Five Trips to Kickstart Spring

We hear your collective sigh – it’s been a long, rainy winter. And, like you, we’re seriously craving the milder days and sunshine of spring. Call us pessimistic, but we’re not holding out for the UK weather to break just yet. Instead, we’ve got four ready-made adventures that will kickstart the spring and get your blood pumping. They’re all planned out and ready to go, requiring almost zero effort from you (so go on, spend a little more time as a duvet burrito – we’ll call you when it finally stops raining…).

1) A beachside re-charge in Portugal

Our four-day adventure in Portugal is a firm favourite for a quick hit of sunshine and spending some much-craved-for time outdoors. Based in the serene surroundings of FeelViana, a surf-chic bolthole near Porto, there’s cycling, surfing, SUP and yoga to try. With May highs of around 20°C in north Portugal, the days tend to be sunny and pleasant – lunch al fresco, anyone?

Feelviana in Portugal

2) Adrenaline-fuelled adventures in Slovenia

If too much of your winter has been spent sheltering inside from the incessant rain, we can’t think of a better trip to banish you out of winter hibernation than our Epic Outdoor Adventures in Slovenia trip. May is the ideal time to visit – the warm, dry conditions are spot-on for adventure sports. You’ll be paddleboarding, biking, canyoning, hiking, rafting, and ziplining through Slovenia’s beautiful landscapes. Winter will seem like a distant memory.

Cycling in Portugal

3) Spring flowers and fresh flavours in Italy

Spring means flowers, none so beautiful than the wildflowers that flank the Path of the Gods, the clifftop trail that overlooks the Amalfi Coast. On our Landscapes & Limoncello in Amalfi trip, you’ll hike this famous trail, stopping for a picnic en route. Spring also brings Italy’s freshest flavours onto the menus of the osterias and trattorias – lookout for seasonal asparagus, peas, fennel, and radishes. And as May means longer and warmer days in this idyllic part of Italy, you’ll kayak through the grottoes around the coastline and visit glamourous Capri before the summer crowds descend.

Sailing around Capri

4) A week of cycling and canyoning in Turkey

Springtime temperatures in Turkey hover around the early twenties. We reckon that’s the ideal climate for canyoning and cycling through the mountains of Saklikent National Park on our Sports & Sundowners in Turkey trip. Downtime takes the form of kicking back on the gorgeous beaches of Kaputas and Patara and sailing around some islands from Kas Harbour.

The Greek island of Kastellorizo

5) Eternal days in Iceland

When you really want to ramp up your post-winter Vitamin D consumption, head to Iceland. By late May, the sun barely sets in Reykjavik. On our Eternal Summer in Iceland trip, you’ll get to know this fabulous city before heading out to explore geothermal baths, waterfalls, geysers, glaciers and the exquisite Blue Lagoon. This five-day trip is packed with adventure and activities, including taking an ATV across volcanic sands to check out the wreck of a 1973 US Navy plane.

Iceland Waterfall