balloon. Star gazing, spa time and photography tours take the pace down a few beats. theboulders.com
Sea Island, Georgia
For nearly a century, Sea Island has welcomed luminaries, honeymooners and well-heeled families to its distinctly southern version of a beach vacation. On a private barrier island off Georgia’s rugged coast, 85 miles south of Savannah, it imparts more moodiness than tropical allure. Play amid its patchwork of dunes, scrubby brush, sea and salt marshes, and little isles called hammocks. Famous for its nesting sea turtles, Sea Island manages to be both eco-resort and upscale hideaway with accommodations that range from cottages, The Cloister (the original, restored resort) and The Lodge (with the feel of a classic English country manor). Restaurants abound, as do a multiplicity of things to do, some meant to slow your roll and others to accelerate the beating of your heart. Take sailing lessons, skeet shoot, play bingo, cast a line, take a nighttime “owl prowl” or ride horses. At sunrise, don’t miss joining the nature team as they patrol for nesting and hatching turtles. seaisland.com
Moskito Island, British Virgin Islands
Admit it. You’ve had fantasies about being stuck on a deserted island with all your favorite people, a tropical place rife with sybaritic pleasures—and perhaps just enough staff to lighten your load. Now’s your chance. Moskito Island in the British Virgin Islands, not truly deserted as inhabited by talented staff, now offers some of its most exclusive personal estates to guests who want to set up house with their nearest and dearest. Somewhere between the most luxurious hotel imaginable and a fully equipped barefoot elegant mansion beachside, each villa playground comes brimming with able aide-de-camp, chefs and concierge-style managers. Those training for triathlons can hang with an expert coach, endorphin seekers can wing foil or hydra foil across the turquoise waves and soft adventure types can follow a game of tennis with a Mojito while splashing in the pool. moskito.com
East Africa with Micato Safaris
Parades of baby elephants, languid leopards poised on tree branches, leaping kudu, cartoonish warthogs, majestic lions and towering giraffes compose only some of the animals you’ll glimpse and the magic you’ll experience on a safari to Africa with one of the world’s most luxurious outfitters. Led by family-owned Micato’s top tier guides, you’ll stay in pampering lodges and tented camps remotely nestled into Africa’s most storied landscapes. You’ll take game drives, walking safaris, even horseback rides through the famous savannah, visit a Maasai village or local community school and partake of breakfast or dinner in the bush. Consider Micato’s popular, 14-day Stanley Wing Safari, a spellbinding excursion through the most legendary locations in Kenya and Tanzania. micato.com
Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland
Built in the Jazz Era as the quintessential country house getaway for aristocrats and Roaring Twenties glitterati who arrived by train, storybook Gleneagles Hotel captivates as much today as it did then. The formidable estate dominates a bucolic 850-acres of rolling Perthshire countryside, offering city slickers an opportunity to explore what bygone travelers called the “Riviera of the Highlands.” While opulent guest rooms, memorable gastronomy and a restorative spa exemplify the retreat’s pampering milieu, outdoor activities set the resort apart. Whether playing country squire or simply relaxing amid Scotland’s momentous nature, you can tee off on a world class golf course, learn falconry, ride horses, fly fish and gambol with adorable Labrador Retrievers in gun dog training exercises on Gleneagle’s vast lawn. gleneagles.com
Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection, Los Cabos
One of the only places in the world where desert meets sea, Baja California’s Los Cabos has cobalt-colored water, rugged terrain ideal for hiking and probably the best ceviche you’ll gobble up in your life. Its jewel-in-the-crown resort, Esperanza, beautifully configured on Los Cabos’ only private beach, has jaw dropping views, spacious art-filled rooms, and both a family and an adults-only section that ensures it’s as sensible for your brood as for honeymooners in search of romantic solitude. Fulfil your turbo-charged urges here on an off-road Discover Outback afternoon that puts you at the wheel of Polaris RZR vehicles. You’ll careen through sandy riverbeds, ascend steep inclines, screech beside clifftops, then end with a toast at the hotel’s magnificent bluff-side restaurant. Alternatively, one of the spa’s transformative Wellness Journeys can initiate the shift. The nearly all-day rituals incorporate teachings of the Nahuel people as well as yoga, affirmations, energy cleansing, massages, facials—and more, for a life changing day. aubergeresorts.com/esperanza
Gangtey Lodge, Bhutan
What’s harder? Running a marathon or undertaking an inner journey? You decide when you delve into the glorious Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan’s largesse, especially under the tutelage of Gangtey Lodge. Offering a slew of 5 day/4-night Wellbeing Retreats throughout 2024 (and beyond), the unique hideaway allows guests the personal journey they need to hold space in the quest for personal enlightenment and utter happiness. Whether going to your edge on a difficult mountainous hike or hanging back to pursue meditation classes with a Lama, age-old rituals with the monks or sinking into a hot stone bath at day’s end, this decade-old five-star wellness haven offers a sublime melding of culture, nature, physical exercise and spirituality. gangteylodge.com
Hiking & Biking in Europe with Backroads
