Active Holidays That Are Just a Bit More Chilled Than Normal

If the thought of an active holiday has always chilled you to the bone or you have that group of friends wanting to drag you along for their preferred yearly cycle away – perhaps the time has come to look at the “active” holiday with new eyes. Sure it’s blissful sleeping on a beach all day having staff bring you drinks but that doesn’t quite bring that sense of achievement or the chance to get away with some of your best mates that you haven’t really spent much time for years with.

There are “leisurely” options that will still give you that seratonin boost without leaving you feeling like you haven’t actually had a holiday. Look for activities that don’t require a huge input of energy – such as skiing (it’s all sitting on chairlifts then pointing downhill – gravity does the work) or sailing (where the professionals do the rigging work) and even cycling with e-bikes or horse riding (where the horse does the work!) Get outdoors and enjoy the boost of the wind in your hair and the negative ions in and around the water and you will receive the physical and mental boost of invigoration thanks to the seratonin!

Think Cycling for Softies – designed not to tax you too much but enough to work up a appetite and make room for the fab pub lunches you will encounter along the way. Not only that but their cycling tour of the Cotswolds you are provided with an e-bike! You won’t even have to puff up a hill – result! One leg of the journey is even downhill – taking in the village

Perhaps you prefer the glittering waters of the Aegean and soaking up the negative ions being on the water. Sailing holidays can be active as you are popping in and out of the water via climbing ladders, maybe a bit of island hopping or jetskiing so there’s certainly exertion taking place, just with a means to an end. Sailing holidays can also be very LGBTQ inclusive, for those who feel uncomfortable mingling with straight couples on a very small boat made for 6-8 people.

And my personal favourite when it comes to taking it as leisurely as you can be bothered is winter sports. Skiing or snowboarding. Slide out for a couple of hours a day going downhill (skiing is anaerobic dontcha know) stopping for hot chocolate and a slap up lunch along the way. Then at the end of the “day” – relax in the hot tub with a glass of fizz until your four to give course dinner is expertly prepared and served to you with lashing of local wines. Some of the local runs are so ridiculously easy that you just need to stand in line to get on a seat, sit down the whole way up and then follow the lines back to the bottom again. Skiing being anaerobic or uses “kinetic” or stored energy – means although you feel the blast of being “invigorated” – you are not tired as you don’t use your cardiovascular system as much. Avoid snowboarding as you will end up on your bum or knees quite regularly and that involves lots of lifting yourself up out of the snow. That can actually be very tiring!