Sea kayaking East Greenland
Set at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, Natural Habitat Adventures' safari-style eco base camp brings a bit of luxury to a part of the world where polar bears are king and mid-summer temperatures barely top 10 C. You'll helicopter into one of the most remote landscapes on the earth, and then sea kayak among icebergs in pristine Arctic waters, where 1,500 metre peaks plunge into the sea. If you're lucky you'll share the water with humpback whales.
Price: From £6,860 including helicopter transfers in and out of camp, 9 days' food, drink and camp accommodation, guides, plus all equipment and survival gear for kayaking and Zodiac excursions.
SUP Belize's Barrier Reef
With some the best reef areas of Belize's 180-mile long, 118,000-acre Southwater Caye Marine Reserve too shallow for motorboat access, a Stand Up Paddleboard is one of the best ways to explore it. On this lodge-to-lodge tour with Island Expeditions, you'll paddle up to eight miles a day, jumping off to snorkel in the best spots. Fresh fish is, of course, on the menu daily, and you'll sleep in overwater bungalows, stroll on white sandy beaches and even night snorkel at Southwater Cut, where coral blooms after dark.
Price: From £1,494 for six nights, including meals, accommodation and transfers, all equipment and guiding. Transfer back to Belize City and international flights not included.
Sea kayaking and wild camping Sweden's Bohuslan archipelago
With its thousands of uninhabited, remote granite and gneiss islands dotting a sheltered sea, Western Sweden is one of the best sea-kayaking destinations in the world. Although self-guided, you will be provided with all the kayaking equipment you'll need for exploring the islands beyond Orust and Tjörn. Your accommodatio? Wild camping of course on your very own island. You'll be given suggestions of routes and places to pitch camp, as well as small restaurants and shops along the coast but ultimately you're free to paddle and camp pretty much where ever you like.
Price: From £195 per person for a three-day tour, includes kayaking equipment map packages, and pick up from tour end point. Camping gear can be rented separately.
Sea kayaking Western Scotland
Flexibility is the key to Wilderness Scotland's West Coast Explorer tour, as where you paddle will depend on the weather and wind. But highlights you can expect will include the likes of paddling past the iconic Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich in the West Highlands, exploring the islands of Skye's Broadford Bay, or wild camping off the wild coast of Loch Hourn for up to three nights of this six-day Scottish sea adventure.
Price: From £825, including meals, accommodation in hostels and tents, transfers and equipment for five nights
Island hopping the Ionian Sea by sea kayak, Greece
Paddle over the warm, crystal clear waters of the Greece's Ionian Sea between eight beautiful islands on this nine-day tour. Starting in Kefalonia, you'll visit Ithaca, Lefkada, Meganisi, Skorpios, Kalamos, Kastos, and Atokos before returning to Kefalonia. There will be some challenging sea crossings, plenty of coastal exploring, stopping at secluded coves as you cover approximately 64 nautical miles on your odyssey. Each night you'll stay in a different appartment and discover these idyllic islands' best hidden spots by sea.
Price: From £1,078 including pick ups and transfers, most breakfasts and lunches, all accommodation, all equipment and expert guiding.
seakayakingkefalonia-greece.com
Canoe cruising the Dordogne, France
If you like your rivers wide, peaceful, flat and with strong but gentle current that means you hardly need to paddle, then this is the canoeing tour for you. Oh, and did we forget to mention that you'll stay at a hotel with a pool every night? Excellent for families and perfect for beginners Headwater's Dordogne canoe tour will cruise you under stunning chateaux perched on golden-pink limestone cliffs, and past the walnut groves and truffle woods of the Perigord. Along the way there are mediaeval villages to moor up at and visit, ancient cave systems, and of course world-famous cuisine.
Price: From £1,148 per person, including all breakfasts and dinners, luggage transfers between hotels, and canoeing equipment.
Wye Valley canoeing and wild camping
If you're looking for a canoe trip with an expedition feel but still closer to home, this three-day trip on the dramatic River Wye could be for you. Beginning in Glasbury, just north of the Black Mountains, you'll paddle several miles each day through changing scenery, tackling small rapids and flat stretches, and wild camping on river beaches and banks along the way. The pace is relaxed and there will be plenty of time to swim, play and rest as you head down river through this designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Price: From £265 per adult, first child £165, two or more children £140 each. Includes food and camping.
Paddling Catalonia's River Ebro to the Mediterranean
This 144-kilometre, four-day kayak tour will take you down the historic Ebro River in southern Catalonia, from Flix in wild interior, to Western Europe's largest river delta, the Deltebre on the Mediterranean Sea. You'll pass crusader castles, and the historical city of Tortosa, before arriving at the sparking Mediterranean in the wetlands nature park of Deltebre, which is bursting with birdlife. Little known to British and even Spanish tourists this region is a European gem and the Ebro the perfect way to explore it.
Price: From £256 per person, including all kayaking equipment, three nights bed and breakfast hotel accommodation and transfer service back from finish.
White water rafting in Macedonia
With rugged, mountainous landscapes and little development, the Balkan country of Macedonia is an Active Traveller's Aladin's cave. It's also home to the largest canyon in Europe, where the potential for white water adventure is equally expansive. The Rafting Center Drina-Tara runs a raft of activities on the Tara River, including some fantastic looking multi-day trips. For instance, their three-day, two-night rafting and camping tour involves 42km of rafting down the gorge, from Brstanovica to the Rafting Center, and then on to Foca, with stops for waterfall swimming and fun, and traditional food and entertainment by the fireside at their riverside base.
Price: From £84 for all meals, camping hut accommodation, rafting activities, equipment and guiding.
Paddle from Lough Neagh to the Atlantic, Northern Ireland
Stretching 58 kilometres from the UK's largest inland lake to the Atlantic, the Lower Bann Canoe Trail connects Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland - itself a wonderful paddling location - to Ireland's northern shore. Starting in Toome the beautiful, wild river takes you into Lough Beg with its abundant wildlife, through the town of Coleraine, to Ballywoolen, on the edge of a National Trust nature reserve, just 1.5 kilometres from Barmouth and the sea. Although there are weirs and sluice gates to avoid, alternative navigation channels are always available. Although there are plenty of campsites and B&B accommodation along the way for the independent paddler, local operator Outdoor Concepts offers two-day guided canoe camping tours, with Lads and Dads tours and Dads and Daughters tours a favourite.
Price: From £89 per person, including canoe, camping equipment and guiding.