Choose your own pace on a Backroads hiking or biking trip, where distance options, routes and flexibility are hallmarks of the renowned active travel brand. Offering itineraries for all types of active travelers, their culturally immersive jaunts in hundreds of spellbinding destinations support active travelers in fascinating “slow travel” experiences in 45 countries. Whether joining one of the outfitter’s family trips to Croatia and Slovenia, Scotland and England, Netherlands and Belgium or along Spain’s Camino Santiago, you’ll be able to orchestrate each day according to your whim with exemplar guides. Whether you sign up for Backroads’ easier going Dolce Tempo program or go all out on a multi-disciplinary spin through the countryside, expect surprise picnics, characteristic lodges and lots of camaraderie. backroads.com
Egypt with Abercrombie & Kent
Celebrated as the absolute best outfitter for luxury tours to Egypt, well entrenched Abercrombie & Kent get kudos from guests no matter what journey around the world they’ve chosen. But for those mesmerized by the ancient Egyptians, the mysteries of the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Pharaonic temples of Luxor and the Nile and the bedazzling royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the fact that you’ll travel with your own Egyptologist seals the deal. A trip that combines a grand cruise down the Nile with desert trekking and elegant city hotels, Egypt tours with A&K comprise both small group itineraries and fully customized Luxury Tailor Made Journeys, which can be adapted to be as rigorous or low key as desired. abercrombiekent.com
Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, Vancouver Island Canada
Sometimes it takes the outdoors to awaken something within. At Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge poised among the unspoiled UNESCO-designated Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, accessed by kite-like seaplane, guests go camping—if you call regal glamping tents, regional gastronomy and a host of expert guide activities and customized itineraries…camping. Taking advantage of 600 acres of untrammeled wilderness, you’ll connect with yourself and each other. Board a helicopter to whiz to a remote spot for hiking and fishing, or simply walk from your tent into the lush forest, go to the spa or take a glacial cold plunge. Locally sourced, sustainable meals turn each action-packed day into a celebration. clayoquotwildernesslodge.com
Four Seasons Resort, Bora Bora
Begin your day with canoe breakfast delivery, which you’ll nibble on the deck of your over-lagoon bungalow as you gaze at the water’s thousand shades of blue. Almost at touching distance, Mount Otemanu, an imposing volcano, watches over you. In Bora Bora, nicknamed the “Pearl of the Pacific” for its astonishingly white sand beaches and gin-clear waters, this paradisiacal French Polynesian retreat occupies its own private motu (mini-island). Bedecked with a crown of tiare flowers, you’ll learn Tahitian greetings as you explore the island, coddled by doting staff. When not gazing at exotic reef fish from your suite’s peekaboo floor windows, you’ll unwind in the spa, on a snorkeling stingray and shark safari or jet surfing the lagoon. fourseasons.com/borabora
Experiential Cruises with Hurtigruten and HX
Distinguished Hurtigruten Expeditions launched the world’s first expedition cruise in 1896. Today you can experience the peerless brand on its traditional, engrossing voyages up Norway’s astonishing fjord-filled coast to view the unearthly Northern Lights—among other adventures. Or, you can turn to HX, its sister brand, to cruise to more than 30 countries worldwide on slightly edgier itineraries. Consider satisfying your curiosity about the Galapagos Island and those rare blue-footed boobies, known for their sultry mating dance. You’ll cruise on the refurbished, carbon neutral MS Santa Cruz II, which features both passive and active ways (think snorkeling and kayaking) to observe Darwin’s world at arm’s length. hurtigruten.com/en-us
The Ranch at Rock Creek, Montana
Sapphire mining? Inner Cowboy games? It’s all possible at The Ranch at Rock Creek, a river-runs-through-it splendorous outpost on 6,600 acres of hypnotic wilderness beneath Montana’s legendary big sky. Rustic, yet elegant, accommodations run the gamut from refined suites in Granite Lodge to authentic log cabins and historic barn suites. Besides gem hunting and horse whispering, you’ll eat well at this Relais & Chateaux resort. It stands out as the world’s first Forbes Travel Guide, Five Star ranch. As a guest, partake of some 39 diverse activities year-round, including fly fishing, horseback riding, sporting clay shooting, hiking, biking, archery and downhill skiing (in season). All-inclusive rates cover food and beverages, wine, spirits, accommodations, airport transfer, twice-daily maid service and two activities per day. theranchatrockcreek.com
Blackberry Mountain, Tennessee
Sister retreat to celebrated Blackberry Farm, newish Blackberry Mountain brings an even more romantic, wellness-oriented spin to your upscale Great Smoky Mountain holiday. Less than half an hour from Blackberry Farm, Blackberry Mountain, near Knoxville, straddles its own eye-popping, mountainous terrain on an expanse that encompasses 5,200-acres. Deeply rooted in nature, its experience offerings niggle you to try something new—whether aerial yoga, bouldering, crystal sound baths, clay shooting, rock climbing, cooking, mixology or pottery making. You can play pickleball, walk a path, swim laps or experience a spa treatment powered with organic ingredients such as echinacea seeds for exfoliation or walnut oil for hydration. Don’t miss Blackberry Mountain’s heart pumping Arbor Adventure, a multiple wood, rope and vine course that takes you over the treetops and mountain streams. At night, sleep in treehouses, homes, cottages and cabins. blackberrymountain.com
